The Ambassador Programme

Gabriela is a lawyer, holds a master’s degree in law from FGV/SP, and is a naming partner of Blanchet Advogados, a law firm that focuses on corporate governance as a central axis for business transformation and sustainability.        

She is the coordinator and ambassador of the Climate Governance Initiative – Chapter Zero Brazil of the World Economic Forum.                  0She is a certified board member by the Sustainability & ESG Competent Boards Global Certificate and Designation (GCB.D).

Gabriela was the President of the Brazilian Institute of Business Law and Ethics – IBDEE, and serves on various governance bodies, being a member of the Board Committee – Conduct of IBGC (Brazilian Institute of Corporate Governance), the Integrity Board Committee of Editora do Brasil S.A., and the B20 – Task Force Integrity & Compliance.

She is a member of the Advisory Board of the sustainability and climate community of IBGC and a member of the international community of Regenerative Leadership: Regenerators. Gabriela coordinated the content curation for the IBGC annual Congresses in 2022 and 2023. She is the author of the book “The Shotgun Clause (Buy or Sell) in Shareholders’ Agreements” and several book chapters on governance, sustainability, and integrity. Additionally, she teaches in various MBA and postgraduate courses at FGV/SP, FAAP, and is an instructor at IBGC.

Alexandra has had a varied career, having worked in industry, the City, the University of Cambridge and as an independent consultant. She has held a number of senior positions including as the Director of the Climate Governance Initiative, founding Executive Director of the Centre of Digital Built Britain, and Deputy Head of the National Digital Twin programme. She is the founder of an independent consultancy providing strategic advice on systems thinking in the built environment, digital transformation and organisational strategy.   

Alexandra was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the King’s Birthday Honours 2024, for services to the built and natural environment.

Alejandro Díaz de León has been Corporate Director of the BAL Group since March 2022. He provides strategic advisory services to the group, which includes leading Mexican enterprises across multiple sectors.

As Governor of Banco de México his 4-year tenure focused on attaining stability, increasing transparency, sustainability and competition, his achievements in those areas were recognized by numerous international and regional awards. He included Banco de México as a founding member of the Central Banks and Supervisors Network for Greening the Financial System.

Alejandro has served on boards for the Bank for International Settlements, Financial Stability Board and IMF as well as representing Mexico at the G20 finance meetings. Throughout his career he has participated in numerous international working groups and economic research projects, as well as in collegiate bodies dealing with central banking, development banking and pensions.

Barbara Duganier has a collaborative and engaging communication style, reflected during several chapters in her 45 year career. She has utilized her strategy development, risk management and financial expertise gained during his executive career during her 11 years of board service, serving on ten boards in multiple facets of the energy industry (including the renewable energy sector) as well as in the consulting, distribution, EPC and IT services sectors.  She presently serves on three public company and two private company boards.           

She has chaired audit, compensation, ESG/enterprise risk, and nominating and governance committees, and has been the lead independent director of a private company during its sale to private equity, resulting in a significant premium to the shareholders. She has corporate governance experience and served on key committees of three additional boards as they underwent the critical decision to sell the companies, achieving significant outcomes for the shareholders. She has corporate governance experience in both public companies and private companies with different ownership structures, including pension funds, private equity and ESOP ownership.  She has been involved in CEO succession events on several boards, including membership on the CEO Succession Committee of a public company.           

She has taken corporate governance very seriously, furthering her expertise by becoming NACD Directorship Certified (NACD.DC), and by receiving her CERT Certificate in Cyber-Risk Oversight from the CERT Division of the Software Engineering Institute of Carnegie Mellon University. She is on the faculty of board advisory services for NACD where she advises various boards on their key challenges.       

She is a frequent and sought-after speaker on corporate governance issues—including important, evolving topics in the boardroom such as the energy transition—sharing insights on how she has provided leadership on these issues for her board companies in different venues.

Angeles Garcia-Poveda has been chairperson of the Board of Legrand since July 1, 2020. She joined the Board as an independent director in 2012 and chaired the Nominations and Governance Committee and the Remuneration Committee, sat on the Strategy and CSR Committee, and has served as Lead Director since 2013.

Until 2008 Angeles worked at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). She sits on the Boards of Directors of Edenred, Bridgepoint and Puig. She is a member of the Executive Council of MEDEF. She also sits on the Boards of Directors of IFA and NEOMA.

Angeles graduated from ICADE in Madrid and NEOMA in Reims, and completed the Business Case Study Program at Harvard University.

Myriam Gómez is an Independent Director of Reale Chile Seguros Generales S.A. and Chile’s representative on the Holding’s Sustainability Committee. Her work has been crucial for the development and positioning of the company in Chile. She also serves on the Sustainability Advisory Council of ProChile and leads the Sustainability Committee of the Chilean chapter of Women Corporate Directors.

Myriam has led several state agencies, including Imagen Chile, Innova Chile, ProChile Italia, and Turismo Chile, demonstrating her ability to lead high-impact initiatives and promote Chile internationally.               

She is a board member of the Sub-Antarctic Center of Cabo de Hornos, which investigates the impact of climate change on sub-Antarctic biodiversity and ecosystems, promoting biocultural education and conservation, as well as social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Additionally, the center seeks to improve local quality of life by leveraging natural resources. Myriam also serves on the board of the Mallines Foundation, dedicated to protecting the most threatened population of Huemules in Chile and their ecosystem, including forests, rivers, and mountains. The foundation works to consolidate the biological corridor ‘Nevados de Chillán and Laguna del Laja’ and generate educational programs for Huemul conservation. She is also a member of the Atacama Astronomical Park board.

As a senior consultant in the Creativity and Culture Unit of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in Washington D.C., Myriam collaborates in creating strategies and public policies for cultural and creative industries (CCI) in Latin America. With over 15 years of experience in corporate governance, she has built a solid network of contacts with professionals from multilateral organizations. Myriam holds a degree in Industrial Civil Engineering, a Master’s in Tourism Economics, and a Master of Science in Technology Management from George Mason University, as well as an international certification in Business Administration from the Institute of Directors in London (IoD). Her experience in strategic analysis, sustainability, and corporate governance makes her a valuable asset to the Chapter Zero Climate Governance Initiative.

Joaquim Levy is the Director of Economic Strategy and Market Relations, Banco Safra Brazil. Mr. Levy is an economist with extensive experience providing innovation and leadership across the public and private financial sector. He is the former Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of the World Bank. Other previous leadership positions include Brazil’s Minister of Finance, president of the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), Executive Vice President of Finance and Administration at the IDB, and President of Bradesco Asset Management. He is currently member of the global boards of WRI and CPI and the advisory board of ICVCM.

Karina is an experienced board director, having served on corporate boards since 2014, and on non-profit boards since 2003, in the UK, US and Continental Europe, with strong expertise in strategic transformation, particularly relating to sustainability and the energy transition. Her prior professional experience was gained in fund management in the City of London, where since 1997 she pioneered the development and evolution of Sustainable Investment and Shareholder Engagement.

Karina currently leads as Chairman of Remuneration & Social Responsibility Committee at EnQuest plc where she was brought in to support the Board’s plan to take the company from traditional independent acquirer and operator of late-life upstream oil & gas assets to a sustainable, Paris-aligned supplier of gas and clean energy. Karina additionally serves on the board of Italian Power Grid operator Terna S.p.A., where she is a member of the Controls, Risks & Sustainability Committee and the Nominations, Governance & Scenarios Committee; as the Ambassador & Founding Chairman of the Climate Governance Initiative, a collaboration with the World Economic Forum to promote climate competence on boards around the world, including a particular focus on the banking sector through the Global Financial Sector Hub; on the Senior Advisory Board of EverMetal Recycling Fund, a private equity fund focused on Circular Economy opportunities in the metals value chain; and on the Advisory Board of Hawkamah, a corporate governance institute that serves the MENA region. Until May 2023, she served on the Board of Italian Oil & Gas major Eni S.p.A., where she chaired the Sustainability & Scenarios Committee, and was a member of the Controls & Risks and the Remuneration Committees.

Mr. Anand Mahindra is the Chairman of the Mahindra Group. His tenure has seen the Group expand domestically and internationally into a range of major industrial sectors from automobiles and agriculture to renewable energy, IT and aerospace.

Mr. Mahindra graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard College (1977) and secured an MBA from the Harvard Business School (1981). In 2008 he was bestowed the Harvard Business School’s Alumni Achievement Award and in 2014 he became the first Indian recipient of the Harvard Alumni Association’s Harvard Medal

He has served on several influential bodies including the Reserve Bank of India Board, UN Global Compact Board, Global Board of Advisors of the Council on Foreign Relations, and the World Bank Group’s Advisory Board for Doing Business. Mr. Mahindra has been conferred with the Padma Bhushan Award (2020), India’s third-highest civilian honour. Mr. Mahindra also initiated the Nanhi Kali programme, which has provided over half a million underprivileged girls access to high-quality education.

Executive Director of Kolibrí, a consultancy firm specialized in sustainability, ESG, and climate change.

For more than two decades dedicated to Corporate Sustainability and ESG advisory, she has consolidated her reputation by driving the transformation towards sustainable and innovative business practices, both in boards of directors and senior management teams.

Since 2022, her commitment to promoting sustainability in the corporate sphere has been strengthened by her active participation in @ChapterZero of the @Institute of Directors of Chile, and as a lecturer at the Institute in the program “ESG, Boards Leading Sustainable Businesses,” thus fostering a responsible and sustainable organizational culture.

She has advised renowned corporations in Chile on sustainability strategies and risks across various industries such as mining, finance, energy, food, beverages, technology, agribusiness, among others. This has solidified her leadership and experience in corporate sustainability and climate change. She also has extensive experience in preparing Integrated Reports, aligned with the highest standards such as GRI, IR, SASB, and now IFRS S1 and IFRS S2.

She has honed her skills in Sustainability, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, and recently has trained to be a company director at the @Institute of Directors of Chile and at IE University in Spain.     

She is an Agronomic Engineer from PUCV, where she trained in environmental issues and the ecosystemic understanding of environments. Additionally, in 2004, she specialized at the University of Barcelona, in the first Master’s in Corporate Social Responsibility and Social Auditing. Subsequently, to broaden her professional perspective, she completed a second master’s in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the same university (2021).              

Currently, she is also a member of the Review Groups of the Sustainable Taxonomy of Chile of the Ministry of Finance. Likewise, she is a member of the Review Groups of the new GRI standards: Mining and Climate Change.

Sheila Murray has been a director of Teck since April 2018 and was appointed Chair of the Board in February 2020.

She is a graduate of Queens University (B.Comm and LLB). Ms. Murray served as President of CI Financial Corp. from 2016 to 2019 and was previously Executive Vice-President, General Counsel and Secretary of CI Financial Corp. Ms. Murray played a key role in directing the operations and setting corporate strategy for CI Financial Corp. and its operating companies, including CI Investments Inc. and Assante Wealth Management. Her role included leading CI’s mentoring program, which fosters the advancement of high-potential female employees. Prior to that, Ms. Murray had a 25-year career at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, where she practised securities law with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, and corporate reorganizations. Ms. Murray is the past Chair of the Dean’s Council at Queen’s University Law School and has also taught Securities Regulation at Queen’s University and Corporate Finance at the University of Toronto’s Global Professional LLM in Business Law Program. Ms. Murray is also a director of BCE Inc. and Bell Canada, and a trustee of Granite REIT.

He has more than 30 years of experience in the energy and infrastructure markets of Chile and Latin America, with a focus on the regulation and operation of electricity markets, development of generation and transmission projects, renewable energies and system flexibility, circular economy and adaptation to climate change.

Mr. Olmedo has held executive positions in electricity generation and transmission companies and shipping and port infrastructure, in management positions in commercial, business development and innovation and operations management. He has been a director in electricity generation and transmission companies and foundations. He was a member of the board of directors of CDEC-SIC and CDEC-SING in Chile. Mr. Olmedo has been an advisor on the regulation and operation of energy markets for public and private entities in the Americas, Africa and Europe. He has been a founder of renewable energy startups and has led energy innovation initiatives. Mr. Olmedo is a professor of the Master’s program in Energy Economics at Santa María University. He is currently President of the Board of Directors of the National Electricity Coordinator, the independent operator of the electrical power grid in Chile.

Datin Seri Sunita Rajakumar is the Founder and Chairperson of Climate Governance Malaysia, the country chapter of the World Economic Forum’s Climate Governance Initiative, the second in the world and first in Asia-Pacific. In just 5 years, under her leadership, it has grown to be a significant advocate for an increase climate ambition and has been behind what is arguably the largest private sector mobilisation, for climate action. She is an independent non-executive director on the board of 5 multinationals, an Adjunct Professor for Climate Change and a trustees at 6 charities. She is an advisor to business schools and universities.

Professional in investment management with 25+ years of experience and leadership in investment funds and listed and unlisted companies, management of companies, financial management and corporate governance. Executive and/or NED in 20+ public and private companies from Romania and Bulgaria active in the manufacturing industries, industrial services, logistic services, investment management and financial advisory services. Currently NED of Policolor-Orgachim Group (leading producer of coatings in Romania and Bulgaria) and Trustee of a private foundation promoting excellence in management. Founder of Chapter Zero Romania and ex-Vice President of the Romanian Independent Directors Association (host of Chapter Zero Romania).

Feike Sijbesma, CEO Royal DSM from 2007 till 2020, transformed DSM from a bulk-chemical company into a purpose driven science-based company, focused on nutrition, health & sustainable living.

He is DSM’s Honorary Chairman; Royal Philips Chairman, and Unilever and Dutch Central Bank board member.

Feike is co-chair Global Center on Climate Adaptation, World Bank Climate Leader (carbon pricing). Feike is co-chair CEO Climate Leaders Alliance and IMF advisory board member, and advisor of Africa Improved Foods and The Ocean Cleanup.

He is UN Humanitarian of the Year; received honorary doctorates from Maastricht and Groningen University; was listed on Fortune’s World’s 50 Greatest Leaders, and a world’s 100 most successful CEO’s by Harvard Business Review.

Feike studied molecular biology and business administration.

Denis has been working in investment management industry since 2007 and covers corporate governance and responsible investment functions. Historically, his focus – public companies with core business in the Former Soviet Union (FSU) countries. His corporate governance expertise also covers the USA, the UK, Hong Kong, several European countries, as well as many jurisdictions popular for creating holding companies. In his role Mr. Spirin has become one of the most well-known corporate governance and responsible investment experts and opinion leaders in the FSU region. Denis has been actively involved in the activities of various expert bodies dealing with corporate governance, sustainability, and financial market. He has a track-record of improvements in investee companies, unique experience of successful promotion of corporate governance reforms in the investment universe’s jurisdictions, as well as experience of The World Bank, OECD, EBRD, UNDP and UNPRI reforms cooperation. Currently he is a member of the Steering Committee of Chapter Zero Uzbekistan

Tarcila Ursini is a pioneer in integrating sustainability into business strategy, management, innovation, and culture within corporate governance in Brazil, active since 2000. In 2022, she was selected by Russell Reynolds as one of the world’s most innovative purpose-driven board leaders, representing Brazil. In 2024, Forbes recognized her as one of the 16 most prominent women serving on boards in Brazil’s Agribusiness and Food sectors. Previously, she worked as a lawyer specializing in M&A and corporate law, with experience in top firms in Brazil and abroad.     

Tarcila has significant experience serving on boards of major companies across various sectors in Brazil, including Sustainability, Innovation, Strategy, and People Committees for organizations like DexcoSA (Duratex), Santander Brasil SA, Grupo Baumgart, Agrogalaxy SA, and Vivara SA. She currently serves on the boards of Grupo Korin and Lwart Soluções Ambientais, is a member of the Board Committees at JSL/Vamos/Movida, and is an Operating Partner at Aqua Capital.

Deeply engaged in civil society, she is Co-Chair of the Board at Sistema B Brasil (B Corps), a Board Member at Instituto Ethos, and an ambassador for the Black Jaguar Foundation, which aims to restore the world’s largest ecological corridor along the Araguaia River (linking the Amazon and Cerrado). She also helped bring the Chapter Zero/Climate Governance initiative to Brazil, anchored at the IBGC.

Tarcila teaches ESG&Sustainability in Brazilian Institute of Corporate Governance – IBGC’s Board Member programs and Sustainability Governance in FIA’s postgraduate program. She holds a Master’s LL.M in Law and Development from the University of London, where she graduated with merit as a British Council scholar. She also has degrees in Economics from University of São Paulo (FEA/USP) and Law from Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC/SP).

Katarzyna Zawodna Bijoch has been with Skanska since 2006 and has served as the CEO of Skanska’s Commercial Development Business Unit in Central and Eastern Europe since 2016. In this role, she oversees the company’s strategy and operations in sustainable and innovative office investments across Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, and Hungary.      

A pioneer in sustainability, Katarzyna was among the first to introduce LEED certification to the Polish office market in 2009, positioning Skanska as the most sustainable developer in Poland and Czechia. Under her leadership, the company expanded its portfolio by acquiring the flex office provider Business Link in 2018. Currently, she is leading Skanska’s entry into the rental living sector with projects in student housing and private rental schemes (PRS).          

Katarzyna is also deeply committed to diversity and inclusion, creating environments of equal opportunities, including barrier-free buildings, and empowering women in business acting as a mentor to younger colleagues. She actively works to improve ethical and sustainablility standards in the region as a member of the policy councils at the UN Global Compact, Chapter Zero organiztion, ULI.             

Her achievements have been recognized with prestigious awards, including the Personality of the Year (Eurobuild Award) and Top Woman in Real Estate in 2020. Katarzyna is also a RICS Fellow, honored for her professional accomplishments and leadership.