Federal Councillor Karin Keller-Sutter is the President of the Swiss Confederation and has been the Head of the Federal Department of Finance (FDF) since January 2023. Before her election to the Swiss Federal Council in December 2018, she represented the canton of St. Gallen in the Council of States from 2011 until the end of 2018, serving as President of the Council of States from 2017 to 2018. Her political career began in 1992, and from 2000 to 2011, she was a member of the cantonal government of St. Gallen (Regierungsrat), where she held various senior positions, including leading the Justice and Security Department. Outside of government and politics and prior to joining the Swiss Federal Council, Ms. Keller-Sutter has held multiple board memberships, including positions at Bâloise Insurance Group, the Swiss Employers Association, and the NZZ Media Group. Notably, she also served on the board of trustees for the St. Gallen Symposium until 2018. Initially a trained translator/interpreter and secondary school teacher, between 1989 and 2000 she worked as a freelance translator and also taught at a vocational school. Hailing from the canton of St. Gallen, she holds a postgraduate degree in pedagogy from the University of Fribourg, Switzerland.

Philipp Navratil has been Chief Executive Officer of Nestlé S.A. since September 2025. Previously, he served as CEO of Nestlé Nespresso S.A. and brings over two decades of experience at Nestlé with a deep background in the coffee industry. Prior to his current role, Mr Navratil served as Senior Vice President of Nestlé’s Coffee Strategic Business Unit, where he was responsible for shaping the global strategy and driving innovation for the Nescafé and Starbucks coffee brands. Earlier in his career, he led Nestlé’s coffee and beverage business in Mexico and was Country Manager for Nestlé Honduras, after beginning his career at Nestlé in 2001 as an International Auditor. Mr Navratil holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland. He was a member of the 28th International Students’ Committee (ISC) and served as President of the 29th St. Gallen Symposium. He now serves on the Board of Trustees of the St. Gallen Foundation for International Studies, supporting the long-term vision of the Symposium.

Minister Emma Inamutila Theofelus is the Minister of Information and Communication Technology for the Republic of Namibia and serves as a Member of Parliament. Known for her policy-adjacent activism, Minister Theofelus has championed issues such as gender equality, children's rights, sustainable development, and the fight against youth unemployment. Earlier in her career, she held leadership roles as Deputy Speaker of the Youth Parliament of Namibia, a Board Member of the National Council of Higher Education, and the Junior Mayor of Windhoek. In recognition of her outstanding contributions, she was awarded the Laureate in the Individual Category of the United Nations Population Award in 2022. Minister Theofelus holds an LLB (Honours) from the University of Namibia, where she also served as Secretary General of the Student Union. She earned a diploma in Business Management from Amity University and a diploma in Afrikan Feminism and Gender Studies from the University of South Africa. She is currently a Master’s candidate in ICT Policy and Regulation at the University of Witwatersrand.

Andres Sutt has served as Minister of Energy and the Environment of the Republic of Estonia since 2025. He is a former Member of the Estonian Parliament (Estonian Reform Party) and a former Minister of Entrepreneurship and IT, where he oversaw the development of the e-Estonia ecosystem, raised investments in cyber security, and launched the 5G rollout. Andres Sutt is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Tartu University Foundation and a Member of the Advisory Board of AI&Robotics Estonia. Prior to politics, he served as Member of the Board at Enefit, Head of Banking at the European Stability Mechanism, Senior Advisor to the Nordic-Baltic Executive Director of the IMF Board, and Deputy Governor responsible for financial stability at Eesti Pank. He holds a master’s degree in economics and finance (cum laude) from Tartu University and has studied management at INSEAD, France.

Prof. Dr. Ivan Krastev is the chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies and Albert Hirschman Permanent Fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences, IWM Vienna. He is a founding board member of the European Council on Foreign Relations, a member of the Board of Trustees of The International Crisis Group and member of the Board of Directors of GLOBSEC. He is a Financial Times contributing editor and - among many others - the author of "Is it Tomorrow, Yet? How the Pandemic Changes Europe" (Allen Lane/Penguin, 2020) & “After Europe” (UPenn Press, 2017).

Dr. Nicolas Peter has been Chairman of BMW’s Supervisory Board since May 2025. In this role, he chairs oversight of BMW’s corporate governance, strategic direction, and board decisions. Previously, he served as Chief Financial Officer (Board Member for Finance) of BMW from 2017 to 2023. He also held roles including Head of Europe, Head of Group Controlling, and leadership positions in BMW’s national operations (France, Sweden, etc.). He is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt. Dr. Peter completed his law studies at the University of Munich with the Second State Examination and received his doctoral degree from the same university.

Prof. Peter Sloterdijk is a German philosopher, cultural theorist, and writer whose work has deeply influenced contemporary European thought. In 2024, he delivered a widely noted lecture series at the Collège de France in Paris. From 2001 to 2015, he served as Rector and Professor of Philosophy and Aesthetics at the Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design. His Critique of Cynical Reason became one of the best-selling works of philosophy of the 20th century and established him as a leading public intellectual. His years of independent writing were preceded by a formative period in India at the ashram of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and by his doctoral work at the University of Hamburg in 1976 on autobiographical writing in the Weimar Republic, following earlier studies in philosophy, history, and German literature in Munich and Hamburg.

Sergio P. Ermotti has been Group CEO of UBS Group AG and President of the Executive Board of UBS AG since 2023. He was also the Group CEO from 2011 to 2020. He re-joined UBS from Swiss Re, where he was Chairman of the Board of Directors until 2023. Prior to joining UBS in 2011, he was at UniCredit Group, where from 2007 to 2010 he served as Group Deputy CEO and Head of Corporate & Investment Banking and Private Banking, prior to which he served as Head of the Markets & Investment Banking Division. Before that, he held various positions at Merrill Lynch & Co. in the areas of equity derivatives and capital markets. He became Co-Head of Global Equity Markets and a member of the Executive Management Committee for Global Markets & Investment Banking in 2001.

Clara C. Streit has been Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Börse AG since May 2024 and Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board of Vonovia SE since 2013, Germany’s largest residential real estate company and a DAX 40 member. She also chairs the Government Commission on the German Corporate Governance Code since 2023. In these roles she advances corporate governance standards and oversees key board committees. Previously she spent over 20 years at McKinsey & Company, most recently as Senior Partner leading its Banking, Exchanges & Insurance practice. She has served as a non-executive director on the boards of UniCredit S.p.A., NN Group N.V., Jerónimo Martins SGPS S.A., Vontobel Holding AG, Deutsche Börse AG as well as on the advisory board of Fraport AG and other companies. She holds a master’s degree (lic. oec.) in Finance and Accounting from the University of St. Gallen, where she was part of the 21st International Students’ Committee of the St. Gallen Symposium in 1991. Continuing her engagement, she serves on the St. Gallen Symposium’s Board of Trustees.

Dr Thomas Schinecker has been Chief Executive Officer of the Roche Group since March 2023 and a member of the Corporate Executive Committee since 2019. Prior to assuming his current role, he served as interim CEO of the Pharmaceuticals Division in early 2023. For two years, he led Roche Diagnostics' largest business unit, including research and development, before taking over as CEO of the Diagnostics Division (2019–2022). Dr Schinecker joined Roche in 2003 as part of a management development programme. Over the course of his career at the company, he has held leadership positions across six countries and three continents. Before taking on more senior leadership roles, he served as Head of Marketing and Sales in Austria, Lifecycle Leader for Diagnostics' Sequencing Solutions in the United States, and General Manager of Roche Diagnostics in both Sweden and Germany. Alongside his work at Roche, Dr Schinecker serves as a member of the Innovation Board of Labor Berlin (Charité and Vivantes), Chair of the Biopharmaceutical CEOs Roundtable (BCR), and President of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA), both since 2025. He was also elected to the Board of Directors of Chugai Pharmaceutical in Japan in 2025. He studied genetics in Salzburg, Austria, and earned a PhD in molecular biology from New York University.

Patrick Zhong is the Founding Managing Partner of M31 Capital and has over 20 years of experience in venture capital, private equity, buyout and public equity across diverse industries. Prior to founding M31, he served as Chief Investment Officer at Wanda Group, leading investments in technology & media, consumer and financial services. He was previously Senior Managing Director and Global Partner at Fosun Group. Zhong also led Fosun Lifestyle Brands, chaired Fosun Media Group and Forbes China, and earlier invested at Wellington Management, backing Tencent, Baidu, Alibaba and other major tech firms.

Tytti Tuppurainen has been a Member of the Finnish Parliament since 2011 and serves as Leader of the Social Democratic Parliamentary Group. She previously held national office as Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering from 2019 to 2023, following earlier roles including Second Deputy Chairperson of Parliament’s Grand Committee on EU Affairs. Before entering parliament, she worked in research and project management at the Oulu University of Applied Sciences. She has also held numerous leadership positions across regional, political and civil-society organisations. Tytti Tuppurainen holds a Master’s degree in Philosophy from the University of Oulu.

Carsten Maschmeyer is a German entrepreneur, investor and author, and the founder of the Maschmeyer Group, ALSTIN Capital and seed + speed Ventures. He is widely known as an investor on the German entrepreneurship TV show Die Höhle der Löwen since 2016. Maschmeyer began his career at OVB Vermögensberatung, where he rose to become a regional director, before acquiring a majority stake in AWD and shaping the development of independent financial advisory services in Germany. He later served on the Board of Directors of Swiss Life until 2011. He is also the author of several bestselling books and maintains a portfolio of more than 140 startup investments across Europe and the United States.

Prof. Christoph Heusgen is the former Chairman of the Munich Security Conference (MSC), a position he held from 2022 until the conclusion of the 61st Munich Security Conference in 2025. Before assuming that role, he served as Permanent Representative of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United Nations in New York from 2017 to 2021, chairing the UN Security Council in April 2019 and July 2020. From 2005 to 2017, Ambassador Heusgen advised Chancellor Angela Merkel on foreign and security policy and led the Foreign Policy Department of the Federal Chancellery as Director General. From 1999 to 2005, he headed the political staff of Javier Solana, then High Representative for the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy. Earlier in his career, he served as Head of the Europe Division at the Federal Foreign Office (1997–1999), following his role in the ministerial office of Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel (1993–1997). In 1988, he was appointed Personal Assistant to the Coordinator for Franco-German Cooperation, after previous postings at the German Consulate in Chicago and the German Embassy in Paris. Ambassador Heusgen joined the German Foreign Service in 1980. He studied at the University of St.Gallen, Georgia Southern College in the United States, and the Sorbonne in Paris, earning his doctorate at the University of St.Gallen, where he is an honorary professor and currently teaches political science. In addition to his academic and diplomatic work, he serves as Conference Chairperson of the St. Gallen Symposium, fostering crossgenerational dialogue on leadership and global responsibility.

Dr. Steven A. Altman is Director of the DHL Initiative on Globalization and Senior Research Scholar at the Center for the Future of Management at NYU Stern. The DHL Initiative fosters research on globalization, cross-border strategy, and international management. In his role, he leads research on globalization and global strategy, teaches courses like Global Strategy, and publishes academic work in international business. He holds a B.S. in Economics (Wharton), an MBA (Harvard Business School), an MPA (Harvard Kennedy School), and a PhD in International Business & Strategy (University of Reading).

Martin Blessing has served as the Foreign Investment Commissioner of the Federal Government of Germany since 2025, acting as the government’s key representative for promoting and managing international investment in Germany. He also serves as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Danske Bank A/S (since 2022). He also serves on several advisory boards, including the fintech firm Unzer Group GmbH. From 2016 to 2019, he held senior leadership roles at UBS. Between 2008 and 2016, he was CEO of Commerzbank AG, where he guided the bank through its post-crisis restructuring and return to profitability. He holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of St. Gallen and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Sabrina Soussan is a member of the Board of Directors of Henkel and Continental. She served as Chairman and CEO of SUEZ and was a member of the Board of Directors at Boeing until 2025. Prior to these roles, she was CEO of dormakaba and held senior leadership positions at Siemens, including serving as CEO of Siemens Mobility. She has also previously served on the Boards of ITT Inc. and Schaeffler and is engaged in various industry associations, including the French Business Confederation (MEDEF). Ms Soussan holds a degree in Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering from ENSMA and an MBA from the University of Poitiers. We are delighted that she also serves on the Board of Trustees of the St. Gallen Symposium.

Prof. Scott D. Anthony is a Clinical Professor of Strategy at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and a Senior Advisor at Innosight. At Dartmouth, his research and teaching focus on the adaptive challenges of disruptive change. Harvard Business Review Press will release Scott’s ninth book Epic Disruptions: 11 Innovations That Shaped Our Modern World on September 16, 2025. Before joining the Tuck School of Business, Prof. Anthony spent over 20 years at Innosight, a growth strategy consultancy founded by Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen. He became a Senior Advisor in 2024 after serving as Managing Director of Innosight Consulting Asia-Pacific from 2009 to 2022, where he built out Innosight's presence in the region. Additionally, between 2012 and 2018, he served two terms as Global Managing Partner, a period during which Innosight doubled its global business, expanded to Europe, and was acquired by Huron. An internationally recognized expert and dynamic keynote speaker on navigating disruptive change, Scott has been at the forefront of strategic transformation. He has helped major global organizations navigate tumultuous changes, held board roles at public and private companies, delivered keynote addresses on six continents, and worked closely with CEOs at numerous global organizations. He holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Dartmouth College, an MBA from Harvard Business School, and an Executive Master in Change (EMC) from INSEAD.

Jessica Anderen is the CEO of the IKEA Foundation, an independent philanthropy focused on tackling poverty and climate change. With more than 30 years of experience across IKEA’s global value chain, she has held senior leadership roles in Sweden, India, Singapore, China and Australia. Before joining the Foundation, she served as CEO and Chief Sustainability Officer of IKEA Switzerland, following earlier positions including Global Market Support Manager, Deputy Country Manager at IKEA Retail Sweden, and Trading Area Manager for South Asia. She has served on the boards of companies, universities and social organisations, and has acted as a senior adviser and coach to Inter IKEA’s Social Entrepreneurship programme, with an academic background in economics from Sweden.

Prof. Zhang Jun is Dean of the School of Economics at Fudan University and Director of the China Center for Economic Research as well as the Fudan-Ping An Macroeconomic Research Center. He is a senior professor in Fudan’s Faculty of Liberal Arts and a recipient of several national talent programs and the State Council special allowance. His research focuses on China’s structural change and economic reform. Prof. Zhang has published around 200 academic papers and more than ten books. He received the China Economic Theory Innovation Award in 2015 and the ACES Bergson Prize in 2018. He holds BA, MA, and PhD degrees in Economics from Fudan University.

Egils Levits served as the President of Latvia from 2019 to 2023. From 1989 to 1991, President Levits participated in the restoration of Latvia. Later in the 1990s, he represented the Republic of Latvia as an Ambassador to Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Hungary. He also held positions as the Minister for Foreign Affairs and served as a Conciliator at the Court of Conciliation and Arbitration within the OSCE. Between 1995 and 2004, President Levits served as a judge at the European Court of Human Rights, followed by a tenure as a judge at the European Court of Justice from 2004 to 2019. He is a graduate in law and political science from the University of Hamburg and has co-authored significant draft laws, including the Law on the Constitutional Court of Latvia and the Law on the Structure of the Cabinet of Ministers.

Gerald Knaus is the founding chairman of the European Stability Initiative (ESI), a Berlin-based think tank working on democracy, migration, human rights, and European stability. He was closely involved in shaping the EU-Turkey Statement on Migration (2016), a landmark in European migration policy, and his work at ESI also helped uncover the “Caviar Diplomacy” corruption scandal at the Council of Europe in 2017. Alongside his role at ESI, he is a regular lecturer on Southeast Europe at the NATO Defence College in Rome and has held fellowships at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna. His books include Can Intervention Work? (2011, with Rory Stewart), the Spiegel bestseller Welche Grenzen brauchen wir? (2020), Wir und die Flüchtlinge (2022), and most recently Welches Europa brauchen wir? (2025, with Francesca Knaus) on Europe’s future and the challenge of defending democracy against authoritarian threats. Born in Austria in 1970, he studied in Oxford, Brussels, and Bologna, and lives in Berlin.

Benedetta Berti has served as Secretary General of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. From 2018 to 2025, Benedetta Berti directed Policy Planning in the Office of the NATO Secretary General. She serves as a Visiting Professor at the College of Europe and has held fellowships at the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). She has been recognized as a TED Senior Fellow and an Eisenhower Global Fellow. She holds a PhD and an MA in International Security Studies from The Fletcher School at Tufts University, and a BA in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Bologna.

Prince Michael of Liechtenstein is the founder and chairman of Geopolitical Intelligence Services AG, the publisher of Der Pragmaticus, and a co-founder of the International Institute of Longevity and the Longevity Center. He also serves as Executive Chairman of Industrie- und Finanzkontor Ets., a leading Liechtenstein trust company specialising in long-term, multi-generational preservation of wealth, family values and businesses. Previously, he worked for Nestlé SA in controlling, marketing and management across European and African markets from 1978 to 1987, having held earlier roles with banks and manufacturing firms in Canada, the United States and Belgium. He is a member of various professional organisations, including STEP, and serves as Chairman of the European Center of Austrian Economics Foundation. He holds a master’s degree in business administration from the Vienna University of Economics and Business.

Dr. Paul Morland is an author and broadcaster who writes and speaks about population and major demographic trends worldwide, past and present. He is the author of four books: No One Left, Tomorrow’s People, The Human Tide and Demographic Engineering translated into nine languages. He has contributed to and been featured in outlets such as the Financial Times, Sunday Times, Telegraph, Toronto Globe and Mail, Der Spiegel and the Jerusalem Post, and has broadcast on BBC Radio 4. Morland is an Associate Research Fellow at Birkbeck, University of London and a Senior Member of St Antony’s College, Oxford. He holds a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) and MPhil in International Relations from the University of Oxford, and a PhD in Demography and Population Studies from Birkbeck / University of London.

Prof. Martin Kocher is Governor of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank and member of the ECB Governing Council since September 2025. He held the positions of Austrian Federal Minister of Labor from 2021 to 2022 and Federal Minster of Labor and the Economy from 2022 to March 2025. Previously, he was Scientific Director of the Vienna Institute for Advanced Studies, President of the Fiscal Advisory Council and Chairman of the Statistics Council. He is Full Professor of Economics at the University of Vienna and has held academic positions at universities in Munich, East Anglia, Amsterdam, Göteborg, Brisbane and Innsbruck, where he obtained his doctorate.

Kai Diekmann co-founded Storymachine in 2017 after leaving Springer-Verlag, building it into a prominent communications platform. He later established Der Zukunftsfonds, a digital asset management company. He is the Chairman of the German Friends Association of the Israeli Holocaust Memorial Yad Vashem. For 15 years, he served as Editor-in-Chief of Germany’s largest circulated newspaper, BILD, with a daily circulation of over one million copies. From 2010 to 2022, Mr. Diekmann held the position of Non-Executive Director at Times Newspaper Holdings Limited, contributing to its strategic oversight.

Prof. Sun Xuefeng is Professor and Executive Deputy Dean at Tsinghua University’s Institute of International Relations and serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Chinese Journal of International Politics (Oxford University Press). He previously chaired the department until 2018. His work focuses on China’s foreign policy, East Asian regional dynamics, and broader theoretical debates. He is the author of numerous books and articles, including Dilemma of China’s Rise and International Legitimacy and Transformation of China’s Neighborhood Policy. Since 2011, he has also served as a board member of the International Journal of Diplomacy and Economy. He holds a B.A. and M.A. from the Institute of International Relations and a Ph.D. from Tsinghua University.

Michael Bröcker is Editor-in-Chief of Table.Media since January 2024. Table.Media is a Berlin-based media company producing professional briefings for decision-makers. Previously, he was Editor-in-Chief of The Pioneer and the Rheinische Post. Bröcker sits on the board of the International Journalists’ Programmes (IJP) and jury panels for ajor media awards. He was named “Regional Editor-in-Chief of the Year” in 2017 and won a Lead Award in 2018. He studied economics at the University of Cologne.

Dr. Mo Ibrahim is the Founder and Chair of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, which he established in 2006 to strengthen good governance and exceptional leadership across the African continent. He also serves as the Founding Chairman of Satya Capital Limited, a private investment firm focused primarily on Africa, and is the Co-founder and Co-chair of the Africa Europe Foundation. Prior to establishing the Foundation, he built a distinguished business career, founding Mobile Systems International in 1989, a world-leading cellular consulting and software provider, and later launching Celtel International in 1998, one of Africa’s pioneering mobile telecommunications companies. Dr Ibrahim has received numerous honorary degrees and fellowships from leading universities, including Oxford University, Imperial College London and the University of Pennsylvania. He holds a PhD from the University of Birmingham in mobile communications.

Prof. Richard David Precht is a German philosopher, author, television host, and podcaster. He remains Honorary Professor of Philosophy and Aesthetics at Hanns Eisler University of Music in Berlin, and until October 2023 served as Honorary Professor of Philosophy at Leuphana University of Lüneburg. His 2007 bestselling book “Who am I? And if so, how many?” was translated into 40 languages. Since 2012 he has been the host of the philosophy television series “Precht” on German TV channel ZDF and, since 2021, part of the popular podcast “Lanz & Precht” with journalist and talkshow-moderator Markus Lanz. Prof. Precht discusses current societal and political questions on both his television show and podcast. He holds a PhD in German literature from the University of Cologne.

Dr. Elizabeth F. Churchill is Professor and founding Department Chair of Human-Computer Interaction at MBZUAI (Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence) in Abu Dhabi, UAE. She was formerly Senior Director of User Experience at Google, where she built and led research teams after leadership roles at eBay, Yahoo, PARC and FujiXerox. She is an ACM Fellow, member of the CHI Academy, and an ACM Distinguished Speaker, with a background spanning psychology, artificial intelligence and cognitive science. She has held top elected offices in the Association for Computing Machinery, including Executive Vice President and Secretary/Treasurer, and currently co-edits ACM’s interactions magazine. Her honors include the CITRIS Athena Executive Leadership Award (2016), the SIGCHI Lifetime Service Award (2023) and the SIGCHI Lifetime Practice Award (2024). She earned a PhD from the University of Cambridge and holds honorary doctorates from the Universities of Sussex and Stockholm.

Dr. Manfred Lütz is a German psychiatrist, psychotherapist, Roman Catholic theologian, Vatican advisor and bestselling author. From 1997 to 2019, he served as Chief Physician of the Alexianer Hospital in Cologne, a leading clinic for psychiatry, psychotherapy and neurology. There he founded the “Alexianer Therapy Forum” and helped shape modern psychiatric care. Previously, he worked as senior physician in several psychiatric hospitals and specialized in neurology, psychiatry and psychotherapy. Lütz is a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life and has advised various Vatican dicasteries. He has received awards such as the Corine Literature Prize and was named Knight of the Order of St. Gregory in 2010. He studied medicine, philosophy and Catholic theology in Bonn and Rome.

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Lars P. Feld has been Director of the Walter Eucken Institute and holds the Chair of Economic Policy and Ordinal Economics at the University of Freiburg since 2010. His research focuses on economic policy, public finance, new political economy, and the economic analysis of law. Before that, he studied economics at the University of Saarland, earned his doctorate in 1999 and his habilitation in 2002 at the University of St. Gallen, and held professorships in Marburg and Heidelberg. In 2017 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Lucerne and was awarded the Gustav-Stolper Prize in 2021. Since 2003 he has served on the Scientific Advisory Board of the German Federal Ministry of Finance and has contributed to several government commissions on fiscal and financial reform.

Martin Wolf has been Associate Editor and Chief Economics Commentator at the Financial Times in London since 1996. He joined the Financial Times in 1987 after serving as Director of the Trade Policy Research Centre in London. From 1971 to 1981, he worked at the World Bank, where he became Senior Economist in 1974. His distinguished commentary has earned him numerous accolades, including the Gerald Loeb Lifetime Achievement Award, the Overseas Press Club prize for international reporting and the Ludwig Erhard Prize. He has received honorary doctorates from leading institutions including the London School of Economics, KU Leuven and Macquarie University, and is an honorary fellow of several Oxford colleges and King’s College London. He holds a master’s degree in economics from Nuffield College, Oxford, and was appointed CBE in 2000.

Prof. Rüdiger Bachmann is Professor of Economics at the University of Michigan’s Department of Economics. In his role, he conducts research and teaches courses in macroeconomics, focusing on heterogeneous agents, uncertainty, and expectation formation. Previously, he held professorships at Notre Dame, Goethe University / SAFE in Frankfurt, RWTH Aachen, and was Assistant Professor at Michigan. Bachmann is also a member of the editorial board of Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik and is a member of the macroeconomics committee of the German Economic Association. He has advised the German federal government and members of parliament on a number of occasions. He earned undergraduate degrees in Economics and Philosophy from Mainz University and obtained his PhD in Economics from Yale University.

Veit Dengler is a Member of Austria’s National Council, representing the state of Styria and serving as spokesman for foreign affairs, Austrians abroad, and dual education. He is also Founder and Managing Partner of Draw.Solutions, a Zurich-based advisory firm focused on strategy, growth, and corporate transformation, and a Member of the Market Advisory Board of Chain IQ Group. Previously, he was COO of Bauer Media Group and CEO of NZZ Mediengruppe, following senior roles at Groupon, Dell, T-Mobile, and McKinsey & Company. He began his career as a journalist with Time Inc. Mr. Dengler holds an MPA in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School and a Magister in Commerce from the Vienna University of Business and Economics.

Philipp Peyman-Engel has served as Editor-in-Chief of the weekly newspaper Jüdische Allgemeine since September 2023. Jüdische Allgemeine is Germany’s leading nationwide Jewish weekly, published in Berlin by the Central Council of Jews in Germany. In his role, he leads the newsroom and public voice of the paper amid intensified debate on antisemitism and Middle East coverage. Honours include “Editor-in-Chief of the Year” and the Ricarda-Huch Prize for Essay Writing. He studied philosophy and literature/media practice in Bochum and Duisburg.

Sebastian Ramspeck has been working for Swiss Television SRF as an international correspondent and host of the foreign affairs magazine "#SRFglobal" since 2020. He covers events such as meetings of the UN and NATO and regularly appears as an expert on global political issues. Mr Ramspeck studied international relations in Geneva, European law in Zurich, and is a graduate of the Henri-Nannen School of Journalism in Hamburg. He began his professional career in federal administration, initially at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) and later in a security policy staff unit of the Federal Council. As a journalist, Mr Ramspeck worked for various media outlets at home and abroad, including "Der Spiegel" and "Sonntagszeitung". He has been with SRF since 2012, initially as a reporter and from 2014 to 2020 as a correspondent in Brussels.

Prof. Dr. Michael Hüther has been Director and Member of the Presidium of the German Economic Institute since July 2004. He studied economics as well as medieval and modern history at the Justus-Liebig University in Giessen. Upon completion of his doctorate in economics, in 1991 he became a member of the scientific staff of the Council of Experts for the Evaluation of Macroeconomic Development. In 1995 he was appointed Secretary General of the German Council of Economic Advisers. In 1999, he joined DekaBank as chief economist and in 2001 additionally as Division Manger economics and communication. Since August 2001 Prof. Hüther is Honorary Professor at the EBS Business School in Oestrich-Winkel and since April 2019 Prof. Hüther is chair of the supervisory board of TÜV Rheinland AG. He has held multiple appointments as Gerda Henkel Adjunct Professor in the Department of German Studies at Stanford University, CA, USA.

Dietmar Grichnik has served as Vice-President for Innovation & Quality at the University of St. Gallen (HSG) since 2024. He is also Full Professor of Entrepreneurship and Technology Management and Director of the University’s Institute of Technology Management (ITEM). Earlier in his career, he completed a banking apprenticeship and worked in banking before moving into academia; he held professorships at the Universities of Witten/Herdecke and WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management before joining HSG in 2010. He is active as an investor and startup mentor, serves on boards such as Switzerland Innovation, and supports entrepreneurial initiatives through the HSG Center for Entrepreneurship. He holds a Dr. rer. pol. (PhD) in Business Administration and Business Education from the University of Cologne.

Nico Luchsinger has been Executive Director of Asia Society Switzerland since 2021. Asia Society Switzerland is an independent foundation fostering Asia competence and dialogue between Switzerland and Asia within the global Asia Society network. Luchsinger oversees strategy, programming and flagship events such as the STATE OF ASIA conference and the TOY Senior Fellowship. Previously, he was Co-Executive Director and Head of Programming, co-founded the global entrepreneurial community Sandbox, and worked as journalist at Neue Zürcher Zeitung and as Head of business development at Swiss startup Mila. He holds a master’s in history and economics from the University of Zurich.

Mehreen Khan is the Economics Editor for The Times of London. Her coverage focuses on the global and UK economy, geopolitics, and financial markets. Mehreen writes a weekly column and is a regular contributor to the BBC and Times Radio. She was the EU correspondent for the Financial Times in Brussels between 2017-2022.

Prof. Wu is Professor and Dean, Institute of International Studies, and Director, Center for American Studies, Fudan University. He teaches and researches China’s foreign and security policy, Sino-U.S. relations, and U.S. Asia-Pacific policy. He authored Dollar Diplomacy and Major Powers in China, 1909-1913 (1997), Turbulent Water: US Asia-Pacific Security Strategy in the Post-Cold War Era (2006), Managing Crisis and Sustaining Peace between China and the United States (2008), The New Landscape in Sino-U.S. Relations in the Early 21st Century (2011), and co-authored Asia-Pacific Regional Order in Transformation (2013) and China and the Asia-Pacific Chess Game (2017). His work appeared in International Affairs, The Washington Quarterly, Journal of Contemporary China, Contemporary Southeast Asia, Asian Survey as well as Chinese journals in China. He also contributed chapters to volumes from Stanford, Columbia, Oxford, and Georgetown University Press. Prof. Wu is on the editorial board of The Washington Quarterly, European Journal of International Security, and International Affairs. He was a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Geopolitical Risk (Vice-Chair 2012-13, Chair 2013-14) and on its Global Agenda Council on Geo-economics (2015-16). He is currently on the Advisory Council of Asia Society Policy Institute and a member of The Trilateral Commission. Prof. Wu entered Fudan University in 1982, received his B.A. in history in 1986 and Ph.D. in international relations in 1992. He then joined the Center for American Studies. In 1994, he spent a year at George Washington University as visiting scholar. In 1997, he was visiting fellow at Stanford’s Asia-Pacific Research Center and the Henry Stimson Center, Washington DC. From Jan–Aug 2000, he was Visiting Fellow at Brookings Institution. From Sep 2006–Jul 2007, he was Jennings Randolph Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace.

Dr. Christian Mumenthaler was Group Chief Executive Officer of Swiss Re from 2016 to 2024, having joined the company in 1999 and subsequently held senior roles including Group Chief Risk Officer, Head of Life & Health, and CEO Reinsurance after starting his career at Boston Consulting Group. Since 2025, he has served as a Non-Executive Director on MetLife’s Board. MetLife is a leading global insurance company providing life, health, and retirement products. He also chaired The Geneva Association (2021–2024) and serves on the Board of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (since 2025). He has been recognized as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and was included in the “Top 100 Climate Leaders in Business 2023.” He holds a PhD in Physics from ETH Zurich.

Prof. Johannes Schöning is Professor of Computer Science at the University of St. Gallen, where he leads the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) group. At the University of St. Gallen, he heads research, teaching and innovation in HCI, geoinformatics and user interfaces. Previously he was Professor at the University of Bremen, where he founded the Bremen HCI research group under a Lichtenberg Professorship. He has also held visiting or affiliated positions at Hasselt University (Belgium), UCL (UK) and Portugal’s Interactive Technologies Institute (I-TI). He earned his PhD in Computer Science from Saarland University (2010).

Prof. Eri Bertsou has been an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of St. Gallen since 2022. At the School of Economics and Political Science, she leads the Swiss National Science Foundation project “Varieties of Expertise” on public demand for independent experts in democratic politics. Previously, she was a Senior Researcher in Comparative Politics at the University of Zurich. She also serves as an Associate Member of the Electoral Psychology Observatory at the London School of Economics and as an Associate Researcher at the European University Institute. She received her PhD in Government from the London School of Economics.

Prof. Damian Borth is Director of the Institute of Computer Science at the University of St. Gallen, where he holds a professorship in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. His research focuses on large-scale machine learning and the analysis of multi-modal data streams to enable trustworthy and accountable applications of deep neural networks. Previously, he was the founding director of the Deep Learning Competence Center at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence in Kaiserslautern and Principal Investigator of the NVIDIA AI Lab at DFKI. His work has received several awards, including recognition at NVIDIA GTC Europe, the ACM ICMR Best Paper Award and the McKinsey Business Technology Award. Prof. Borth serves on multiple boards and advisory committees in the fields of data science and AI. He conducted postdoctoral research at the International Computer Science Institute in Berkeley and earned his PhD from the University of Kaiserslautern and the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence, including a visiting research stay at Columbia University.

Dr. Florian Feltes is the CEO and Co-founder of Zortify, where he has spent over five years advancing AI-driven HR diagnostics to support HR professionals in talent selection, development, and team dynamics. His work focuses on equipping organisations with the tools needed to drive people-centred success. In addition, he serves as Professor of Digital HR and Leadership at XU University in Potsdam, where he mentors future leaders and innovators. Mr Feltes is the author of Revolution? Yes, please! When Old-School Leadership Meets New-Work Leadership, a book examining the transformation of leadership cultures towards change, diversity, and empowerment. He holds a PhD in the science of education from the University of Luxembourg

Rachele Focardi is the Founder of XYZ@Work and has been a leading global voice on generational diversity and the future of work for over two decades. XYZ@Work supports organizations in leveraging multigenerational collaboration to drive innovation and inclusion. In her current role, she advises companies, governments, and universities worldwide and pioneered DUO, a two-way generational exchange model. Previously, she served as Chief Strategy Officer at Universum and began her career as an anchor and international correspondent for CFN–CNBC. She chairs the Multigenerational Workforce Committee at AHDO, lectures for Duke Executive Education, Emeritus, and USI, is a MENSA member, and is the author of Reframing Generational Stereotypes. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Public Affairs from the University of Texas at Austin.

Axel Threlfall is Editor-at-Large at Reuters, based in London. Alongside his editorial duties, he hosts high-profile engagements and thought leadership events for, and on behalf of, Reuters and Thomson Reuters. He was previously Lead European Anchor for Reuters Digital Video. Prior to joining Reuters, Axel spent five years as an anchor for CNBC in London. Before that, he was an editor and reporter with The Wall Street Journal in New York, and a news reporter for Bloomberg in London. He has also advised businesses and NGOs on their dealings with international media. He holds a BA in History from Durham University and a postgraduate degree in journalism from City University of London.

Daniel Gerlach is Editor-in-Chief of zenith magazine and Director General of the Candid Foundation, a Berlin-based think-and-do tank promoting dialogue and projects across the Middle East and North Africa. He co-founded zenith in 1999, the publishing house Deutscher Levante Verlag in 2008, and the consulting group ZENITH COUNCIL in 2013. A historian and journalist by training, he has written for FAZ, Die Welt, Spiegel Online and brand eins, and directed documentaries on Middle Eastern affairs. Gerlach studied History and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Hamburg and the Sorbonne (Paris IV), earning a Magister Artium and a Licence d’histoire.

Sabine Rennefanz is a German journalist and author, and formerly long-time political reporter at Berliner Zeitung. At Berliner Zeitung, she led the domestic affairs desk, worked as London correspondent, and produced award-winning reports and essays. Additionally, she writes for Der Spiegel and Tagesspiegel, and contributes a regular column “Neue Heimatkunde.” She has received several awards, including the Theodor-Wolff Prize, the German Reporter Prize, and the Goldener Prometheus. Sabine holds a degree in Political Science from the University of Hamburg, she also studied at the Free University of Berlin earlier.

Dr. Emil Kendziorra has been Founder & CEO of Tomorrow Bio since 2020. Tomorrow Bio is a European biostasis (cryopreservation) company providing human cryopreservation and advancing cryomedicine. As CEO, he drives R&D and European infrastructure for standby, transport, and long-term storage and chairs the European Biostasis Foundation. He is also Founding Partner of Lightcone Capital, Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Life Summit/Longevity Partners, and serves on advisory boards such as Product People. Previously he founded and led tech and medical ventures including Medlanes (exit to ZAVA) and onFeedback (exit to QuestionPro). He holds an Doctor of Medicine from the University of Göttingen.

Dr. Wolfgang Gründinger is Chief Evangelist at Enpal, a leading European solar company, since 2021. Enpal offers solar rental and purchase solutions enabling private households to drive the energy transition. In his role, he shapes Enpal’s public positioning across politics, media, and society. Previously, he served as Communications & Strategic Partnerships Lead at the Cyber Innovation Hub of the German Armed Forces, as Policy Advisor for Digital Transformation at the German Association for the Digital Economy (BVDW), and as Spokesperson and Board Member at the Foundation for the Rights of Future Generations. He is also engaged with the Club of Rome, the World Economic Forum, and Scientists for Future. Dr. Gründinger holds a PhD in Political Science from Humboldt University of Berlin.

Amir is an entrepreneurial ecosystem builder: helping governments, corporations & universities to leverage entrepreneurship / innovation towards economic & business growth. Early-on, Amir led Global Go-to-Market for Israeli startups that aspired for global leadership. Starting in 2012, Amir took a Global Partnerships role at MassChallenge, co-founding MassChallenge Israel, MassChallenge Switzerland and other global partnerships. Amirs domain focus is Deep-Tech, and global ecosystem focus is Israel, US/Boston, Switzerland & Melbourne (AUS).

Prof. Gudrun Sander is a Professor of Business Administration and Senior Lecturer with a special emphasis on Diversity Management. She is currently the Director of the Competence Centre for Diversity, Disability and Inclusion (CCDI) and the Institute for International Management and Diversity Management (IIDM) at the University of St.Gallen. For the past three decades, she has been committed to inclusion and equity in research, practice, teaching, and further education. Prof. Sander initiated the St.Gallen Diversity Benchmarking and the Gender Intelligence Report, and launched the management training “Aiming Higher: Karriereentwicklung für Assistenzärztinnen.” She is a speaker in executive education, particularly in company-specific workshops and training sessions on topics such as Unconscious Bias and Inclusive Leadership. In addition to her work at HSG, Prof. Sander is a member of the Women’s Empowerment Principles Leadership Group (WEPs LG) of UN Women and the UN Global Compact, as well as the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) Working Group for Gender Equality. She earned her PhD from the University of St.Gallen.

Justus Bender is a leading German political journalist with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, widely recognized for his in-depth coverage and analysis of Germany’s party politics, particularly the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) and the transformation of the political landscape over the past decade. With more than 15 years of experience in political reporting, his work combines rigorous research with sharp analytical insight, making him one of the country’s most respected voices on Germany’s shift towards right-wing populism. Mr. Bender is the author of acclaimed books on this topic, frequently cited in both academic and political debates. His reporting and commentary have significantly shaped public understanding of political extremism, parliamentary dynamics, and the challenges facing liberal democracy in Europe. In addition, he is a sought-after commentator on television and panel discussions, where he provides expertise on electoral politics, party structures, and ideological divides.

Stephen Cornish has served as General Director of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders, MSF) Operational Center in Geneva since 2020. During more than ten years of field experience, Mr Cornish managed several major MSF humanitarian interventions in contexts such as Chechnya, Sierra Leone, Georgia, and Peru. He has successfully negotiated humanitarian access to vulnerable populations in conflict settings across the globe and has played a lead role resolving aid-worker abduction crises and other emergencies. From 2008 to 2012, Mr Cornish sat on the board of directors of MSF Canada, before serving as their Executive Director from 2012 to 2017. He also worked with the Canadian Red Cross as manager of programs for countries in armed conflict, for CARE Canada as a policy and advocacy advisor, and for other international organisations with a focus on humanitarian and environmental issues. Mr Cornish holds a Master’s degree in global risk and crisis management from the Université Panthéon Sorbonne in Paris and a post-graduate diploma in conflict resolution from the University of Bradford.

Damita Pressl is an award-winning journalist, moderator and public speaking trainer. Born and raised in Vienna, she worked as a news anchor and TV host on Austrian national television before moving to Zurich to join the renowned Neue Zürcher Zeitung. She has shared the stage with personalities ranging from Ursula von der Leyen to Jane Goodall, she works in English, German and French and is available as an MC or moderator for conferences and panels in Europe and beyond.

Prof. Salvador Santino Regilme is Associate Professor and Program Chair of International Relations at the Institute for History, Leiden University. An interdisciplinary scholar of international relations and human rights, his expertise focuses on the politics of foreign aid and development, international human rights, and transformations in the global order, with particular attention to the United States, the Global Majority, and transnational authoritarian practices. He has held research fellowships at the Macmillan Center of Yale University, the Center for Global Cooperation Research at Universität Duisburg-Essen, the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity’s Comparative Constitutionalism Group, and the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in Amsterdam. His scholarship has been recognized by major international academic associations, and his forthcoming book, "United States and Chinese Foreign Assistance and Diplomacy: Aid for Dominance" (Manchester University Press, 2026), is co-authored with Obert Hodzi. He received his PhD in Political Science and North American Studies from the Freie Universität Berlin and previously studied at Yale University, Universität Osnabrück, and De La Salle University–Manila.