Giuliana Morrone combines journalism with business expertise and doesn't treat ESG as merely the sum of the environmental, human and governance practices adopted by companies. She has a long history of interacting with leaders from all sectors in Brazil and abroad, covering the most varied topics including presidential elections, corruption scandals, environmental tragedies and social movements. Her experience, broad outlook and ability to connect the dots between different fields are essential for approaching the subject from a systemic perspective. With an MBA in ESG from PUC Rio, Giuliana has rewritten her own professional journey and authored the book ‘Myths and Truths about ESG’.
Read full bio
Al-Hamndou Dorsouma
Division Manager Climate and Green Growth
African Development Bank (AfDB)
Al-Hamndou Dorsouma leads AfDB’s efforts on climate change in Africa, including policy and finance, building climate resilience and low carbon opportunities into the bank’s investments, as well as supporting the bank’s engagement in the green transition and the circular economy. Dr Dorsouma’s academic background is in geography and environmental management. He also worked for other international organisations, namely the Observatory of Sahara and Sahel (OSS) in Tunis as environment and climate change officer and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in Geneva as senior programme manager for resource mobilisation and development partnerships.
Read full bio
U. Müge Dolun
Programme Manager
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
Müge Dolun is a development practitioner with expertise on trade, gender and the environment, with experience in strategic research, technical assistance projects and programme evaluation. She manages a large portfolio of UNIDO projects on the circular economy and resource efficiency. Previously Müge served as UNIDO’s gender coordinator. She has managed technical assistance projects in trade and standards as well as agri-business development, mostly in Africa. She is a development economist by training, with a master’s in public administration in international development from Harvard Kennedy School and a BA in environmental studies.
Cynthia is a Costa Rican economist with over 25 years’ experience in environmental economics, public policy and sustainability. She is a specialist in cost-benefit analysis, climate change, the circular economy, bioeconomy and environmental assessment. She is vice-chair on OECD committees, coordinator of Costa Rica's Inter-Ministerial Committee on Circular Economy, and country chair of the G100. Previously, Cynthia has served as environmental economics coordinator at the Ministry of Environment and Energy and held technical and leadership roles in key institutions such as the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC), Costa Rican Institute of Electricity (ICE) and Tropical Science Center (CCT). Recognised for her academic publications, she promotes creativity, consensus-building and a just transition.
Joona Kotilainen is a serial entrepreneur from Finland and the co-founder of a circular economy start-up tackling the global problem of underutilised wood waste. Joona has a background in innovation and technology management and is now the marketing director of the company. His business views revolve around brand building, communications and marketing, which are key in getting sustainable solutions to the market. He co-founded the company in 2023 with his master carpenter brother Miikka Kotilainen, who has become known in Finland as an innovative thinker and circular economy-based wood user.
Read full bio
Priscila Rocha
Director of Department of Sustainable Development
Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (FIESP)
Alongside her work at FIESP, Priscila Rocha is also global head of sustainability and ESG at Volkswagen Trucks & Bus. She has over 23 years’ experience in the area, having previously worked in companies in the pulp and paper sector (Fibria/ Suzano), chemical sector (3M) and the defense of collective interests (FIESP). She has a master’s in health, sustainability and environment from the School of Public Health at USP, chemical engineering from the Federal University of São Carlos and specialisation in business management and ESG from the University of Cambridge. Priscila is also a guest professor of the postgraduate course in ESG at Senac.
Read full bio
Lucas Ramalho Maciel
Director New Economy
Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services of Brazil (MDIC)
Lucas Ramalho Maciel is a public policy and government management specialist with over 18 years' experience in formulating and implementing strategic policies. He took part in the Lula government's transition team, contributing to the re-creation of the ministry (MDIC) and the creation of the Secretariat for Green Economy, Decarbonisation and Bioindustry. He led the area of social innovation and was one of the creators of the national impact economy strategy (Enimpacto), which significantly expanded impact investments in Brazil. In addition to Enimpacto, he is responsible for the national circular economy strategy and the Green Seal Brazil programme, a certification system for products and services aligned with sustainability and ESG criteria.
Patricia Malnati is a public accountant and leads a family-owned SME dedicated to the industrialisation of rubber. She has served as director of the sustainability committee of the Latin American Society of Rubber Technology (SLTC) and vice-president of the environment and sustainability department of the Industrial Union of the Province of Buenos Aires (UIPBA). She is founder of the Women and Rubber Network, member of Red de Mujeres de la Industria Argentina (MIA), advisory member of G100 Resources and Talent Development, and vice-president of Red Pacto Global Argentina. She was elected as Best Company Director at the Recircle Awards 2022, a global event that recognises excellence and contribution to the tyre recycling sector, and Best Businesswoman 2024 at the WEF Women Economic Forum Argentina.
Read full bio
Soumyajit (Jeet) Kar
Lead, Policy and Sustainable Trade
World Economic Forum (WEF)
Jeet Kar leads sustainable trade and global plastics policy at the World Economic Forum, also coordinating the WEF's role as an observer to the discussions around an international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution. He has previously held positions at the United Nations and the OECD, working on sustainable trade policies and development cooperation. Jeet holds a master's in economics from Sciences Po Paris, and speaks English, French and Spanish.
Manuel Frávega works for one of the largest law firms in Argentina, where he heads the environmental law and climate change department and co-leads the ESG department. Prior to joining the firm in 2022, he served as environment regional senior manager for Tenaris (2020-2022) and as undersecretary of environment of the Provincial Agency for Sustainable Development (Government of the Province of Buenos Aires) (2017-2019). Previously, Manuel worked at Techint Group as a senior counsel in charge of the environmental law department (2011-2017) and participated as vice president of the Environment Commission of the Argentine Industrial Union. Currently, he is the president of the department of environment and sustainability of the Industrial Union of the Province of Buenos Aires (UIPBA).
