Ms. Lee Mi-kyung is the President of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) since November 2017. Based on her 20 years of legislative activities and field experience from her 20 years as a leader of a civic group, Ms. Mi-kyung is spearheading the development and change in KOICA, the lead body for South Korea's official development assistance.

Prior to this, Ms. Mi-kyung held a parliamentary seat for five consecutive terms from 1996 to 2006. She served in the parliamentary committee for diplomatic affairs and unification and led the Korean Women's Association United, an umbrella body for women's rights groups. In 2015 Ms. Mi-kyung served as the Co-Representative of the Korea Women Parliamentarian Network and a Visiting Professor of the Graduate School of Policy Sciences at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, South Korea. In addition, Ms. Mi-kyung has served as a Member of 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th National Assembly of the Republic of Korea. She was appointed the Chairman of Special Committee on Housing & Welfare for Low Income People in 2015. Ms. Mi-kyung has also served as the President of ROK-EU Inter-Parliamentary Council from 2012 to 2016. Appointed the Chairman of Special Committee on Sexual Violence & Harassment against Children & Women in 2012, she also served as the Co-Representative of Korean NGO Committee for the 4th UN World Conference on Women and the standing Vice-Chairperson and Representative of Korea Women’s Association United, as well as Korean Women Link.

In 2016 Ms. Mi-kyung received the Grand Prize Award for Grand Prize Award for ‘The Qualitative Evaluation on Legislation & Policy Development Parliamentarians’ by the Chairman of the National Assembly.

Mr. Hendrik Jacobus du Toit is the Chief Executive Officer at Investec Asset Management Pty Ltd., and Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Investec Asset Management Ltd. In 1992 he became the Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of Investec Asset Management and through his leadership grew the company from a small South African start-up to an international specialist fund management firm. He is an investor with an eye towards Africa, and because he is from Cape Town his business understands the vulnerabilities and opportunities of the African financial market.

Mr. du Toit holds an M.Phil. in Economics and Politics of Development from Cambridge University, an M.Com. in Economics and International Finance (Cum Laude), and a B.Com. Honors in Economics (Cum Laude) and Law from the Stellenbosch University.

Mr. Börje Ekholm is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Ericsson Group. Mr. Ekholm assumed this role on January 16, 2017. He knows the company and the industry well after being a Board member of Ericsson for nearly 10 years (first elected 2006). Most recently Mr. Ekholm was Chief Executive Officer of Patricia Industries, a division within Investor AB (2015 – January 15, 2017). Prior to assuming this position in 2015, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Investor AB between 2005 and 2015. Previous positions also include Head of New Investments and President of Investor Growth Capital Inc. Ekholm has had various positions at Novare Kapital AB and McKinsey & Co Inc.

Mr. Ekholm holds a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, as well as a Master of Business Administration, from INSEAD, France. He is a board member of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson and Alibaba, Inc.

Dr. Hamadoun Touré is the Executive Director of SMART Africa, an innovative commitment by African leaders to jointly accelerate socio-economic development through ICTs. He served as the Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) from 2007 to 2014, which helped aid the Millennium Development Goals and raised US$55 billion in investment pledges to telecommunications infrastructure.

Dr. Touré is the co-vice-chair of the Broadband Commission for Digital Development and also serves on the International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber Threats (IMPACT) International Advisory Board.

Mr. Ashish Thakkar is a Fourth Generation African and entrepreneur. He is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Mara Group and Mara Foundation, and Co-Founder of Atlas Mara. He founded Mara Group, a conglomerate that spans 22 African countries, In Uganda in 1996 when he was 15 years old. It originated as a small IT business and has expanded to include manufacturing, real estate, and agriculture.

In 2013, Mr. Thakkar co-founded Atlas Mara, a company that invests in commercial banking institutions across Africa. And in 2009 he founded Mara Foundation, a non-profit company that mentors and supports young African entrepreneurs. He is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders.

Mr. Niclas Kjellström Matseke is the Chief Executive Officer of Perennis Africa. Prior to this, Mr. Matseke was the Chief Executive Officer of Novamedia Nordics for 10 years, which produces television shows and owns and operates the Swedish Postcode Lottery. It is a pioneer of market driven charity – using commercial methods to generate funding for charities, making it the third largest private donor in the world with over 6.1 billion Euros in donations.

He is a member of the Elders’ Advisory Board, the global business network of the Young President Organisation, and serves on the UN’s Sustainable Development Solutions Network Leadership Council. Previously Mr. Kjellström-Matseke held senior management positions in various companies and was the CEO of Spero, a retail company. He is Swedish and South African, and in 2016 relocated to South Africa to focus on developing business and sustainable solutions in Southern Africa.

Mr. James Mwangi is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Equity Bank Kenya Limited. He is currently the Chairman of Kenya’s Vision 2030 Delivery Board charged with the responsibility of ensuring Kenya becomes a middle income country with global high standards of living by the year 2030. James was vested the First Class Chief of the Order of the Burning Spear (CBS) national decoration for outstanding contribution in economic development, as well as the Moran of the Burning Spear.

Mr. Mwangi was named the World Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young in 2012, the Forbes Africa Person of the Year in 2012 and is a holder of the 2007 Global Vision Award. He serves on several international bodies as an advisor, such as the Africa Leadership Academy in South Africa, the Global Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition among others and is the Chancellor Meru University College of Science and Technology.

Paul Polman was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Unilever, a world leader in food and detergent products in 2009. Polman received his BBA and BA at the University of Groningen in 1977 and then his MBA in Finance and International Marketing in 1070 at the University of Cincinnati. Upon graduating, he immediately began working for Procter & Gamble as a cost analysis. He stayed at the company for the next 27 years, working his way up to the Managing Director and the Group President in Europe. In 2006 Polman joined Nestlé as chief financial officer and became vice president for the Americas in February 2008. In June 2014 Polman received his honorary doctorate during the 400th anniversary of the University of Groningen and on May 18, 2018, he received his Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from George Mason University.

Polman is a former Chair of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and sits on the board of directors of the Consumer Goods Forum, leading its sustainability efforts. He is also a member of board of the UN Global Compact. At the invitation of the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Polman served as one of the 27 members of the UN High Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda. At the invitation of former Mexican President, Felipe Calderon, Polman served on the International Council of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate. Polman has received several awards for business leadership related to sustainable development.

Mr. Shinichi Kitaoka is President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Before assuming the present post, he was President of the International University of Japan.
Mr. Kitaoka's career inclues Professor of National Graduates Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS (2012 -). Professor of Graduates Schools for Law and Politics, the University of Tokyo (1997-2004, 2006-2012). Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. Deputy Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations (2004-2006), Professor of College of Law and Politics, Rikkyo University (1985-1997). Mr. Kitaoka's speciality is modern Japanese politics and diplomacy. He obtained his B.A (1971) and his PHD.(1979) both from the University of Tokyo. He is Emeritus Professor of the University of Tokyo.
He has numerous books and articles in Japanese and English including A Political History of Modern Japan: Foreign Relations and Domestic Politics (Tokyo: Yuhikaku, 2011), Political Dynamics of the United Nations. Where Does Japan Stand ? (Tokyo: Chuokoron - Shinsha, 2007) and Japan as a Global Player (Tokyo: NTT Publishing, 2010). He received many honors and awards including the Medal with Purple Ribbon for his academic achievements in 2011.