On this podcast you will hear from inspirational individuals all around the world, who are translating the global goals into actions everyone can take and who are shaping a new global narrative
Podcast Guests
Rhea Mazumdar Singhal
Rhea Mazumdar Singhal is the Founder and CEO of Ecoware, India’s first and largest sustainable packaging company. Rhea was awarded the Nari Shakti Puraskar, the highest civilian honour for women by the President of India. Rhea is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader (2018) and an Asia 21 Young Leader (2019). Rhea is an invited member of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) National Committee on Women Empowerment and CII India CEO Forum on Air Pollution; she is also the Chairperson for the Indian Women Network for North India.
Thomas Udesen
Thomas leads the dynamic Procurement function at Bayer, the global Life Science company. “Health for all, hunger for none" is Bayer’s vision and the guiding principle for Thomas and his leadership team. Procurement is determined to ignite Bayer’s external partners, to enable profitable and sustainable growth benefiting patients, farmers and consumers around the world. Procurement’s value add is not limited to financials, but includes crucial levers like innovation and new business models. Moreover, his team contributes to safeguarding the reputation of Bayer by unconditional adherence to the principles of sustainability, with proactive risk management and by ensuring compliance. Sustainability is a matter close to Thomas’ heart, inspiring and driving him way beyond his Bayer duties. With the Sustainable Procurement Pledge #SPP, Thomas has privately co-founded this initiative. He strives to activate #SPP Ambassadors around the globe to drive a much-needed change towards responsible behavior and sustainable decision-making across supply chains. At Bayer, Thomas reports directly to the CFO. His team of around 1,500 professionals manages an annual spend of ~€21 billion.
Sophie Le Ray
Sophie Le Ray is the Co-Founder of EVE List, a global platform dedicated to connecting and equipping rising professional women and support organisations aiming at reaching gender parity in senior management. She is also the co-founder of Naseba, a business information company specialised in supporting enterprise development in emerging markets, company which Sophie led as CEO for over a decade. Sophie also is the founder and spokesperson for the WIL Economic Forum, the first platform for businesswomen leaders in the Middle East and Asia.
Peter Fusaro
Peter Fusaro is Partner in AVG Group Limited a Norwegian private equity fund focused on ESG and Impact investing taking Norwegian technology out of Norway to global markets in clean energy, food and water. Peter has worked on sustainability in academia, government and business since 1975, and is the author of 17 books on energy and the environment.
H.E. Hussain Al Mahmoudi
H.E. Hussain Al Mahmoudi is the CEO of Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park, an organization mandated to develop and manage an innovation ecosystem that promotes research and development and supports enterprise activities, utilizing the triple helix collaboration of industry, government, and academia.
Sanjeev Gupta
Sanjeev Gupta is the Financial Services Executive Director as well as Member of the Board of Directors at Africa Finance Corporation, a multilateral finance institution which acts as the catalyst of private sector led infrastructure investment across multiple African countries. Sanjeev has over three decades of experience in Strategy, Corporate Finance and M&A across Africa, MENA and India and also serves on multiple advisory boards, such as Invest Africa, Africa Pledge and Common Purpose UK.
Eva Ramos
Eva Ramos is the Director of Environmental Analysis and Economics at Policy and Planning Sector of the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi where she is leading initiatives meant to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation. Eva has over two decades since she started to lead projects centered around sustainability, working on driving a positive social and environmental impact with businesses, governments, multilateral organizations and private foundations around the world.
Dr. Raed Bkayrat
Dr. Raed Bkayrat is Senior Advisor with the Apricum Group and Founder of Sunergy Advisory and has over two decades of international experience in the energy sector, having worked with multinational corporations as well as technology start-ups and R&D organizations. He is the author of several referenced papers and holds several patents around energy conversion. Dr. Bkayrat is also a co-founder and mentor of several tech based startup companies and is passionate advocate for decarbonization and the clean tech industry.
Borna Scognamiglio
Borna Scognamiglio is the CEO and Co-Founder of Pixis, a web platform for college and career guidance, empowered by data visualization and artificial intelligence. Besides leading Pixis, Borna is also the Vice-President of EdTech France and a member of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Youth Network.
Reem Al Franji
Reem Al Franji is the Founder of Habaybna, an online resource and support platform focused on Arabic content related to developmental disabilities and which aims to facilitate the inclusion of people with developmental disabilities in the MENA region and beyond.
Siddharth Hande
Siddharth Hande is the Founder and CEO of Kabadiwalla Connect, a waste management company based in Chennai, India, which provides decentralized waste collection and processing solutions for cities in the developing world by leveraging the informal waste ecosystem.
John Oroko
John Oroko is the Co-Founder and CEO of Selina Wamucii, a Pan-African social enterprise that integrates smallholder farmers, pastoralists and fishing communities into local and global supply chains. One of Selina Wamucii’s key focus areas is to address rural poverty and contribute to sustainable growth of Africa’s agriculture. John is passionate about using innovation and entrepreneurship to steer transformative social impact.
Carolina Medina
Carolina Medina is the Founder of Consultoria Carolina Medina, a Colombia-based consulting company, which focuses on technology as an enabler of sustainable development. Carolina is also part of the Expo Live's Global Innovators community through her former social enterprise, Agruppa. Agruppa had as foundation leveraging mobile phone technology
to empower small food vendors in low income neighborhoods by providing them with fruits and vegetables at wholesale prices.
Noha Hefny
Noha Hefny is the Co-Founder of She is Arab, the first dedicated speakers' platform for Arab women in the world, which has as purpose advancing gender equality and women empowerment. Noha’s career path revolves around social impact, from the humanitarian space to corporate social responsibility initiatives.
Samar Alshorafa
Samar Alshorafa is the Co-Founder of She is Arab, the first dedicated speakers' platform for Arab women in the world, which aims to reverse stereotypes about Arab women and advance gender equality. Samar’s passion for making a difference translated into her pursuing a journey in the humanitarian space while still supporting her family business.
Yousuf Caires
Yousuf Caires is the Senior Vice President of Expo Live, an Expo 2020 Dubai initiative. Expo Live is an innovation grant programme meant to accelerate social innovation and share inspirational content during Expo 2020. Besides this, Yousuf is also the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Milele Zanzibar Foundation, focusing on developing grassroots programs in education, health and livelihood.
Zahara Malik
Zahara Malik is the CEO and Co-Founder of Grosvenor Capital, an organization focused on impact investment and steering private wealth towards building a sustainable legacy. Zahara is also heading the GCC Steering Committee of Football for Peace, a youth sports movement, established in 2006 at the UN by the late Kofi Annan and FIFA Chilean legend Elias Figueroa.
Gary Stahl
Gary Stahl is the Director of Private Fundraising and Partnerships at UNICEF, an organization to which he has dedicated the past 25 years. Based in Geneva, Gary is leading projects which maximize private income to UNICEF through fundraising and partnerships and manages the strategic relationship with 34 National Committees in industrialized countries.
Sophie Smith
Sophie Smith is the Co-Founder and CEO of Nabta Health, a hybrid healthcare platform for women, which empowers them to efficiently manage their health. Following a career in the corporate world, Sophie has founded several businesses, all having at their core impact through technology.
Richad Soundardjee
Richad has been Group Chief Regional Officer for Société Générale in the Middle East since 2013. He was previously Head of Global Capital Markets, overseeing the CEEMEA region for Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking.
Jumana Abu-Hannoud
Jumana is the Managing Director for the Gulf Area of SOS Children’s Villages, an international organization supporting children who have lost parental care. Social impact is at the core of all initiatives Jumana is leading, and she is also a Founding Partner of Reach, a non-profit organization that focuses on unlocking women’s potential through structured mentoring.
Helen Al Uzaizi
Saeed Al Abbar
Saeed Al Abbar is the Managing Director and Co-Founder of AESG, a specialist consultancy and commissioning firm, as well as the Chairman of the Emirates Green Building Council and a Board Member of the World Green Building Council. In his roles, Saeed works in promoting the advancement of sustainable buildings in the MENA region.
Assia Riccio-Smith
Assia Riccio-Smith is the Founder of Evolvin’ Women, a social enterprise that supports organisations in the UAE achieve a greater level of diversity and inclusion by providing career opportunities and skills development programs for unemployed women from rural areas and less privileged economic backgrounds.
Mahmoud AlBurai
Mahmoud is a Senior Advisor to Dubai Land Department, the Chairman and Founder of Middle East Sustainable Development Institute and offers strategic advice to many other networks and organizations through his board or committee roles. His work revolves around sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals and their applicability in and contribution to sustainable cities and communities.
Sunil Lalvani
Sunil is the Founder and CEO of Project Maji, a non-profit organization which operates across small villages in Ghana and Kenya and delivers sustainable access to clean water via smart-solar technology. He is also the Founder & President of the International Federation of Skate Soccer and supports Binatone Lifestyle through his Non-Executive Director role.
Helen Al Uzaizi
Helen Al Uzaizi is the CEO of BizWorld, a social enterprise which drives youth empowerment by teaching children entrepreneurship skills. She is an advocate for social development and is also providing strategic advice through her non-executive roles with PACES Charity and SEP Jordan.
Mariam Farag
Mariam Farag is leading the CSR program at MBC Group, responsible for driving the group’s corporate responsibility vision and strategy in the region and globally. She also provides strategic advice to other organizations through her board participation with Injaz Al Arab, Education for Employment, Marwa Fayed Toy Run Foundation, SOS Villages.