2019 Class of American & French Young Leaders
June 5, 2019
The French-American Foundation’s influential Young Leaders program brings together leaders from the United States and France to exchange ideas and forge bonds to better address global challenges.
The French-American Foundation is proud to announce its 2019 class of American and French Young Leaders. Created in 1981, the Foundation’s Young Leaders program is a prestigious transatlantic leadership program that brings together a vibrant group of rising stars, aged 30 to 40, from a vast array of sectors whose common link is their passion for forging bonds in a globalized world and using their influence for the common good.
In this two-year program, alternating each year between France and the United States, a group of 40 Young Leaders spends five days together discussing issues of common concern, meeting with local and global specialists, and getting to know one another. After two years, participants join an active community of lifelong alumni.
The Foundation will convene its 2018 and 2019 classes of French and American Young Leaders in Chicago, Illinois from October 16 to the 19.
Among the Young Leaders alumni include more than 500 inspiring people: entrepreneurs and technology experts; fighter pilots and military commanders; lawyers and diplomats; artists, novelists, filmmakers, and professional athletes; and heads of state. US alumni include President Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Oscar-winning filmmaker Charles Ferguson, Executive Dina Powell, and former World Bank President Robert Zoellick. French alumni include astronaut Thomas Pesquet, mathematician and politician Cédric Villani, current French President Emmanuel Macron, and current Prime Minister Edouard Philippe.
Learn more about the Young Leaders program.
2019 American Class of Young Leaders
- Geoffrey Chepiga, Partner, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
- Chloe Demrovsky, President and CEO, Disaster Recovery Institute International (DRI)
- Shaun Gordon, Founder and CEO, Pristine Environments; Managing Partner, AGI Partners LLC
- Christina Grant, Assistant Superintendent, The School District of Philadelphia
- Barkha Gvalani, Partner, GV
- Adam Hodge, Senior Vice President, SKDKnickerbocker
- Leen Kawas, President and CEO, Athira Pharma, Inc.
- Bhama Ramkhelawon, Assistant Professor of Surgery and Cell Biology; Director of Vascular Research Program, New York University Langone Medical Center
- Kabir Sehgal, Founder and CEO, MFT Productions
- Adam Sotomayor, Foreign Affairs Officer, Bureau of Counterterrorism & Countering Violent Extremism, US Department of State
2019 French Class of Young Leaders
- Rania Belkahia, President and Co-Founder, Afrimarket
- Nicolas de Bellefonds, Managing Director and Partner, Boston Consulting Group; Leader, BCG GAMMA France
- Erwin Bruder, Lieutenant-Colonel, Armée de Terre
- Félicie Burelle, Deputy Chief Executive Officer & Strategy and Development Director; Plastic Omnium
- Pierre-Yves Frouin, President, BioSerenity
- Nicole Karam, Associate Professor in Interventional Cardiology, Georges Pompidou European Hospital, Paris-Descartes University
- Laurence Lascary, Producer, DE L’AUTRE COTÉ DU PÉRIPH’
- Arnaud Mentré, Consul General of France in Boston
- Delphine O, Ambassador and Secretary General, UN Women’s Global Forum
- Tony Pinville, Chief Executive Officer, Heuritech