Leonardo Lahud leads the trade and investment portfolio of the Productivity, Trade and Innovation Sector at IDB in Brazil. Previously, he served in the Brazilian government, where he was deputy secretary of foreign trade, deputy executive secretary of the Foreign Trade Chamber, and deputy secretary of international affairs and development of the Ministry of Planning and Budget. He holds a master's in international trade and investment law from the World Trade Institute, linked to the University of Bern (Switzerland), a postgraduate degree in international relations from the University of Brasilia, and a law degree from the Federal Fluminense University.
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Pedro Henrique Giocondo Guerra
Chief of Staff for the Vice-President of Brazil
Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services of Brazil (MDIC)
Pedro Giocondo Guerra holds multiple degrees in law and public administration and has specialised training in administrative law, public-private partnerships and international investments. Experienced in legal consulting, academic research and public management, he has worked in law firms; as a researcher on government control, public policies and decisions of Brazil’s Supreme Court; and in the São Paulo public sector. Pedro has extensive experience on the fiscal councils of state-owned and environmental companies. Since 2023, he has held positions of high trust in the Federal Government and is also Chairman of the Fiscal Council of Brazil’s National Development Bank (BNDES).
Jaap van der Velden has a background in finance, audit, financial management and accounting. As part of the Renewable Polymers’ (RNP) management board and executive team, he helps to bring the company’s technology to the world. Aligning stakeholder interests, he brings together inspired internal and external stakeholders, investors, government and partners throughout the value chain including customers, feedstock parties, engineering and construction firms. Jaap believes in a fossil-free world.
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Silvia Solano
Regional Lead Latin America, Green and Resilient Buildings Program
International Finance Corporation (IFC)
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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Davinah Milenge Uwella
Chief Programme Coordinator
African Development Bank (AfDB)
Davinah coordinates several special initiatives within the Climate Change and Green Growth Department of AfDB. These include the Africa Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) Hub, a platform hosted at AfDB to support African countries implement their Paris Agreement climate commitments; the Secretariat of the African Financial Alliance on Climate Change (AFAC), an initiative launched by the African Development Bank to mobilise, catalyze and leverage domestic climate finance; and the Africa Circular Economy Facility (ACEF).
Gabriel Azevedo has led international projects in more than 40 countries in infrastructure, natural resource management, agribusiness, manufacturing and environmental management. He has worked at the World Bank, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Construtora Norberto Odebrecht, and was a board member for the Brazilian Biodiversity Fund (FUNBIO) and the Brazilian Association of Water Resources (ABRHIdro). He is a board observer at the International Hydropower Association (IHA) and is IDB Invest representative at the Sustainability Committee to the Board of Hospital Einstein in Brazil. Azevedo has degrees in civil engineering, including an MSc and a PhD from Colorado State University.
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Elizabeth Shie
Senior Manager, Strategy and Sustainability
Novelis
Elizabeth Shie works currently for Novelis South America, leading the company’s regional strategic planning process, evaluation of market drivers, analysis of expansions and management of sustainability goals. Over the past years, she held positions in the financial and pulp and paper sectors, playing important roles in business development initiatives through partnership models, new business structuring, mergers and acquisitions and equity investments. Elizabeth holds a degree in production engineering from Universidade de São Paulo (USP) and an MBA from the London Business School, with a concentration in finance and change management.
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Daniel Lage Chang
Bioeconomy Specialist
Technical Secretary of the Bioamazonia Network
Daniel is a seasoned sustainability professional guiding multidisciplinary teams to deliver pioneering solutions. He currently drives collaboration among Pan-Amazonian research and innovation institutes at the Bioamazonia Network backed by IDB to coproduce science-based and traditional knowledge for advancing sustainable biodiversity practices and fostering bioeconomy opportunities across the region. Daniel has a degree in economics, and an MBA in strategic management of the environment and a master’s in knowledge management and engineering. Previously, he worked at Brazil’s Ministry of the Environment and Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, leading bioeconomy programmes and mobilising multilateral resources for climate change and biodiversity initiatives with global resonance.
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Emmanuel Chaponniere
Head of Circular Economy & Sustainable Development Division
European Investment Bank (EIB)
Emmanuel Chaponniere is in charge of the Projects Directorate of EIB which is composed of sector specialists. He is responsible for project appraisal including technical, economic, environmental and social issues, and the monitoring of project implementation, as well as for sector studies and policy – including the EIB’s climate, environmental and social policies. Prior to the EIB, he held various positions as a water sector specialist and waste expert in Europe and Africa. Chaponniere graduated from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace (France) and has a master’s in water management from the Ecole Nationale du Génie Rural des Eaux et Forêts (France).
Luis Meyer assumed his current role in 2022 and has held key positions in procurement. Luis holds a degree in production engineering and a postgraduate degree in finance, investments and banking, both from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUC-RS). He also holds an MBA from Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) and a master’s in business administration and management, completed jointly at Universidade Positivo in Brazil and Nova School of Business and Economics (Nova SBE) in Portugal. In addition, he has earned ESG certifications from Insper and the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School in the United Kingdom.
