Dick Simon, Changemaker
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness.” – Mark Twain Vision: A world in which there is no “them” – the most dangerous four- letter word in the English language. Action: Leads delegations to countries that are understood only as adversaries and that are traditionally difficult to access to hear local perspectives and gain understanding […]
Helen Clark, Administrator, UN Development Program
“Never look back is my philosophy.” Vision: Achieve the UN Millenium Development Goals. Action: The most powerful woman in the United Nations, Clark has an annual budget of US$5 billion and a staff of 8,000 in 182 countries. She is leading the charge towards the UN’s Millennium Development Goals by 2015. The former prime minister of New […]
Simon Mainwaring, Founder, We First Branding
“The future of profit is purpose. Your brand must be the celebrant, not celebrity of your customer. Be a mission with a company, not a company with a mission.” Vision: A world in which business becomes a global force for positive social change. Action: Mainwaring wrote We First: How Brands and Consumers Use Social Media […]
Anu Sridharan, Founder, NextDrop
“I’ve made so many mistakes, been in so many ‘ wow, this is nuts’ situations.” Vision: A society that nurtures tolerance and understanding among all people. Action: Twenty-something Sridharan invented a mobile app that provides real-time information on water availability in India via SMS. In addition to serving the needs of women in developing countries she has […]
Maria Klawe, President, Harvey Mudd College
“If you want me to do something tell me it’s not allowed for girls and then I definitely, absolutely would do it, whatever it is.” Vision: To make science, technology, engineering and math accessible to diverse groups. Action: Klawe is closing the computer science (CS) gender gap and having stunning success in getting more women […]
Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin Group
“There is an incredible opportunity to make a difference – now.” Vision: A new vision for the future where “business is unusual.” Action: Business has the power to drive change. The time is right for a radically different approach to business – one that puts people and planet at the core of how business is done. Branson […]
Lucy Siegle, Journalist
“The global economy creates a global ignorance, in which producers and consumer cannot know or care about one another. The degradation of products, places, producers and consumers is inevitable.” Vision: To convince everybody they have a vested interest in fighting for the environment – however disenfranchised they feel. Action: Creator of the Observer Ethical Awards, Siegle […]
Felix Finkbeiner, Founder, Plant For The Planet
“A mosquito cannot do anything against a rhino, but a thousand mosquitoes can make the rhino change its direction.” Vision: A world in balance, where climate justice prevails and children no longer have to fight for survival. Action: The 17-year-old passed his target of planting a million trees in his home country Germany, and kept on […]
Muhammad Yunus, Founder, Grameen Bank
“I believe that we can create a world without poverty because it is not the poor that create poverty.” Vision: To serve society’s most pressing needs by unlocking the potential of the world’s greatest entrepreneurs – the poor. Action: With a mission to interact, incubate and create, Yunus created the world’s first bank for the […]
Álvaro Rodríguez Arregui, CoFounder, IGNIA Partners
“We need a more inclusive world!” Vision: A world that delivers quality and inclusion to the majority. Action: The biggest exclusion in the world is the lack of access to quality products and services – healthcare, education, basic services and housing. Arregui believes this is a market failure, and he’s invested in innovative business models that eradicate […]
