2024 Young Leaders Seminar Participants

Directory

French & American Young Leaders

Alice Albizzati
Founder, Revaia
French Young Leader 2023

Alice Albizzati is co-founder of Revaia, an investment company specializing in responsible innovation. She invests in European growth-stage companies with global ambitions and sustainable leadership, helping them to develop through to IPO or buyout.

Alice has 12 years’ investment experience, dedicated to financing and monitoring over 30 companies in Europe and the United States. Before setting up Revaia, Alice worked́ as an investor with Verlinvest in New York, a family-owned investment company specializing in the growth sector, and with the private equity platforms LBO France and Bpifrance.

She is a member of the boards of Deepki, Hublo and the École Polytechnique alumni association.

Alice’s investment expertise and leadership qualities have been recognized by the industry. She has been named one of Private Equity International’s “40 Under 40”, one of French Tech’s “Personalities of 2021”, and one of EU-Startups’ “100 Most Influential Women in Tech 2023”. Alice is a regular speaker at major venture capital and technology events, such as Vivatech, where she shares her expertise in responsible investment and entrepreneurship.

A graduate of Ecole Polytechnique in Paris and Bocconi university in Milan, Alice also studied́ at McGill University in Montreal.

Lyes Boudechiche
Head of Programs, CANAL+

Head, Studio Bagel
French Young Leader 2023

After graduating from Sciences Po Paris and starting his career in the print media, Lyes Boudechiche began working as a producer with the industry’s leading production companies (Bangumi, Fremantle, Endemol-Shine, Banijay, BBC Studios…) in 2007. In September 2019, Lyes Boudechiche was named head of STUDIO BAGEL, and head of programs of CANAL+ in September 2022.

Johanna Brousse
Deputy Prosecutor, Head of Cybercrime Unit, Paris Prosecutor’s Office
French Young Leader 2024

Johanna BROUSSE is a 1st grade magistrate. After graduating from the National School for the Judiciary (class of 2010), she worked as a deputy prosecutor for the Attorney General of the PARIS Court of Appeal, then as a deputy prosecutor at the Paris Judicial Court. She joined the cybercrime unit in September 2017 and took over leadership from September 2020. This section has national jurisdiction in the fight against cybercrime. It is part of the National Jurisdiction against organized crime (JUNALCO), attached to the Paris prosecutor’s office.

Johanna BROUSSE is also regularly involved in training activities, notably with the National School for the Judiciary (ENM – Co-director of cybercrime training sessions), the IHEDN, the Paris Bar School (EFB), the Universities of Paris (Paris I and Paris II) and Sciences Po Paris. She has also worked as an international expert in the fight against cybercrime (Council of Europe, ENM DI, Expertise France).

Johanna Brousse was awarded knighthood in the National Order of Merit in 2024.

Vincent Bryant
CEO & Co-Founder, Deepki
French Young Leader 2023

Vincent Bryant is CEO and Cofounder of Deepki. His passion for energy goes all the way back to his early professional days. Vincent began his career with an energy consulting firm, before spending eight years at ENGIE as Energy Efficiency Director. In 2014 he created Deepki with Emmanuel Blanchet, driven by their shared vision: using data to make real estate more sustainable.

Henri Buffeteau
French Foreign Legion officer, Army Office of the French Secretary of Defense
French Young Leader 2023

MAJ Henri BUFFETEAU graduated from Saint-Cyr military academy in 2010 and from the French Infantry School in 2011. He served as a platoon leader and combat company commander in the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment of the French Foreign Legion, based in Corsica. He then served with the Joint Staff in Paris at the Center for Planning and Operations before becoming the Military Assistant to the Senior National Representative with the US Central Command, or USCENTCOM, in Tampa, Florida. He has also been deployed in Jordan and in the Central African Republic. He is a graduate of the French Ecole de Guerre – Terre, where he wrote a thesis about hybrid warfare online with the Rand Corporation in Washington D.C., and is also a graduate from the French Ecole de Guerre. He is currently working in the Office of the French Secretary of Defense, dealing with operations and international relations.

Marguerite Cazeneuve
Deputy Director, French Public Health Insurance System
French Young Leader 2024

Marguerite Cazeneuve is Deputy Director of the French national health insurance system. This major institution employs 85,000 staff and manages €250 billion of public expenditure (i.e. 80% of the healthcare sector, which represents 12% of GDP in France). In this capacity, Marguerite oversees all the institution’s public policies: risk management, health protection, public health, access to care and innovation. She is particularly committed to driving the triple shift in the healthcare system: preventive, ecological and digital.

She previously spent five years in ministerial cabinets, first as advisor on social finance issues to the Minister of Finance, then on the whole field of social protection, solidarity and health to the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister. In this capacity, she managed the COVID-19 crisis on behalf of the government.

Marguerite Cazeneuve regularly appears in the media (press, radio, TV), at conferences and major events on her areas of expertise: the healthcare system and social protection. She is selected by the newspaper Le Parisien “10 french women on the front line” (2022) and is in the Choiseul 100 ranking (2024).

Marguerite began her career with McKinsey & Company. She left the private sector for the public sector at the end of a project for the French Ministry of Health, during which she was spotted.

Marguerite is a graduate of HEC Paris, where she was President of the Students’ Bureau.

Alexandre Chenesseau
Managing Director, CMD Global Partners, LLC
U.S. Young Leader 2024

Alex is a Managing Director at CMD Global Partners, LLC, a boutique investment bank headquartered in Chicago. He is based in New York and focuses on advising clients on mergers, acquisitions and strategic transactions in the Interactive Media, Consumer and Technology sectors globally.

Alex previously served as a Managing Director at Evercore in New York, responsible for advising North American and European clients on cross-border transactions in Asia. Prior to Evercore, Alex spent the first decade of his career at Lazard in the firm’s Paris, Beijing and New York offices. He worked in Beijing between 2011 and 2016, and contributed to the establishment of Lazard’s Greater China investment banking practice during the most active years for Chinese cross-border investment. In addition to working with Chinese private, state-owned and publicly-traded companies, he advised both foreign Fortune 500 companies and SMEs on their China market-entry strategy, acquisitions, joint ventures and capital raising transactions. He has been a frequent speaker on the topic of China’s financial system and cross-border investments. More recently, he served as a Vice President in Lazard’s Technology, Media and Telecom group in the firm’s New York office.

Alex has served in several leadership and board roles for non-profit organizations. In Beijing, he co-founded a local think tank which hosted debates and published reports on topics including entrepreneurship and innovation systems in China. Alex is a founding member of the French-American Foundation’s Transatlantic Forum. He was recognized by the Asia Society in New York as an Asia 21 Next Generation Fellow, and serves on the organization’s “Dragon & Eagle” US-China Rising Leaders Council. Alex also serves as a Term Member at the Council on Foreign Relations and is a member of the Aspen Institute’s French chapter.  He is an American and French national, and an alumnus of Sciences Po Paris and Harvard Business School.

Pierre-Olivier Chotard
General Secretary of the Interministerial Committee for Industrial Restructuring (CIRI)
Deputy assistant director in charge of corporate financing, Treasury Department – Ministry of Finance
French Young Leader 2024

Born in 1984, Pierre-Olivier CHOTARD, a senior civil officer, currently serves as General Secretary of the Interministerial Committee for Industrial Restructuring (CIRI), deputy assistant director in charge of corporate financing at the French Treasury.

A graduate of ENA (“Marie Curie” class), HEC Paris (2010) and Université de Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne (Master 2 in public law, 2010), Pierre-Olivier dedicated his professional career to serving the French State, developing strong economic and financial skills in the public sector, at national, European and international levels.

He began his career with the French Ministry of Finance, first at the French Treasury in the European Affairs Sub-Directorate (2013-2015), before joining the Agence des participations de l’Etat (APE – French government shareholding agency) as a portfolio manager, in charge of Alstom, public media companies (France Télévisions, Radio France, Arte, France Médias Monde) and government investments in the real estate sector (2015-2017).

After an experience in Washington D.C. at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group as Alternate Executive Director for France (2017-2020), Pierre-Olivier was appointed Head of Unit at French Treasury in 2020, in charge of the regulation of banking products and services, means of payment, cryptoassets and the digital euro project.

Vivek Chilukuri
Senior Fellow & Director, Technology and National Security Program
U.S. Young Leader 2024

Vivek Chilukuri is the Senior Fellow and Program Director of the Technology and National Security Program at CNAS. His work focuses on the responsible development and deployment of artificial intelligence; U.S. technology leadership; and the intersection of technology, democracy, and geopolitics.

Before joining CNAS, Chilukuri served as a senior staff member for Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO), a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Chilukuri served as Bennet’s Senior Policy Advisor for Technology and Democracy, Deputy Chief of Staff, Legislative Director, and Chief Speechwriter. During his tenure on Capitol Hill, Chilukuri worked on legislation to strengthen America’s technology competitiveness, promote responsible governance for digital platforms and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, and expand access to high-speed broadband through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Previously, Chilukuri served in the Department of State as a Policy Advisor to the Undersecretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, and as a Program Officer on the Middle East and North Africa team at the National Democratic Institute.

Chilukuri has published articles in TIME, Lawfare, Nikkei Asia, and The Messenger, and his analysis and commentary have been featured in The New York Times, NPR, BBC News, CBC News, and Business Insider.

Chilukuri received an MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School and a BA in international studies from UNC-Chapel Hill, where he graduated as a Robertson Scholar.

Thomas Clozel
CEO and Co-Founder, OWKIN Inc.
French Young Leader 2023

Thomas is an oncologist trained in Paris and NYC. After his assistant professorship at Henri Mondor Hospital, Thomas co-founded OWKIN, the first Franco-American unicorn in AI for medical research, supported by numerous funds including Google Ventures and Sanofi. OWKIN aims to recreate a pharmaceutical industry augmented with artificial intelligence, using a platform that access highly curated patient data from more than 30 of the largest academic hospitals in the world. OWKIN is a pioneer in generative AI technologies for biology enabling new medical breakthrough, and federated learning to train algorithms on distributed medical data in a privacy preserving setting. A mid-level tennis player, Thomas is passionate about nothing but curious about just about everything, and defines his culture as peripheral, being able to talk about medicine like household gadgets, the latest album from The National, or discuss books he hasn’t read yet.

Vilas Dhar
President, Patrick J. McGovern Foundation
U.S. Young Leader 2023

Vilas Dhar is an inspiring voice of hope and engagement for an AI-enabled, human-centered future. As a philanthropist, technologist, and scholar, Vilas advocates for an equity-based approach to designing products and policies that create a thriving, sustainable, and equitable world. He serves as President and Trustee of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, AI policy expert to multiple global institutions including the OECD and the Global Partnership on AI, an Expert on the UN Secretary General’s High-Level Advisory Board on Artificial Intelligence, and a noted lecturer and author on AI, ethics, and philanthropy.

Melissa Dombrock
Colonel, United States Air Force
U.S. Young Leader 2023

Melissa L. Dombrock is a career military officer, leader, scholar, pilot, foreign affairs specialist and leadership coach. As a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force, her 19+ years of military service spans the duty locations of Colorado, Oklahoma, California, Washington State, France, Germany and Morocco. Her service includes more than 2800 hours of global operational experience and 930 hours of combat experience flying the C-17, C-21, C-37, T-1 and T-6 mobility aircraft, with multiple deployments in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom and Deep Freeze. Melissa also has unique staff experience at senior levels; she’s served directly for two consecutive Commanders of United States Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa, as well as Commanded the 76th Airlift Squadron at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. She also represents and volunteers with the Department of Defense Women’s Initiatives Team, actuating change and stimulating progress in policy. Additionally, Melissa is a Leadership Coach and is passionate about authentic leadership, fostering relationships and inspiring others to seek and maximize their potential.

Melissa earned a double B.S. in Foreign Area Studies and Humanities from the U.S. Air Force Academy and a M.A. in International Relations from the Naval Postgraduate School. She also earned an Executive Master in Leadership and Project Management from the Université Internationale de Rabat, Morocco while as an Olmsted Scholar. As of June 2023, Melissa is a graduated Senior Fellow of the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

Melissa currently works at the United States Africa Command Headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany. She serves as the Lead Future Operations Planner for the West Africa region. It has been a busy year!

Melissa is an avid traveler and enjoys adventures, including with her husband, Ryan Dombrock, a 10-year U.S. Air Force Special Forces Veteran, and their two children, Kellen (5.5 years) and Chloé (2.5 years).

Tatyana Franck
President, L’Alliance New York
U.S. Young Leader 2023

Tatyana Franck became President of L’Alliance New York on March 1, 2022, and was excitedly welcomed by the Board of Trustees and the L’Alliance team for her strong leadership, global strategic vision, and participatory management style which will help grow the institution into an international leader in French education and francophone culture in the new digital landscape.

Franck was previously the Director of the Museum Photo Elysée in Lausanne, Switzerland for seven years, where she oversaw a critically acclaimed $108M new construction. She also enriched the museum’s collections, formed exciting new partnerships for local and community engagement, and implemented a new digital strategy to expand the museum’s international reach. Before Photo Elysée, Franck was Director of the Claude Picasso Archives in Paris and Geneva, and oversaw many important collections including of modern and contemporary art, design, and the David Douglas Duncan photographic Archives. Franck attended Columbia Business School’s Executive MBA Program in Asia, London and NYC; after receiving an MA in Business Law and a double major in Law and Art History & Archeology from the Université Paris – Panthéon/Sorbonne.

Franck is involved in the cultural policy of several renowned institutions and holds various honorary positions in France, Switzerland and abroad. Franck currently sits on several boards, including the Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation in Paris (Treasurer), Fondation Art Explora in Paris, and Fondation du Jeu de Paume in Paris. She is also the respected curator of numerous international exhibitions including Jan Groover: Laboratory of Forms; Charlie Chaplin: A Vision; Hybrids – The Body as the Imaginary; The Beauty of Lines: Masterpieces from the Gilman and Gonzales-Falla Collection; Nicolas Savary: Conquistador; Unfamiliar Familiarities: Outside Views on Switzerland; The Memory of the Future: Photographic Dialogues between Past, Present and Future; Picasso at Work, Through the Lens of David Douglas Duncan; and La Part Animale.

Aisha Fukushima
Keynote Speaker, Singer, Cultural Strategist
U.S. Young Leader 2023

AISHA FUKUSHIMA is a Performance Lecturer, Justice Strategist, Singer/Songwriter, and RAPtivist (rap activist). Fukushima founded RAPtivism (Rap Activism), a hip hop project spanning 20 countries and four continents, amplifying universal efforts for freedom and justice. She is a multilingual, multiracial African American Japanese woman who has done lectures and performances everywhere from the United States to France, Morocco, Japan, Germany, England, South Africa, Senegal, India, Denmark and beyond. Fukushima’s ‘RAPtivism’ work has been featured on Oprah Magazine, TEDx, KQED Public Television, The Seattle Times, TV 2M Morocco, The Bangalore Mirror, HYPE, South Africa’s #1 Hip Hop Magazine, and Tour highlights include performing for audiences of over 20,000 people in Nepal, speaking with the President of Estonia about the power of music to create change, and sharing stages with the likes of Bernie Sanders, Angela Davis, Emory Douglas (Black Panthers), KRS-One, Herbie Hancock, Christian McBride, The Isley Brothers, and M1 (Dead Prez). As a public speaker, Aisha combines the art of performance and lecture. In my keynotes she links themes such as hip hop, global citizenship, empowerment, feminism and cultural activism through storytelling as well as live musical performance.

Michael Greenwald
Global Head, Financial Innovation and Executive Relations, Amazon Web Services
U.S. Young Leader 2024

Michael is a seasoned executive with a proven track record of delivering exceptional results and spearheading transformative initiatives at global companies and the highest levels of the U.S. Government. He has a demonstrated ability to oversee complex projects; manage diverse stakeholders; shape strategic, revenue-driving initiatives; and earn trust with the highest levels in the private and public sectors by forging strategic and mutually beneficial partnerships. Michael has had success in pushing past the status-quo and leading high-performing teams working at the intersection of emerging technologies and national security.

Michael is the Global Head of Financial Innovation and Digital Assets at Amazon Web Services (AWS). He also heads up Global Executive Relations pioneering thought-leadership and driving the company’s innovation narrative through strategic marketing and PR initiatives on artificial intelligence for the Worldwide Public Sector Business. He is responsible for working with the U.S. Government (USG) and international governments to incorporate cloud computing into their systems as well as drive responsible technology innovation and implementation within the public sector market. With his expertise in global economies from his time in government, Michael has successfully deepened Amazon’s global reach by helping to shape AWS’ business strategy in target overseas markets such as Europe, Middle East, Latin America, and Australia driving significant international growth and engagement for its growing business.

Additionally, in 2023, Michael was appointed by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to represent Amazon on the CFTC’s Technology Advisory Committee. He helps the CFTC carry out its mission of fostering open, transparent, competitive, and financially sound markets and examining the impact and implications of technological innovation in the financial services, derivatives, and commodity markets. He co-authored an Amazon publication titled: The convergence of artificial intelligence and digital assets: A new dawn for financial infrastructure.

Before joining Amazon, Michael made significant contributions to the global and domestic growth of global asset management firm AlTi Global, where he held various senior leadership positions and helped oversee the growth of the firm from $12 billion to $50 billion assets under management. Michael was a managing director leading Digital Asset Education and was Chief Geopolitical Risk Officer for the firm.

Prior to AlTi Global, Michael worked for the U.S. Treasury Department for almost a decade. Michael made significant national security contributions to the U.S. Treasury, where he served in senior policy and intelligence roles in Europe and Africa under two presidential administrations and three Treasury Secretaries culminating with becoming the first U.S. Treasury attaché to Qatar and Kuwait.  Michael built the first U.S. Treasury office in Qatar and Kuwait acting as the principal financial diplomat to the banking sectors in those nations.

He is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council as well as Center for New American Security, Deputy Director of the Trilateral Commission, member of the Bretton Woods Committee, and senior advisor to Wharton Cypher Accelerator. He was previously a fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center where he published over 50 articles. He has held adjunct teaching roles at the Columbia University School of International Affairs (SIPA) and at the Boston University Pardee School of Global Studies. In 2024, he was admitted into the French-America Foundation’s Young Leaders Program for his work on growing the bilateral relationship between France and America while serving in government and at Amazon.

He is a graduate of Harvard Business School, has a Juris Doctor graduate from Boston University School of Law, a Master’s graduate from Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, and a B.A. from George Washington University where he played Division I Squash. Raised in Brookline, Massachusetts, he lives in Palm Beach, Florida with his wife Nolan and served on the Board of The Town of Palm Beach Investment Committee. He was honored by Palm Beach Illustrated as one of the city’s 100 most influential business leaders in 2021.

Isis Jaraud-Darnault
Diplomat, Political Coordinator – Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations
French Young Leader 2024

As a State Administrator and career Diplomat for over 15 years, Isis Jaraud-Darnault is Minister Counselor and has been serving as Political Coordinator at the French Permanent  Mission to the United Nations since September 2022. She works on international crises being dealt at the United Nations Security Council and defends France’s positions in that context.

Previously, she was advisor for Global Affairs, international organizations and Latin America in the Private Office of the Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Mr. Jean-Yves Le Drian, from 2020 to 2022.

Her areas of expertise are Asia (Political Advisor at the French Embassy in China from 2015 to 2019) and multilateral affairs (First Secretary at the Permanent Representation of France to the United Nations from 2011 to 2015). She was also Deputy Head of the Department in charge of scientific and cultural cooperation between France and other countries (2019-2020).

Isis Jaraud-Darnault is a graduate of the Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po) and the Paris School of Commerce (ESCP). She also holds a master’s degree in law (Sorbonne) and a degree in Mandarin from the National Institute of Oriental Languages ​​and Civilizations (INALCO).

Passionate about foreign languages, Isis speaks fluently Mandarin and is learning Russian. Married and mother of three children, she swims regularly and has participated in several championships.

Yosra Jarraya
Co-Founder & CEO, Astran
French Young Leader 2023

Yosra is the co-founder and CEO of Astran, a software company enabling data confidentiality in the cloud. Previously, she was a corporate lawyer with Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP and then a director in an international group based in France.

In addition to leading Astran, Yosra has a strong involvement with the French government and US organizations on cybersecurity, trust in AI and digital sovereignty matters.

Yosra is also a proud member of SISTA, an NGO that aims at reducing the financing gap between women and men entrepreneurs.

Jamal Jiva
Managing Director, Linedata Asset Management
French Young Leader 2024

Jamil Jiva is the Managing Director of Linedata Asset Management.

Linedata is an international fintech company listed on NYSE-Euronext Paris dedicated to serving financial institutions.

Jamil’s mission encompasses driving the Group’s global development and growth. Jamil plays a pivotal role in Linedata’s acquisition strategy, evidenced by the recent acquisitions of French AI startup DreamQuark and the Portuguese company Audaxys.

Leveraging his experience gained in France and North America, Jamil now leads a team of over 400 professionals across 15 countries at Linedata. In collaboration with its customers, Linedata is at the forefront of shaping the future of finance by harnessing cutting-edge technologies to enhance strategic decision-making in investment, financing, and risk assessment.

Jamil is a key player for Linedata’s commitment to innovation. He strengthens strategic partnerships, notably with MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), invigorates the internal startup program and enriches the ecosystem of customers and partners.

Jamil believes in driving initiatives with significant environmental and social impact. He promotes diversity and inclusion in the workplace, supports access to education in disadvantaged areas, and advocates for sustainable finance through technological innovation.

Jamil holds a degree in computer engineering and a Master’s from ESSEC Business School and Queen’s University in Canada. He is also a graduate of Harvard Business School.

Adam Jones
Managing Director, Redesign Health
U.S. Young Leader 2023

Adam currently serves as Managing Director at Redesign Health, a healthcare venture builder that has launched 70+ healthcare businesses, served 15M+ patients, and raised $1.3Bn+. Adam is focused on building Redesign’s global business. Prior to Redesign, he was Chief of Staff at Pie Insurance, a growth stage InsurTech focused on providing affordable small business insurance; the COO and VP of Datawallet, an early stage, blockchain-based, data privacy platform; and worked in the Investment Banking Division at Morgan Stanley, where he advised global healthcare clients on M&A, debt and equity raises, and leveraged buyouts.

Adam began his career as an officer in the United States Navy, and served in Japan, Iraq, the Pentagon and White House. He holds a BS in Economics from the United States Naval Academy, MA in Global Security Studies from Johns Hopkins, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He’s passionate about foreign affairs, entrepreneurship, and investment, and loves spending time with his wife Angela, sons Winston and Wyatt, and rescue chihuahuas Tim and Molly.

Alexandra Jousset
Director & Producer, CAPA Presse
French Young Leader 2022

After graduating in international law from Panthéon-Assas University and Sciences-Po Paris, Alexandra Jousset became a documentary filmmaker 12 years ago. Twice finalist for the Albert Londres prize in 2017 and 2020, for an investigation into the trafficking of Filipinos housekeepers “Maids”, and a film on the return of the Taliban to power “Afghans, sacrificed in the name of peace”, she has directed numerous geopolitical investigations and collaborated mainly with France Television and ARTE. She received the “young” prize at the FIGRA festival for her investigation “War crimes dealers” and her latest film, “Wagner: Putin’s shadow army” received the FIGRA festival Grand prix in 2022, it has also been selected for numerous festivals. In January 2022, in addition to her work as a journalist and long feature director, Alexandra has become a producer within the CAPA press agency, where she develops international investigations for French public channels and platforms. Alexandra is a graduate of the IHEDN (72nd class Defense Policy) and also directed a short film #illusion broadcast on Cine+, itunes/apple US and selected in six festivals (including the Miami film Festival).

Ariane Komorn
Co-Founder & CEO, La Solive
French Young Leader 2024

Ariane Komorn is the co-founder and CEO of La Solive, a mission-driven company that tackles one of the biggest challenges of energy transition: the massive shortage of skilled workers in building retrofit. Since 2021, La Solive has deployed reskilling programmes that have enabled over 700 people to start a new career in building retrofit. With great traction and very rapid growth, the company plans to train thousands of people every year across 12 campuses by 2026.

Before La Solive, Ariane was Director of engagement at La République En Marche, with the mission to make politics accessible to everyone. With her team, she created an online platform that sponsored 700 local projects, developed community organizing programs in poor areas, recruited and trained 1000 people with no political background to run for local government elections.

Prior to that, she managed strategy and transformation projects at McKinsey & Company in Europe and Africa.

Ariane holds degrees from the École Normale Supérieure, Sciences Po Paris, and also studied at Columbia University.

Beyond her professional career, Ariane has performed in theatre groups for years and is passionate about mountain sports. She is the mother of 2 young kids.

Jean-Christophe Lambert
CEO, Ascendance Flight Technologies
French Young Leader 2023

Jean-Christophe holds an engineering degree and a joint Master’s in Business and Project Management from HEC & ISAE Supaero. He has more than 12 years’ experience in the aerospace and defence industries, including 9 years at Airbus, in business development and as a Bid Manager, Team Manager and Chief of staff before becoming fully involved in the development of sustainable aviation. In 2014 he joined the E-Fan team to lead the historic Channel crossing project and was then appointed as E-Fan 2.0 Programme Manager. It made him aware of the impact of electric and hybrid technologies in aviation and the scale of the challenges to be met on all issues related to their certification, industrialization and sales.

Jean-Christophe has been the CEO of Ascendance Flight Technologies since 2018, developing solutions for a cleaner and more sustainable aviation including both eVTOL aircraft and hybrid-electric propulsion technologies.

He was recently awarded the High Five Award by the European CleanSky program, which recognizes 5 personalities in the aeronautics industry working to make the industry more sustainable.

Lindsey Laveaux
Senior Trial Attorney, New York County Defender Services
U.S. Young Leader 2024

Lindsey Laveaux is Senior Trial Attorney with New York County Defender Services where she has represented hundreds of individuals in criminal and supreme courts of New York County, NY. Previously, as Staff Attorney with CAMBA Legal Services, she represented clients facing eviction in civil court of Kings County, NY. She was a Human Rights Advocacy Fellow with MADRE in New York, NY, drafting memoranda and interacting with UN bodies to advance international human rights law, with a focus on LGBTQIA+ rights and women’s rights in Latin America and the Caribbean. As an Ella Baker Fellow in the Rape Accountability and Prevention Project at the Center for Constitutional Rights, Lindsey led efforts in grassroots advocacy and direct client representation to combat gender-based violence, housing insecurity, and public health concerns in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Her client-centered approach reinforces her focus on providing the best legal representation to underserved populations ill-equipped to navigate the legal system whether in the United States or abroad.

Through volunteering, Lindsey is committed to giving a platform to voices with unique perspectives. She currently co-chairs the Criminal Law Committee of the New York Women’s Bar Association and founded the creation of affinity groups at New York County Defender Services.

Prior to becoming an attorney, Lindsey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Bafang, Cameroon where she taught English to francophone children at a government-funded secondary school. Lindsey’s short story about her experience teaching in Central Africa, Monday Morning, Cameroon, is published in The Places We’ve Been: Field Reports from Travelers Under 35.

Lindsey holds a JD from University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, MA in International Studies with a focus in French from the Lauder Institute at The Wharton School and University of Pennsylvania, and BS in Culture and Communication Studies from New York University. In her downtime, Lindsey enjoys watching Bravo TV, collecting gold jewelry, and spending time with family and friends.

Elise Lavielle
Subprefect, Deputy-Head of the Cabinet of the Paris Police Prefect
French Young Leader 2023

Elise Lavielle is a high-ranking official, currently deputy-head of the cabinet of the Paris Police Prefect since June 2022. She has spent most of her career with the French Ministry for Internal Affairs, which she joined in 2013 as technical advisor for crime prevention and radicalization in the office of the Police Prefect. Appointed subprefect, head of the cabinet of the prefect of the Lorraine Region in 2014, she then joined the Public Liberties and Legal Affairs Department as deputy to the deputy director of administrative policing from 2016. From 2018 to 2020, Elise Lavielle is deputy director of internships at the Ecole nationale d’administration. Before taking up her current position, she was head of the office for the management of the prefectoral corps and senior civil servants at the Department of Modernization and Territorial Administration of Ministry for Internal Affairs from 2020 to 2022.

A graduate of the Ecole normale supérieure, the Ecole Nationale d’Administration (“Marie Curie” class) and Sciences Po, Elise Lavielle also specialized in German at the University of Paris IV Sorbonne and in Indonesian language and civilization at Inalco. This specialization led her to engage in several experiences in Indonesia.

Elise Lavielle is married and the mother of three and, in parallel with her professional activities, is a keen runner (marathon).

Katherine Maher
President & CEO, National Public Radio (NPR)
U.S. Young Leader 2024

Katherine Maher is the President and CEO of National Public Radio. She’s an experienced executive leading public interest institutions through technological disruption and strategic transformation, recently in areas of information and media, good governance and democracy, civil and human rights, international development and foreign policy.

Prior to joining NPR, Maher was CEO of Web Summit and served on its Board of Directors. She also worked for five years as CEO of the Wikimedia Foundation, responsible for the success of Wikipedia, one of the world’s most popular digital platforms. She led Wikipedia to its highest brand trust since its founding, navigating the misinformation crisis and global trust decline in media, while doubling the Foundation’s fundraising and raising Wikimedia’s first endowment. Before Wikimedia, Maher worked on rights, democracy, and innovation at Access Now, the World Bank, the National Democratic Institute and UNICEF.

Maher is the Chair of the Board of Signal Foundation, responsible for the secure, private Signal Messenger app, a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council for democracy and technology, a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, and a security fellow at the Truman National Security Project; and from 2022 to 2024 served as an advisor to the U.S. Secretary of State’s Foreign Affairs Policy Board regarding issues of technology, governance and human rights. She serves on the boards of the Center for Democracy and Technology, Consumer Reports, Adventure Scientists and the Digital Public Library of America. She is also a trustee of the American University of Beirut.

She graduated magna cum laude from New York University with a degree in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies after studying at the Arabic Language Institute of the American University in Cairo, Egypt, and the French Institute of Arab Studies in Damascus, Syria.

Sophie Marchessou
Chief Customer Officer, Mirakl
French Young Leader 2023

Sophie Marchessou is Chief Customer Officer at Mirakl, a French marketplace technology company. She supports Mirakl customers globally to launch and grow their marketplaces and is responsible for the revenues associated. As a member of the Mirakl management team, she also shapes the broader growth strategy of the company and its international expansion.

Before moving to the e-commerce and scale up sector, Sophie was a partner at McKinsey&Company in New York, where she worked with retail, beauty and fashion clients.

Sophie graduated from HEC, Paris in 2006, and also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School (2011). She is on the board of Harvard Business School France and runs their New Venture competition for Europe, an annual business plan contest. She is married to an American citizen and has three children.

She enjoys biking, hiking and playing the piano.

Sarah Martin
Major, United States Army
U.S. Young Leader 2023

Sarah Martin leaves the United States Army this year after fifteen years of service. She began her Army career as part of the groundbreaking wave of women to command in ground combat, leading a platoon in the 2/506th Infantry Battalion of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in Afghanistan from 2010 to 2011, during which she earned the Bronze Star and Combat Action Badge. She later commanded a company of advanced linguists at the Defense Language Institute, led a Department of Defense Persian-Farsi language program, and taught Economics at West Point.

Her service as a field grade officer included two years collaborating with the French and other partner militaries at École de Guerre-Terre and École de Guerre in Paris, France. Her research and analytical work have focused on how open-source information is disrupting traditional military intelligence and diplomacy, as well as the advantages of artificial intelligence in weaponry and warfare.

Recently, she served as a Military Fellow with McKinsey & Company and will transition to a career in the private sector next year.

Sarah holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the United States Military Academy (West Point), a Master of Science in Operations Research from the Naval Postgraduate School, and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Sarah is an enthusiastic traveler and avid outdoorswoman. She enjoys fly-fishing and some of her favorite treks have been in France, to include the GR10 in the Pyrenees and thru-hiking the GR20 in Corsica.

François Miguet
Senior Reporter, Le Point
French Young Leader 2024

François Miguet is a senior reporter in the economics department of Le Point, France’s leading newsmagazine. He specializes in long, exclusive investigations of major companies (Moderna, Blackstone, Société Générale, ASML, CMA CGM, Disney…) or macroeconomic issues (public debt, China’s slowdown, India’s rise, Singapore’s new role in world finance, the issue of metals in Africa…). As well as portraits and interviews with leading executives and academics. A former member of the editorial teams at Capital magazine and France 2, he is a graduate of Université Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas (law and political science degrees) and Sciences Po Paris (École de Journalisme, class of 2011). He is also treasurer of the Association des journalistes économiques et financiers (AJEF) and a member of the jury for the Prix du livre d’économie.

Thomas Moatti
Sovereign Advisory Group, Lazard Frères
French Young Leader 2024

Thomas Moatti is a director in Lazard’s Sovereign Advisory Group. He joined Lazard in 2011. Between 2011 and 2017, Thomas worked closely with the governments of Greece (2012) and Ukraine (2015) on their sovereign debt restructuring exercises. He has also advised numerous governments in Africa, Latin America and the Middle East on the implementation of economic reforms and financing strategies. Still at Lazard, Thomas currently advises the governments of Zambia, Ghana, Sri Lanka and Cyprus.

Between 2019 and 2022, Thomas was responsible for “special situations” at Pharo, a €12bn asset management company specialized in emerging countries.

Thomas is passionate about political and international economy. He had the opportunity to teach macroeconomics at Harvard with Professor Jeffrey Frankel and he obtained the the Dean’s Award for excellence in Student Teaching.

Thomas is involved in charitable associations in the field of tennis, a sport he played at a high competitive level in his youth.

Thomas is a graduate of the Ecole des Ponts Paristech, the Paris School of Economics and the Harvard Kennedy School.

Yoann Mulot
Lieutenant-Colonel, French Army
French Young Leader 2024

Yoann Mulot is a lieutenant-colonel in the Army. At 39, he is the head of the operations division of the Army special forces command.

With an early career as a high-level athlete on the French national judo team, Yoann joined the army and rose through the ranks internally, on merit. He graduated top of his cohorte from the École militaire interarmes at the Saint-Cyr military academy in 2011, from the École de guerre in 2024. In 2023, he was selected to participate in a program focusing on deepening the understanding of transatlantic relations.

His operational experience, marked by a uniq intensity, has seen him leading special operations in major battles against terrorism since 2015. Today, he designs the operational doctrine for the Army special forces in new conflict zones, integrating cyberspace, informational fields, and partnerships with allied countries for the next decade.

A man of conviction, he is personally invested in strengthening ties between armed forces and citizens, particularly through youth commitment. He also works towards bridging the gap between civilian and military leaders for the development of sovereign technologies within the association La Place Stratégique.

Married and a father of three, Yoann Mulot embodies a spirit of service and a constant commitment to a shared future.

Christian Osmeña
Vice President for Enterprise Planning, Arizona State University
U.S. Young Leader 2024

Christian Osmeña is vice president for enterprise planning at Arizona State University, where he guides the development and execution of plans that advance the ASU Public Enterprise. He is also a professor of practice in ASU’s Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions and the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College.

Before joining ASU, Osmeña served for more than a decade as a leader in California state government. He was a vice chancellor for the California Community Colleges, the largest system of higher education in the United States. Earlier, he worked as an analyst and then principal analyst at the California Department of Finance, where he focused on education issues for most of his tenure. He also served in the Office of the Governor of California as the assistant to the Governor’s chief of staff and as a deputy cabinet secretary.

Osmeña is currently a trustee and chairperson of the board of trustees of California College, a member of the Arizona Early Childhood Development and Health Board, and the City of Phoenix Audit Committee. He was a member of the board of the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, then known as UC Hastings.

He is a past participant in the United States-Spain Council’s Young Leaders Program, the Filipino Young Leaders Program, the Flinn-Brown Fellowship, the Pahara Fellowship, and the California Education Policy Fellowship. He is a Millennium Fellow at the Atlantic Council, a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network, and a member of the Phoenix Committee on Foreign Relations.

Osmeña earned a doctorate in education from the University of California, Davis, a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Southern California, and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California, Berkeley. He is a student at ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.

Stéphanie Oueda-Cruz
Global Vice-President, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging, Tiffany & Co.
U.S. Young Leader 2024

Stéphanie Oueda-Cruz currently serves as the Global Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at  Tiffany & Co, leading all elements of the brand’s DEI strategy, both internally and externally.

Before joining Tiffany, Stephanie served as Advisor to the President of the Inter-American Development  Bank, responsible for the overall Bank strategy on gender and diversity. Prior to that, Stephanie led the  operations on gender and diversity at IDB Invest focusing on Latin America and the Caribbean.

Before the IDB Group, Stephanie was the Associate Director for Diversity and Inclusion in Coca-Cola  European Partners in London. Previously, Stephanie was the Head of International Diversity at L’Oréal  based in Paris where she led the DEI strategy among 60 subsidiaries of the company.

Stéphanie possesses great in-depth global experience, understanding of cultural nuances, and strong  innovative ideas dedicated to redefining inclusivity and luxury.

Stéphanie has received numerous awards for her commitment and results in diversity, including the  “Diversity and Inclusion Leader” from the Diversity Journal (USA), “Head of Diversity Award” from the  Diversity European Awards. She was also recognized as one of the Top 40 Diversity Professionals in the  World by The Times newspaper in 2017 and 2018. She was also associate lecturer at Sorbonne University.

Stéphanie currently resides in the United States. Fluent in five languages, she has a master’s degree in economics and political science from Sorbonne University. She is  an active member of different non-profits related to women empowerment and diversity.

Jadzia Pierce
Data Protection Officer, Microsoft
U.S. Young Leader 2024

Jadzia Pierce is the Data Protection Officer for Microsoft, where she oversees the implementation and maintenance of Microsoft’s data protection program and serves as the main point of contact for regulators and data subjects, including with respect to privacy and AI, children’s data, and data subject rights. Prior to this role, she was Microsoft’s Director of Global Privacy Policy, where she advocated for the company’s policy priorities while helping internal business teams “see around corners” and anticipate broader legal trends on a global scale. She previously served as the lead cybersecurity lawyer for McKinsey & Company.

Prior to these in-house counsel roles, Ms. Pierce was an associate in Covington & Burling’s Privacy & Cybersecurity practice group, where she counseled multiple Fortune 100 clients regarding the shifting privacy legal landscape at the U.S. state, federal, and international level and assisted corporate legal, engineering, and operations teams in bringing their global privacy programs into compliance. She also served as a Privacy, Surveillance, & Security Fellow for the Center for Democracy & Technology.

Ms. Pierce currently lives in London with her husband and two Labrador retrievers, Austin and Duke (her pride and joy).

Vincent Pons
Professor, Harvard Business School
Co-Founder, Explain
U.S. Young Leader 2024

Vincent Pons is a Professor at Harvard Business School and a cofounder at Explain. He ​received the 2023 Best Young French Economist Award. In his research, he examines the foundations of democracy: how democratic systems function, and how they can be improved. He received a PhD in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Master’s degrees in Economics from the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris and in Political Philosophy from Université Paris 1, Panthéon-Sorbonne.

Rahul Rekhi
Counselor for International Affairs, U.S. Treasury Department
U.S. Young Leader 2023

Rahul is Counselor for International Affairs at the U.S. Treasury Department, where he advises on a range of international financial and economic issues, including the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, G7 and G20, trade and investment, sustainability, and international financial regulation.

Before joining the Biden administration, Rahul was a Managing Director at Lazard in New York where he advised businesses, investors, and governments on a range of financial and strategic matters, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, capital markets, and related issues. His transaction experience spanned the intersection of healthcare, technology, and consumer/retail as well as that of markets and public policy. Rahul founded and led the firm’s special opportunities unit and advised on transactions representing over $200 billion in deal value.

Rahul also directed the Next Bretton Woods Group at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a global convening forum for rising leaders in economic and financial policy across the G20 economies. Previously, he served as a staff economist for the Council of Economic Advisers at the Obama White House, a consultant for the World Bank, and an advisor to England’s Chief Medical Officer.

Rahul has been named a Truman Scholar, Forbes 30 under 30, Economic Club of New York Fellow, Atlantik-Brücke Young Leader, French-American Foundation Young Leader, BMW Foundation Responsible Leader, Council on Foreign Relations Corporate Leader, and one of Business Insider’s “top dealmakers in digital health,” and he has authored a range of articles, policy briefs, and book chapters on economic issues. He has also served on the board of the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy and the Lazard Foundation, and was an outside economic advisor for the Biden-Harris presidential campaign.

Rahul received graduate degrees from Oxford and the London School of Economics as a Marshall Scholar, and graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Rice University with degrees in engineering and economics.

Joseph Romeo
Partner, Apollo Global Management
U.S. Young Leader 2024

Joseph Romeo is Partner, Private Equity at Apollo focused on sustainability and infrastructure investments. Prior to joining Apollo in 2013, he was a member of GE Capital’s Energy Financial Services group focused on principal investments in the energy sector. Joey currently serves on the boards of WattEV, Petros PACE, and Freestone Renewables. He previously served on the boards of Apex Energy, Caelus Energy Alaska, Northwoods Energy, Phoenix Services and Spartan Acquisition Corp. II & III where he was involved in the business combinations with Fisker Inc., Sunlight Financial and Allego N.V.

Joey received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University and his MBA from Harvard Business School.

Julia Rubalevskaya
Managing Director, Morgan Stanley
U.S. Young Leader 2023

Julia is a Managing Director in investment banking at Morgan Stanley, where she focuses on the information, data & analytics sector. She advises clients on mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt issuances and leads the Investment Banking Diversity & Inclusion Council. Previously, she worked at IHeartMedia and at Oliver Wyman. When Julia was 13, she missed a critical plot point in her favorite novel because it was untranslated from the original French. There was no choice but to spend the next 25 years studying the language. She holds an MBA from The Wharton School and an MA in International Studies with a focus in French from the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, a BS in Economics from The Wharton School and BA’s in International Studies and French from the University of Pennsylvania and a Diplome de Programme Internationale from Sciences Po Paris. She was born in Estonia, grew up in Queens and, like a true New Yorker, doesn’t know how to drive.

Anshuman Sahoo
Vice President, Head of Climate Strategy, Capital One
U.S. Young Leader 2024

Anshuman “Ansu” Sahoo is a Vice President at Capital One, where he heads a team that leads and organizes company-wide climate strategy efforts. Prior to Capital One, Ansu was a Partner at BCG; in this role, he helped clients decarbonize their businesses, identify solutions to pressing climate challenges, and pursue opportunities implied by the energy transition.

Ansu’s work draws on his background in energy economics, finance, and policy as well as his experiences as a researcher with the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Climate Policy Initiative, and Asian Development Bank. He holds a PhD in Management Science and Engineering and an MS in Statistics from Stanford University, as well as a BSE in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University.

Cecile Schmollgruber
Co-Founder & CEO, Stereolabs
U.S. Young Leader 2024

Cecile Schmollgruber is an accomplished entrepreneur, recognized for her influence in the technology industry. As the founder and CEO of Stereolabs, she has leveraged her vision and innate leadership skills to establish the company as a premier entity in the realm of 3D imaging and sensing.

Cecile’s journey into entrepreneurship began as a photonics engineer, where her fascination with innovation was cultivated. This passion became the cornerstone of her work at Stereolabs, driving the development of groundbreaking technology that has revolutionized the way machines perceive and navigate the world.

Stereolabs’ pioneering technology enables real-time 3D mapping and depth perception, finding applications across diverse sectors such as robotics, virtual reality, and autonomous vehicles. Thanks to Cecile’s leadership, Stereolabs has secured a prominent position in the tech industry, characterized by a relentless commitment to innovation and excellence.

Beyond her role at Stereolabs, Cecile is a dedicated mentor and advocate for women in the tech sphere. She generously shares her journey and insights to inspire and guide the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs.

As a CEO, Cecile distinguishes herself through strategic thinking, an ability to inspire her team, and a commitment to nurturing a culture that fosters creativity and collaboration. She has assembled a diverse and inclusive team at Stereolabs, fostering an environment where every voice is respected and valued.

Cecile’s significant contributions to the tech industry have garnered recognition and acclaim. Her achievements have been honored with multiple awards, including being named one of the 30 Inspirational Women to watch in Tech.

Arielle Schwab
Vice President, Havas Paris
Cross-Cultural Activist
French Young Leader 2024

Arielle Schwab is 40, she is a mother of 4. She graduated from HEC Paris Business School in 2007.

She started working in strategic and organisation consulting for Eurogroup Consulting, where she mainly supported the States transformation in the Public Department.

She joined Havas Paris as a Director in 2014, managing strategical advisory and communication, supporting the corporate reputation of companies, institutions and CEOs.

She has been leading for 4 years the Influence Department, the community of a hundred of consultants, experts in press relations, public affairs and crisis management.

Arielle has been committed in cross-cultural dialogue and fighting against racism and antisemitism for more than 20 years.

She is a member of the Supervisory Board of the NGOs: Libraries Without Borders, Langage de Femmes (promoting intercultural dialogue between women from all social environments), and Yahad in Unum (aiming at preserving the memory of the Shoah and collecting the testimony of the Yazidis).

She sits in the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (Crif), and has been campaigning for two years on projects in favor of Ukraine, and of the Armenians, attacked in Upper-Karabah.

She used to be the Chairman of the French Union of Jewish Students (UEJF)

Arielle taught Oratory Art at the Ecole de Guerre, for several years as well as communication of Influence at Sciences Po Paris.

She co-constructed in Havas, an Observatory of the rise of identity issues in companies.

Franck Verdonk
MD, PhD, Associate Professor in Medicine, Sorbonne Université
Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Specialist, Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris
Co-Founder, SurgeCare
French Young Leader 2024

Franck Verdonk, 39 yo, is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Sorbonne Université and an MD specializing in anesthesiology, intensive care, and perioperative medicine. He is the Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care at the Saint Antoine and Tenon Hospitals of Paris (APHP). His academic career is distinguished by a passionate commitment to translational research, notably at the Institut Pasteur, where he completed a PhD in neuroscience awarded by the Board of Chancellors (Chancellerie des Universités), and at Stanford University, where he conducted postdoctoral research in immunology and computational biology.

In addition to his clinical, managerial, and academic roles, Franck Verdonk is the Chief Medical Officer and co-founder of SurgeCare, a Franco-American tech-bio spin-off from Stanford University. SurgeCare is dedicated to improving the quality of care through the development of personalized and predictive diagnostics based on innovative immune analysis technologies using artificial intelligence.

Franck Verdonk is also involved in several scientific societies and boards, has published over 60 scientific articles in international journals, and is regularly invited to national and international conferences. His involvement in professional associations and teaching, as Director of the Department of Education in Anesthesiology, Intensive Care, and Emergency Medicine at Sorbonne Université, has also been significant in his professional development.

Distinguished by several research grants and as a co-inventor of patents, Franck Verdonk continues to innovate in improving perioperative care. He is convinced that the synergy between the excellence of French education and the US innovative dynamism is crucial for transforming medical practices and patient care.

Anne Vigier
Global Director, Emerging Experiences and Community, YouTube
U.S. Young Leader 2024

Anne leads the global product activation teams for YouTube’s Emerging Experiences (Shorts, Generative AI, Live, Gaming, and Creation) and Community features. Her team works closely with business and product leaders to accelerate adoption of YouTube products globally and grow a sustainable creator economy. Anne also serves as an executive sponsor of Women@YouTube.

Prior to joining YouTube, Anne led the Product, Sales and Go-to-Market organization for Google’s Sellside Ads business. She also led Product Marketing, Customer Experience and Strategy for Google’s ecosystem of hardware and services including subscriptions, online and in-person services.

Before Google, Anne was an associate partner at McKinsey & Company, advising fashion and luxury executives on go-to-market and growth strategies, with extensive global experience.

Anne holds a Master of Science degree from Ecole Centrale and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Anne lives in New York City with her husband and two sons. She loves traveling, playing tennis, exploring New York’s music and comedy scene, and biking around the city.

Cyrielle Villepelet
Managing Director, Téthys Invest
French Young Leader 2024

Cyrielle Villepelet is a Managing Director at Tethys Invest, a subsidiary of Téthys, largest shareholder of L’Oréal, set up by Françoise Bettencourt Meyers and Jean-Pierre Meyers in 2015 in order to make direct long-term investments in entrepreneurial projects.

Cyrielle previously spent 13 years at McKinsey, including 5 years at their New York offices. She became a Partner in 2020 and helped clients on digital transformations and omnichannel growth in the retail and consumer goods sectors.

Cyrielle holds a degree from ESSEC business school.

Shannon Walker
MD, Assistant Professor, Division of Cardiology, Emory University School of Medicine
U.S. Young Leader 2023

Shannon Walker is a cardiovascular physician scientist and educator with a passion for improving health care and equity in underserved populations. Dr Walker earned her undergraduate degree in Chemistry at Princeton University and received her medical degree from Johns Hopkins University where she was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) honor society. She completed Internal Medicine residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital where she was selected to lead as a Chief Resident. During her cardiovascular fellowship training at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF), Dr Walker cared for a diverse patient population often affected by housing and food insecurity. Her care for patients suffering from both drug addiction and heart disease sparked a curiosity to better understand disease mechanisms and potential therapies. She was awarded funding and support as a Chan Zuckerberg BioHub research fellow to investigate the underlying genetic and environmental mechanisms that lead to methamphetamine associated heart failure. She continues to lead this ongoing work with collaborators nationwide.

Dr. Walker has applied her clinical skills in underserved areas both domestically and abroad, including research in Kampala, Uganda, volunteer clinical work in Nouakchott, Mauritania, asylum evaluations for refugees through Physicians for Human Rights, and serving in remote hospitals on Native American reservations during the COVID19 crisis. In the fall of 2024, she will join Emory University School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Cardiology. She is excited to continue mentoring medical trainees, implementing equity-focused research projects, and care for patient at Grady Memorial Hospital—one of the largest public hospitals in the United States.

Speakers

Jack Abraham
Managing Partner & CEO, Atomic

Jack Abraham is the Managing Partner and CEO of Atomic, and is a pioneer of Atomic’s now popular studio fund model for exclusively investing in companies founded at the firm. Through Atomic, Jack has founded 2 of the 10 fastest growing companies (based on a recent study of Silicon Valley startups) – Hims & Hers and Bungalow. Hims & Hers was the second fastest company to achieve a $1B valuation in US history and recently announced an intent go public at a $1.6B pre-money valuation with Oaktree’s SPAC just three years after launch. Jack previously exited his first company Milo to eBay when he was 24 years old, and has been an investor in several companies that went on to achieve valuations in excess of $1B including Pinterest, Postmates (where he gave the founders the idea for the company), Uber and Flatiron Health. Jack attended the Wharton School as a Joseph Wharton Scholar where he designed his own major in Technological Entrepreneurship.

Michael Berkowitz
Executive Director, Climate Resilience Academy of the University of Miami

Michael Berkowitz is a former Founding Principal of Resilient Cities Catalyst, a new global non-profit helping cities and their partners tackle their toughest challenges. He is currently the Executive Director of Climate Resilience Academy at the University of Miami. Previously he joined the Rockefeller Foundation in August 2013 to shape and oversee the creation of 100 Resilient Cities. He served as the 100RC President from 2013 to 2019. From 2005 to 2013 he worked at Deutsche Bank, most recently as the global head of Operational Risk Management (ORM). He held multiple positions at DB, including Chief Operating Officer of Corporate Security, Business Continuity (CSBC) and Operational Risk Management. During this time, he also served as the head of the Bank’s Protective Intelligence unit. Prior to December 2010, he was the CSBC head in APAC with responsibility for all business continuity planning and alternate site operations, as well as physical security, executive and event protection, fraud investigation and prevention, and cybercrime. Between 2005 and 2008 he had management roles for DB in Mumbai, India and New York, including leading the firm’s crisis management effort to the 2009 flu pandemic. Until January 2005, he was Deputy Commissioner at the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) in New York City.

Meenakshi Chabba
Ecosystem and Resilience Scientist, The Everglades Foundation

As The Everglades Foundation’s Ecosystem and Resilience Scientist, Meenakshi merges advanced knowledge of Everglades ecosystem science, ecosystem services valuation, and resilience planning for the natural and built environment in South Florida. She applies that knowledge to tracking and understanding how decision-making focused on the Everglades and our communities affects ecological and economic outcomes across the ecosystem. Prior to joining the Foundation, Meenakshi was Research Analyst with the USAID-funded Disaster Risk and Resilience in the Americas Program at Florida International University’s (FIU) Extreme Events Institute, where she performed economic evaluations of approximately 20 USAID risk reduction projects and was the program’s lead science writer. Meenakshi has also taught Biology and Ecology at the undergraduate and high school levels. Meenakshi earned a Ph.D. in Earth Systems Science from FIU, a master’s degree in Environmental Studies from FIU, and a master’s in Zoology from the University of Delhi.

Michel Combes
Former CEO, Softbank Group International
French Young Leader 1998

Mr. Combes rejoined the F5 board in October 2023. He previously served as a director from July 2018 to March 2021. Mr. Combes currently serves as Executive Vice President at Claure Group, a global entrepreneurial and investment firm. He served previously as Chief Executive Officer and as president of SoftBank Group International, from June 2020 to June 2022, and as President and Chief Executive Officer of Sprint from January 2018 until April 2020. His prior leadership roles also include Chief Executive Officer of Altice N.V., Chief Executive Officer of Alcatel-Lucent, Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Europe, Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of TDF Group, and Chief Financial Officer and Senior Executive Vice President of France Telecom. Mr. Combes currently serves as Director and Chair of the Audit Committee for Phillip Morris International, and as Director and Chair of the Nominations & Renumerations Committee for Etisalat. He is also a member of the Advisory Team for McLaren Racing Limited and serves on the boards of several private companies. Mr. Combes received a M.S. degree from École Polytechnique with a focus in engineering and a doctorate from Paris Dauphine University.

Wade Davis
Vice-Chairman of the Board, TelevisaUnivision, Inc.

Wade Davis is the Vice-Chairman of the Board for TelevisaUnivision, Inc., the world’s leading Spanish-language media and content company. TelevisaUnivision owns the largest library of content in Spanish and industry-leading production capabilities that power its multi-media platforms, which include TV, streaming, digital and audio offerings. Davis has served as a media industry leader for over 25 years, including founding ForgeLight in 2019 to build, acquire and operate companies in the Media and Consumer Technology sectors. His experience includes serving as a C-Suite Fortune 100 operator, board director, investment banker and entrepreneur. Prior to founding ForgeLight, Davis served as EVP & CFO for Viacom and co-founded and served as EVP of Operations for America’s Choice, Inc. He also founded AdvancePath Academics, a technology-based provider of dropout recovery and alternative education solutions. AdvancePath was successfully sold to Graduation Alliance. Davis earned a dual BA degree, with honors, in Economics & Philosophy from Williams College.

Francesca de Quesada Covey
Chief Innovation and Economic Development Officer for Miami-Dade County

Francesca de Quesada Covey is a seasoned technology executive with over 15 years of experience in fostering innovation and economic growth to solve pressing social and economic challenges. As the Chief Innovation and Economic Development Officer for Miami-Dade County, she reports directly to Mayor Levine Cava. Prior to her current role, she was a partner at TheVentureCity and served as Tech and Innovation Advisor to the Mayor of Miami-Dade County. In 2023, she co-founded the Miami-Dade Innovation Authority, a not-for-profit investment vehicle that supports early-stage companies with funding from notable entities like Griffin Catalyst, the Knight Foundation, and Miami-Dade County. From 2013 to 2021, Francesca held pivotal roles at Facebook (now Meta), where she led business development and partnerships teams, scaling new products and driving strategic initiatives in connectivity and payments. Francesca holds a B.A. in Political Science and French from Columbia University and an M.A. in Finance from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Paris, France. A proud daughter of Cuban immigrants, she resides in Miami-Dade with her husband and two daughters, committed to contributing to her community’s growth and innovation.

Jean-Yves Fillion
Vice-Chairman, Board of Directors, BNP Paribas USA
Member of the Board of Directors, French-American Foundation–U.S.

Jean-Yves Fillion is Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of BNP Paribas USA. He serves as executive sponsor to many of the bank’s strategic US clients and represents BNP Paribas to the US official sector, US trade organizations and the media. Mr. Fillion has been with BNP Paribas for four decades, 3 of which he has spent in the United States between Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. In addition to his role on the Board of BNPP USA, he is also a Director and member of the Executive Committee of the French American Foundation and the International Advisory Board of Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC), his alma mater. Since joining the bank in 1984, Mr. Fillion has served the bank in a succession of executive positions. Previous to his current role, he served as CEO BNP Paribas USA and Chairman of CIB Americas, CEO of CIB Americas, COO of BNP Paribas Fortis and Co-Head of BNP Paribas’ CIB European Platform. Mr. Fillion received a Master’s degree from Dauphine University and his MBA from HEC in Paris. He also studied at the Kellogg School of Management of Northwestern University in Chicago.

Nicolas Griffin
Journalist, Author, The Year of Dangerous Days

Nicholas Griffin is a critically-acclaimed journalist and author of four novels and three works of nonfiction. His writing has appeared in The Times (London), the Financial Times, and Foreign Policy, among other publications. His book Ping-Pong Diplomacy was shortlisted for the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing. His most recent publication, The Year of Dangerous Days, has been revered as “utterly absorbing” by The New York Times and “absolutely astonishing” by Forbes Magazine. He lives in Miami with his wife and two children.

Kenneth Griffin
CEO, Citadel

Kenneth C. Griffin is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Citadel, one of the world’s leading alternative investment firms. Ken is also the Founder and Non-Executive Chairman of Citadel Securities, one of the world’s preeminent market makers. A passionate philanthropist, Ken has donated more than $2 billion to advance education, opportunity, and health sciences initiatives that significantly transform people’s lives.

Intrigued by finance from a young age, Ken began investing in 1986 from his Harvard dorm room. The following year, he launched a small hedge fund that utilized emerging quantitative analytics to inform investment decision-making. In 1990, a year after graduating, he founded Citadel.

Ken founded Citadel on the belief that extraordinary individuals, equipped with advanced quantitative analytics and powerful software, could unlock opportunities in the world’s capital markets. A commitment to continuous learning, problem-solving, and meritocracy defines the firm’s culture. Citadel is routinely ranked among the best places to work, and the firm’s focus on advancing the careers of its team members is renowned on Wall Street.

Today, Citadel’s team of more than 2,500 professionals manages over $60 billion in investment capital. Citadel is recognized as one of the world’s most profitable hedge funds. The Citadel team has delivered extraordinary results for pension plans, university endowments, hospital systems, foundations, and research institutions that deliver meaningful impact for society, from curing cancer with immunotherapy to making scientific breakthroughs in particle physics.

In 2002, Ken and his partners established Citadel Securities as a market maker in the United States capital markets. Today, Citadel Securities is one of the world’s largest liquidity providers, serving more than 1,600 institutional clients, including many of the world’s largest central banks and sovereign wealth funds. Citadel Securities is recognized as a market leader in empowering clients to reach their investment goals and has proved transformative in enhancing competition in capital markets worldwide.

Ken’s decades of philanthropic involvement reflect the same strategic mindset that has contributed to his business success. Now advanced through Griffin Catalyst, Ken’s contributions have expanded access to education at all levels for millions of Americans, transformed research and medical institutions with historic gifts, and strengthened our cultural institutions. Ken’s insights were instrumental in the launch of Operation Warp Speed’s accelerated COVID-19 vaccine development and deployment strategies.

Ken holds an A.B. ’89 with Honors in Economics from Harvard College.

Whitney Hough
Director, Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property Strategy and Licensing, University of Miami

Whitney Hough has PhD in Chemistry and MBA in Strategy from The University of Alabama. During her time as an undergraduate researcher, she synthesized a new class of ionic liquid compounds that resulted in her first patent application, which was later granted as a patent and was licensed to a Fortune 50 company. She first entered the field as a Venture Development Associate at The University of Alabama’s Office for Technology Transfer where she streamlined the invention disclosure process to decrease the length of time between invention disclosure and a filed patent application. She was recruited by Proctor & Gamble to be the Program Leader for their new Oral Care Monograph Reform program. This position integrated information from all functions to successfully communicate and submit an application to the FDA. In addition, she served as Technical Readiness Leader for several front-end innovation projects, thereby ensuring all tasks were on time for product graduation from R&D. She also managed the budget for Monograph Reform which spanned five different projects. It was wonderful to see a commercial process and product come to life, but she has missed the excitement and passion of inventors. Whitney is looking forward to working as a partner to commercialize University of Miami technology with inventors from all backgrounds and levels of experience.

Alex Mena
Executive Editor, The Miami Herald

Alex Mena has held several leadership positions throughout his 30-plus years as a journalist. He currently serves as the Executive Editor of the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald and as the Florida Regional Editor for McClatchy, the Herald’s parent company. During his time at the Herald, Alex has covered high school games, written features, worked as a designer and a copy editor; and held leadership positions as assistant sports editor, deputy sports editor, night operations chief, news editor, senior sports editor, deputy managing editor and managing editor. Alex also volunteers in the community at large — serving as South Florida Chapter President for the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, Vice President of the Florida Society of News Editors, member of the Miami Herald Charities board, and a member of the Lee Caplin School of Journalism & Media Advisory Board. He is also a 2024 Miami Dade College Hall of Fame inductee.

Stéphanie Oueda-Cruz
Global Vice-President, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging, Tiffany & Co.
U.S. Young Leader 2024

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Landolf Rhode-Barbarigos
Associate Professor, Civil, Architectural & Environmental Engineering, University of Miami

Landolf Rhode-Barbarigos specializes in structural morphology and morphogenesis, using these concepts to design more sustainable and resilient structures. His research spans a variety of structural and architectural systems, including tensegrity and hexagonal lattice structures, with applications ranging from infrastructure and space structures to marine and coastal protection. Rhode-Barbarigos has been leading the research and development of SEAHIVE®, a shoreline protection system that has since been deployed off the coast of Miami Beach and an inlet in Pompano Beach. Rhode-Barbarigos has been recognized with prestigious honors, including the NSF CAREER award and the Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine of Florida’s Rising Stars award. He has been a professor in the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering at the University of Miami since 2015. Before that, he was a postdoctoral researcher in the Form Finding Lab at Princeton University from 2012 to 2014. He earned his Ph.D. in 2012 from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland.

Craig Robins
President & CEO, Dacra

Craig Robins is an entrepreneur and a real estate developer. As President and CEO of Dacra, his primary focus is innovative real estate development, nurturing the growth of neighborhoods that combine commerce, culture and a strong sense of community. His distinctive approach to place-making, passion for art and design, and commitment to innovation and sustainability have helped transform Miami. Robins is also an early-stage investor in digital-first brands and leading-edge technologies — many of which have sustainability at the forefront. Early in his career, Robins focused on the revitalization of South Beach, recognizing that it could be a significant inflection point in the growth of the larger city of Miami Beach. He made a long-term commitment to redeveloping the Miami Design District, an 18 square block area of under-utilized commercial buildings. The Miami Design District is the world’s first Gold LEED-certified neighborhood. Robins is an avid art and design collector. He is the Founder and Chairman of the Anaphiel Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to supporting arts education and exploration.

Donna Shalala
Trustee Professor of Political Science and Health Policy, University of Miami

Donna E. Shalala is Trustee Professor of Political Science and Health Policy at the University of Miami. Dr. Shalala has more than 40 years of experience as an accomplished scholar, teacher, and administrator. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Dr. Shalala received her A.B. degree in history from Western College for Women. One of the country’s first Peace Corps Volunteers, she served in Iran from 1962 to 1964. She earned her Ph.D. degree from The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. She has held tenured professorships at Columbia University, the City University of New York (CUNY), and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  She served as President of the University of Miami from 2001 to 2015. During her tenure, UM solidified its position among top U.S. research universities. While on leave from the University of Miami, Dr. Shalala served as President of the Clinton Foundation from June 2015 to March 2017. In 1993 President Bill Clinton appointed her U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) where she served for eight years, becoming the longest serving HHS Secretary in U.S. history. She served in the Carter administration from 1977 to 1980 as Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In 2007, President George W. Bush handpicked Shalala to co-chair with Senator Bob Dole the Commission on Care for Returning Wounded Warriors, to evaluate how wounded service members transition from active duty to civilian society. Dr. Shalala has more than four dozen honorary degrees and a host of other honors, including the 1992 National Public Service Award and the 1994 Glamour magazine Woman of the Year Award. In 2008 President Bush presented her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award, and in 2010 she received the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights.

Prannoy Suraneni
Associate Professor, Civil, Architectural & Environmental Engineering, University of Miami

Prannoy Suraneni is Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering at the University of Miami College of Engineering. Suraneni is an expert in the materials science, chemistry, and engineering of cementitious materials. His research strives to develop long-lasting concrete with low CO2 emissions through the use of novel waste materials. Suraneni teaches courses on statics, structures lab, and concrete materials science. He mentors a large group of Ph.D. students, visiting scholars and undergraduate research assistants in their research projects on concrete materials. Suraneni holds professional membership in American Ceramic Society, American Concrete Institute, American Society of Civil Engineers, American Society for Testing and Materials, and International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Construction Materials, Systems and Structures. One of the objectives of his service work is the deployment of research solutions developed in the lab to the field through changes in codes, specifications, and standards.

Jane Wooldridge
Senior Director for Journalism Sustainability and Partnerships, The Miami Herald

Jane Wooldridge is an award-winning travel, business, and arts multimedia journalist. In 2021, Jane was named to the newly created role of Senior Director for Journalism Sustainability and Partnerships. In this community-focused role, she works with civic, arts, and business organizations and foundations to create strategic partnerships supporting public service journalism amid a fast-fluctuating media landscape. Prior to her current role, she served as the Miami Herald’s Business Editor, responsible for business and arts coverage in print, online, multimedia, and at live events. Her teams have won multiple journalism awards, including Best in Business in the Association of Business Journalists and the Esserman-Knight Award for service. Previously, she was the Miami Herald’s Travel Editor, and has visited more than 100 countries and contributed to national magazines and books. She is a past president of the Society of American Travel Writers and a past winner of the prestigious Lowell Thomas Travel Journalist of the Year Award.

Leadership

Edward C. Wallace
Vice President, Greenberg-Traurig, LLC – New York
Chair of the Board, French-American Foundation–U.S.

Edward C. Wallace serves as Co-Chair of Greenberg Traurig’s New York office. Ed is a trusted advisor to companies. He has experience in law, business/finance and government. He has advised Extell/Carlyle, Silverstein/El Ad, Columbia University, NYU and Fordham on major real estate development projects and major government service providers including JCDecaux and Hornblower.

Prior to entering the private sector as a Vice President at Boston Properties, he served as City Council Member-at-Large (Manhattan) and then Chief of Staff to the New York City Council President Carol Bellamy, one of the first French-American Foundation Young Leaders. Ed began his career in the Chelsea neighborhood office of the Legal Aid Society. He is vice pro bono counsel to the Citizens Budget Commission and director emeritus of New Yorkers for Parks, where he was previously chair. He also served as counsel to NYC 2012, the City’s Olympic bid. Ed has been listed in multiple editions of The Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers and is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell. He is consistently included on City and State’s New York City Power 100 list and was named a 2020 Lifetime Achievement honoree.

Allan M. Chapin
Chair Emeritus of the Board, French-American Foundation–U.S.

Allan M. Chapin began his career as a lawyer at Sullivan & Cromwell, where he became a Partner in 1976. He was a resident of their Paris office for several years and served as head of Sullivan & Cromwell’s European operations. He then became a Managing Director of Lazard Frères & Co. LLC, and subsequently a partner of Compass Partners Advisors, LLP. Throughout his career, Mr. Chapin has represented sovereign governments, agencies, investment and merchant banks, insurance companies, a wide array of industrial private sector companies, and many foreign investors, both individuals and corporations.

Mr. Chapin is the Chair Emeritus of the French-American Foundation—United States, serving as a Director of the French-American Foundation since 1999, and Chair of the Foundation from 2008 until 2023. Mr. Chapin is also a Director of Fondation Claude Pompidou, a Trustee of Aperture Foundation and has served as a Director of many public and private companies in the United States and Europe. Mr. Chapin received his bachelor’s degree from Yale University and his LLB from Yale Law School. He served in the United States Marine Corps.

Jacques Aschenbroich
Chair, French-American Foundation–France

Jacques Aschenbroich, born in 1954, “Ingénieur du Corps des Mines”, has held several positions in the French administration and was in the cabinet of the Prime Minister in 1987 and 1988. He then had an industrial career in the Saint Gobain Group, where he managed subsidiaries in Brazil, in Germany and in the United States. He was president of the glass and high performance materials activities, and was Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Compagnie de Saint Gobain until December 2008.
Member of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Valeo Group since March 2009, he has been Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from February 2016 to January 2022, and then, Chairman of the Board from January 2022 to December 2022. He is also a Member of the Board of Directors and President of the Governance Committee of BNP Paribas, Lead Independent Director of TotalEnergies, Co-President of the Club Franco Japonais, and Chairman of the French American Foundation-France. He is Chairman of the Board of Orange since May 2022.

He is an Officier de la Légion d’Honneur and an Officier dans l’Ordre National du Mérite.

Alain Papiasse
Honorary Chair and President of the French Young Leaders Jury, French-American Foundation–France

Alain Papiasse began his career in 1973 at Crédit Lyonnais where he held various positions.In 2002, he was appointed Group Vice-President of Crédit Lyonnais, before being nominated in 2003 Vice President of Crédit Agricole Indosuez Calyon. In January 2005, he joined BNP Paribas as a member of the Group Executive Committee and Head of Investment Solutions. In April 2009, he was appointed Head of the Corporate and Investment Banking division (CIB), and in December 2011 became Deputy Chief Operating Officer of the Group. In 2018, Alain Papiasse was appointed Chairman of CIB, while continuing to oversee the Group’s activities in North America (Chairman of BNP Paribas USA Inc.), the United Kingdom, Luxembourg (Vice-Chairman of BGL), the GCC Region and India. In 2021, Alain Papiasse is appointed Executive Advisor to General Management while retaining the position of Chairman of CIB. Alain Papiasse is also Chairman of BNP Paribas Exane, as well as Chairman of the Steering Committee of Paris-Europlace, and Honorary President of the French-American Foundation and was the President of the jury for the Young Leaders class of 2024. Alain Papiasse is a graduate of three French business schools: Institut Technique de Banque, Centre d’Etudes Supérieurs de Banque and HEC business school (Executive MBA).

Anne Dias Griffin
Founder & CEO, Aragon
Member of the Board of Directors, French-American Foundation–U.S.
Chair, 2024 Young Leaders Seminar

Anne Dias is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Aragon Global Management, an investment firm active in global equities, with a focus on the internet, technology, and consumer sectors, as well as alternative assets. Ms. Dias started her career at Goldman Sachs in London. She served as a portfolio manager at Soros Fund and was a founding member of the investment team at Viking Global. Ms. Dias is an Independent Director of FOX Corporation. Ms. Dias is a trustee of the Museum of Modern Art, where she serves on the Finance Committee and the Painting & Sculpture Committee. She is also the head of the Investment Committee of the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, and a trustee of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. She sits on the board of directors of the French American Foundation in New York. French-born, Ms. Dias graduated from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and received her MBA from Harvard Business School.

Jean-Yves Fillion
Vice-President, Board of Directors, BNP Paribas USA
Member of the Board of Directors, French-American Foundation–U.S.

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Scott Handler
Professor of Cyber Studies, The Marshall Center
Chair, U.S. Young Leaders Selection Committee, French-American Foundation–U.S.
U.S. Young Leader 2013

Dr. Scott Handler is Professor of Cyber Studies at the George C. Marshall Center. Drawing on his private and public sector experiences, his research focuses on issues related to cyber risk governance, public-private partnerships, international digital trade and investment, and privacy and data protection.

Prior to joining the Marshall Center, Dr. Handler was the Head of Strategic Process & Programs, Community Product Operations at Meta, where he led operational excellence efforts for ML/Al and Product Operations, Customer Experience, and Trust & Safety (Integrity) teams that enabled the end-to-end product development lifecycle for ~3B users across the Facebook App, Instagram, Messenger, and Reality Labs products. Previously, he was Vice President of Strategy and Partnerships and Chief Information Security Officer at WireWheel–a privacy tech company that helps organizations manage their data privacy practices.

As a White House Fellow in the Obama administration, Dr. Handler served as special advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce focused on geoeconomics, global entrepreneurship, digital trade, and infrastructure development. He served in a variety of command and staff positions during 22 years as an Army officer, including as Academy Professor and Director of International Affairs at West Point and executive officer (second-in-command) of a cyber operations battalion that he helped create and grow from 20 to over 450 persons. He commanded a military intelligence company that conducted global operations and led an infantry scout platoon inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) at Panmunjom, Korea. Dr. Handler served as senior advisor to the Commander, U.S. Cyber National Mission Force, special assistant to the Director, National Security Agency and senior leadership team that created U.S. Cyber Command, and special assistant to two commanding generals of the Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq.

Dr. Handler is a French-American Foundation board member and was a Council on Foreign Relations term member and fellow in New America’s Cybersecurity Initiative.

Mia de Kuijper
Member of the Board of Directors, French-American Foundation–U.S.

Futurist Mia de Kuijper is a rare combination of business thinker and business builder who identifies the shifting power dynamics in our economy that Fortune 100 companies can harness to win.
Mia advises and writes about digital transformation, customer engagement, AI, scenario strategy, business models, and M&A. Mia has successfully built and run companies and academic institutions. Her previous global corporate leadership positions have been at Royal Dutch Shell, PepsiCo, and AT&T, and she has been a Senior Managing Director on Wall Street with careers at First Boston and Morgan Stanley where she initiated and lead some of the largest ad most creative transactions.

At Royal Dutch Shell during the OPEC heydays she proposed the radical idea that oil would become a commodity, and she foresaw the oil price collapse of 1986. Her bold predictions and leadership created billions of value for Shell. Mia was instrumental to building PepsiCo International, by buying or starting more than fifty companies around the world, including in India and China. At AT&T she was the first to see the impact and financial consequences of IP based networks, and she advised the company on how to capitalize on the digital revolution.

She is the author of Profit Power Economics: A New Competitive Strategy for Creating Sustainable Wealth (Oxford University Press.)

Gary M. Cole
Managing Director, Antares International Partners, Inc.
Member of the Board of Director, French-American Foundation–U.S.

Mr. Gary Cole is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Antares International Partners, Inc., a boutique investment bank with offices in San Francisco and Paris. He has over 30 years of experience in all areas of mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance.

Prior to founding Antares, Mr. Cole was a Managing Director and a Member of the Management Committee of Peers & Co., an international investment banking boutique. Mr. Cole’s prior professional experience includes BNP Paribas, Merrill Lynch & Co., Becker Paribas and E.F. Hutton & Company.
Mr. Cole is a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the French-American Foundation – United States, a member of the Board of Directors of the French-American Foundation – France, and a member of the Cercle de l’Union Interalliee in Paris. Mr. Cole is also on the Board of Advisors for the Nicholas Center for Corporate Finance and Investment Banking at the Wisconsin School of Business. Mr. Cole is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin School of Business, and the University of Denver Law Center.

Staff

French-American Foundation–U.S.

Caroline Naralasetty
President, French-American Foundation–U.S.

Caroline joined the Foundation in 2021. She previously served as Director of Development at the Lycée Français de New York, where she oversaw annual and major giving, special events, and alumni relations for the 1,200+ student school, a member of the global AEFE network. Prior to that, Caroline was a Corporate Vice President at consulting firm CCS for over a decade, where she planned, implemented, and managed major fundraising initiatives for non-profit organizations across secondary and higher education, healthcare, and the arts. She began her career as a strategic communications consultant in New York.Caroline holds an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business, an MA from NYU’s Institute of French Studies, and a BA from Stanford University. She and her family reside in Manhattan.

Jennifer Walden
Vice President for Advancement, French-American Foundation–U.S.

Jennifer Walden Weprin, Vice President of Advancement has built her career leading institutional growth through fundraising, strategic communications, marketing, change management and innovation for notable and diverse organizations such as the Queens County Farm Museum, Louis Armstrong House Museum, Queens Theatre, Gold Coast Arts Center and Liberty Cable.  She served as Director of Cultural Affairs & Tourism for Queens Borough President Melinda Katz as policy advisor representing 2.3 million New Yorkers.  Early in her career, Jennifer cut her teeth in the emerging international telecommunications market in Prague, Czech Republic with World Phone Inc.  Recent awards and leadership include 2023 Business Person of the Year, Queens Chamber of Commerce; 2023 Queens Power 100, City & State New York; and Advisory Board Member for CUNY Graduate School of Public Health, Wheatley Farms & Arts Center and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards’ Operation Urban Sustainability. Jennifer has a BA in History from Binghamton University.

Elizabeth McGehee
Program Director, French-American Foundation–U.S.

Elizabeth is the Director of Programs at the French-American Foundation. In this capacity, she works to develop and implement key programs to fulfill the Foundation’s mission of strengthening the transatlantic relationship. Prior to joining the FAF, she worked in international communications for Sciences Po Paris and in outreach for the Future Leaders Foundation, a nonprofit that unites young leaders who pledge to enact positive global change. She holds a BA from the American University of Paris, where she studied Global Communications, Marketing, Gender Studies and Fine Arts.

Margaret Fahey
External Relations Director, French-American Foundation–U.S.

Margaret Fahey is the Director of External Relations at the French-American Foundation. She works to support the Foundation team with development, communications, and programmatic initiatives. Previously, she worked as a Translations Project Manager at Clario, a clinical trial management company. She has also worked as the Program Manager for the American Swiss Foundation, where she was responsible for organizing the Foundation’s domestic and international programming. From 2018-2019, Margaret completed a Fulbright grant in Marseille, France. She holds a BA in International Political Economy and French from Fordham University.

Gabrielle Milligan
Program Associate, French-American Foundation–U.S.

Gabrielle Milligan is a Program Associate at the French-American Foundation. A dual citizen of the United States and France, she previously worked as an elementary and middle school English teacher. She holds a B.A. in Creative Writing with a minor in New Media and Digital Design and an M.A. in English from Fordham University.

French-American Foundation–France

Amina Sabeur
Managing Director, French-American Foundation–France

Born in Reims, France, Amina Sabeur has followed an atypical path combining her interests in diplomacy, entrepreneurship, and innovative projects with strong social impact.

She began her professional career in Berlin at the German Institute for Security and International Affairs (SWP), then joined the French Embassy in Egypt for three years. In Cairo, she worked on cultural, scientific and archaeological cooperation issues, learned Arabic and deepened her knowledge of the region through numerous field trips.

She subsequently joined the WHO (UNITAID) in Geneva in 2008 where she focused
on innovative financing for health-related initiatives.

Back in Paris, she fulfilled another dream: to become an entrepreneur. She founded, and managed one of the very first restaurants specialized in gourmet burgers for three years, around the original theme of Super Heroes in the heart of the 9th arrondissement of Paris.

In June 2016, she joined the French-American Foundation-France, where she climbed the ranks to be appointed Managing Director in September 2021. Amina is quadrilingual (English, German, Arabic and French) and holds two Master’s degrees in International Relations and European Affairs, from Sciences Po Lille and from Sciences Po Paris and graduated from the Ecole de Guerre in 2020.

She is a Senior Lecturer at Sciences Po Lille where she has been teaching International Relations for the past 15 years.

Amina Sabeur is very focused on social justice issues, and is involved in impact initiatives around gender equality, equal opportunity, education, and access to employment. She supports several students or young professionals on a daily basis.

She is Chair of the Board of INCO, a global organization that is working to create new environmentally sustainable and socially responsible economies in 50 countries.

Amina was named Colonel (civilian reserve) for the French Space & Air Force in 2022.

Lucy Topaloff
Programs Director, French-American Foundation–France

Lucy Topaloff joined the French-American Foundation in April 2020, after several years in the non-profit world on both sides of the Atlantic.

Lucy is Franco-American, and graduated from Yale University in 2013 with a degree in Political Science, and earning a Packard grant, moved to South Africa for Miracle Feet. This organization aims at eradicating clubfoot; Lucy later worked at their headquarters in North Carolina. In 2016, she moved to France to head the European branch of MakeSense, an organization that supports social entrepreneurs worldwide.

Two years later, she was in New York, at the United Nations, to organize the UN Public Service Awards. From there she moved back to France to lead programs at Les Déterminés, a nonprofit that mentors entrepreneurs from the French banlieues.

Today, Lucy is Program Director at the French-American Foundation-France, and co-organises the Young Leaders program, the Cybersecurity Conference, French-American Breakfasts and special events.

In addition, she volunteers for Get Out The Vote initiatives and volunteers for other social justice NGOs.

Clara Leibundguth
Programs Manager, French-American Foundation–France

Clara Leibundguth is Program Manager of the French-American Foundation–France. She is French-Canadian. From 2020 to 2022, Clara was a parliamentary liaison officer for Christophe Castaner, former deputy of the French Parliament for the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department, and former Minister of Interior under President Macron.

Clara earned her undergraduate degree in Political Science and International Relations from Concordia University in Montreal in 2017. She then received her Masters in Politics of Conflict, Rights, and Justice from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London in 2019. Clara is also a graduate of the “Cycle Jeune” of the Institut des Hautes Etudes de Défense Nationale (IHEDN) in Geopolitics, Defense, and Security in Toulon in 2020. Clara has always been very active in philanthropic and volunteer programs. While in high school, from 2009 to 2011, Clara volunteered as a “Jeune Sapeur Pompier de Paris” where she was trained in military and first aid rescue. During university, she spent a gap year in Senegal with the Education Bureau of UNESCO Dakar.

Alongside her university studies, Clara taught downhill skiing in Quebec and was Faculty Advisor for the National Model United Nations ESG-UQAM delegation in Montreal. She most recently completed a 28 hour 100 kilometer charitable walking challenge for Oxfam.