Silvia is an architect with a master’s in natural resources management. With over 15 years’ experience in the construction market, she has honed her expertise across Latin America. She is a leader of the Green Building Market Transformation Program (GBMTP) in Latin America, responsible for strategy and implementation of the programme in Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Brazil. Experienced in green buildings and EDGE certification, she engages with private sector developers, industry associations, financial institutions, government and international cooperation agencies. Her focus on decarbonising the built environment and promoting the expansion of green and resilient buildings underscores her commitment to sustainable development.
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Eric Ruzigamanzi
Program Manager, Circular Food Systems
World Resources Insitute (WRI)
Eric is the country representative for the WRI in Rwanda and leads the country’s circular food systems initiative. He has over a decade of experience in climate finance, sustainable development and policy engagement across Rwanda and beyond. In his current role, he leads strategic partnerships and supports national efforts to integrate climate and circular economy approaches into development planning. He also works with MSMEs to embed circular economy principles into their business models. Eric holds a master’s in sustainability and circular bioeconomy and is passionate about inclusive, systems-based solutions for climate resilience and green growth.
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Bruno Pelli
Global Director, Technical Services in Mining
Vale SA
Bruno Pelli is a mining executive with international experience. He is a mining engineer (University of São Paulo), risk management specialist (University of Queensland), management excellence specialist (University of Pretoria), MBA Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV-UCI) and holds a sustainability certificate from the University of Cambridge. At Vale, Bruno is responsible for brownfield exploration, geoscience, mine planning and closure, mining rights, mineral resources and processing for iron ore assets around the world. He also leads transformational projects such as Vale's circular mining programme and manages four R&D facilities. Bruno is a board member of Circlua and the Minas-Rio iron ore joint venture.
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Chris Whyte
Business Development Advisor
African Circular Economy Network (ACEN)
Chris’ vision is to drive a just transition to a circular economy for Africa, addressing sustainable impacts and outcomes in energy, water, agriculture, infrastructure, mining, manufacturing and tourism that result in positive benefits for the environment and social upliftment. He founded USE-IT (2009-2020), resulting in thousands of jobs created and 18 national and global awards. Chris was previously executive director of ACEN and is co-founder of the ACEN Foundation (rebranded to Africa Circular) based in Europe. He is also a director of several commercial companies across Africa developing profitable circular economy projects.
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Gustavo Porpino
Researcher
Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa)
Gustavo Porpino has worked for Embrapa since 2006. He holds a PhD in business administration from Fundação Getulio Vargas's São Paulo School of Business Administration (FGV-EAESP) and was a visiting scholar at Cornell University, where he carried out research on food consumption behaviour. Gustavo is a member of the Brazilian food banks’ network steering committee and he collaborates with Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and UN Environment Programme (UNEP) initiatives on food security and circularity. He is a co-founder of the Pact Against Hunger, a multi-sectoral movement that combats hunger and reduces food waste in Brazil.
With over 14 years’ experience in corporate sustainability, Alice is strategically integrating Arcadis’ ESG practices into organisations in Brazil. An environmental engineer and specialist in sustainable infrastructure and ESG, she works on driving cultural transformation within companies and implementing solutions aligned with national and international ESG protocols. Alice has extensive experience in preparing sustainability reports, assessing and measuring socio-environmental impacts, and developing strategies to enhance ESG maturity across businesses . Her work spans sectors such as mining, energy, sanitation and transportation, fostering more responsible and sustainable management within organisations.
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Luiz Fernando Krieger Merico
Economic Affairs Officer
UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
Luiz is a geologist with a master’s in environmental analysis and a PhD in geography. He was a researcher and teacher of resource economics for more than 10 years in southern Brazil. Luiz has 12 years’ experience in Brazilian public environmental management, from local to national level. He was coordinator of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for Brazil and senior adviser in climate change and biodiversity of the Stockholm Resilience Centre in Sweden. At the UN since 2016, he has been coordinating international cooperation activities in many countries on a circular and low carbon economy and nature-based solutions.
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Tuuli Hietaniemi
Senior Lead, Programmes
Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund
Tuuli helps Finnish society to find solutions to the most difficult problems of our time. She has more than 15 years’ experience in making societal change happen. At Sitra, Tuuli has worked in different positions related to promoting ecological sustainability. She holds a master’s in social sciences and is infinitely interested in how societies can flourish within the limits of nature’s carrying capacity.
Katharina leads ACEN’s strategic programmes and operations and has a key role in further operationalising ACEN to grow the success of the network. She is a circular economy consultant working across sectors to accelerate the circular transition in Africa. A specialist in multi-sector collaboration, convening stakeholders and project management, her work with ACEN is aimed at activating collective intelligence in the circular economy. Working with national governments, diplomatic missions, NGOs and the private sector, she is a vocal advocate for the role of a just circular economy transition in Africa.
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Victoria Flores
Minister of Environment and Circular Economy
Province of Córdoba
Victoria Flores, a lawyer with a degree from the National University of Córdoba and a master's in administrative law, served as a councilor for the City of Córdoba (2015-2019). In 2019, she took office as president of the Córdoba Works and Services (COyS) agency where she initiated the city’s circular economy work on recycling and the use of waste as raw material. Since December 2023, she has served in her current post, expanding the circular economy and sustainable development model throughout the province, including the strategies for the care of the 30 protected natural areas and the conservation of ecosystems and biodiversity.
