Nancy Gillis is the Senior Director, Industrial Pathways Transformation at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) focused on accelerating the decarbonization, equality and nature positivity of the Mobility, Energy and the Built Environment sectors. She previously led the First Movers Coalition, the global demand-side initiative for innovative decarbonization technology, at the World Economic Forum (WEF). She was the CEO of the Global Electronics Council (GEC) and the Global Lead for Resilient and Responsible Supply Chains at Ernst & Young (EY). During the Obama Administration, Nancy was the Director of the Federal Supply Chain Office at the General Services Administration (GSA), the public procurement agency for the US government, where she was responsible for the inclusion of sustainability criteria in approximately $45 Billion of procurements. Nancy received her graduate degree in Information Technology from Georgetown University.

Dr. Christoph Gebald is the co-founder and co-CEO of Climeworks, the global leader in carbon removal, empowering companies to advance their net-zero roadmaps and fight global warming. Climeworks develops, builds and operates direct air capture plants to remove CO2 from the air since 2009, with commercial operations since 2021—scaling towards gigaton scale in 2050. With more than 15 years of experience in direct air capture, Christoph is considered an expert and among the creators of this growing and crucial industry. In 2023, he was recognized by TIME among the 100 most innovative leaders driving business climate action. Christoph has given keynotes and spoken on panels at high level global events such as the World Economic Forum, COP and Microsoft’s CEO Summit. For three years in a row, he has been selected as a Digital Shaper by Swiss newspapers, BILANZ and Handelszeitung.  Christoph is a mechanical engineer by training, holding a master’s degree with distinction, and a Ph.D. from ETH Zurich. During his Ph.D. he researched direct air capture technologies and founded Climeworks on this basis together with Jan Wurzbacher in 2009. As co-CEO, Christoph oversees the financial, commercial, project development, communications and human resources side of the business. 

Ambassador Niculin Jäger is the Consul General of Switzerland in New York since September 2022. He entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2002, where he worked first at the Integration Office, which is in charge of the relations with the European Union, followed by a posting as attaché in Mexico City. In 2004 he got promoted to the position of Deputy Head of Mission to Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, with residence in Tbilisi. In 2008, back in Switzerland he led the Section for Cultural Foreign Policy in Bern, followed by an assignment as Deputy Head of Mission in Maputo, Mozambique. In 2014 he was nominated Deputy Head of Mission to Brazil with the title of Minister. From 2018-2022 he was the Swiss Ambassador to Zimbabwe and Malawi, 2020 he became also the Swiss Ambassador to Zambia. Ambassador Jäger holds a Master degree in journalism and science of communication, Russian language and cultural philosophy of Eastern Europe of the University of Fribourg, Switzerland.

Benjamin Bollmann is CEO of Swissnex in Boston and New York, Consul of Switzerland in Boston, and Interim CEO of Swissnex in Brazil. He is also Chair of Swissnex’s CEO Committee, which coordinates strategic priorities across the global Swissnex network. Under his leadership Swissnex has launched several long-term initiatives such as Project Quantum, which connects Switzerland and the world in quantum science and technology; Climate Collider, a startup exchange program powered by Swissnex and Innosuisse; and more recently Swissnex for the Planet, which explores the potential for a new planetary diplomacy. Benjamin Bollmann was previously Deputy CEO at Swissnex in San Francisco, where he led interdisciplinary programs spanning from science communication to humanitarian action and human rights in the digital age. Before joining Swissnex in 2015, he worked as a journalist and communications consultant at the interface of science and design in Switzerland. He is a graduate of ETH Zurich and has conducted neuroscience and AI research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.