Nicolas Rossin is the new Head of Biodiversity projects (which includes support to protected areas, conservation trust funds, small initiatives programs and BioTrade) at the French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM).

Before joining FFEM last September, Nicolas has been working within the French Development Agency (AFD) for 20 years, both in field offices (South Pacific, Mauritania and China) as well as at AFD headquarters in Paris. His last position within AFD for the past 6 years was as Task Team Leader in the Agriculture, Rural Development and Biodiversity unit where, based in the Beijing regional office, he was in charge of managing AFD funded biodiversity projects in China, AFD's largest portfolio in this topic.

Nicolas holds a master in business administration and economics from the Ecole Supérieure des Sciences Economiques et Commerciales (ESSEC) as well as a university degree in wetlands and coastal management from the University of Rennes.

Richard V. Rothenberg is an Executive Director at Global A.I. Corporation, a Big Data and Artificial Intelligence company that provides quantitative research, data-driven signals and alternative data for Institutional clients, with a focus on sustainable finance and benchmarking Companies and Countries against the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Previously, Richard worked as a quantitative portfolio manager and researcher at multi-billion dollar hedge funds and global investment banks, including Deutsche Bank, Man investments and other leading institutions. Richard is a research affiliate at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory – one of the world’s largest supercomputing laboratories – and an advisor at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Richard is a member of the Task Force on data for the Sustainable Development Goals at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and member of the United Nations Science, Technology, and Innovation for the SDGs, a leading multi-stakeholder mechanism to leverage state-of-the-art technologies for the SDGs. Richard is also Co-Head of the Quantitative Investing Group and Chair of the Investment Roundtable at the CFA Society New York. Richard holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Computational Finance from the Monterrey Institute of Technology, a Certificate of Quantitative Finance from the CQF Institute, and a Master’s in Management and Quantitative Finance from Columbia University in New York City.

Mr. Henry K. Rotich is currently the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury in Kenya. He assumed the position in May 2013 following the successful general election under the new Constitutional dispensation. In this portfolio, Mr. Rotich is charged with managing Kenya’s national government finances, including spearheading an efficient and sustainable public financial management under a new devolved system of governance, which is fundamental for promoting equitable socio-economic development and efficient delivery of services to Kenyans. Mr. Rotich has been instrumental in prioritizing increasing investment in infrastructure, agriculture, security, education and skills development to raise productivity, as well as improving the business environment to promote investments, consistent with the new Administration’s development agenda. More recently, Mr. Rotich led the largest successful debut bond issuance in Africa, where Kenya raised US$ 2 billion to finance infrastructure. The Eurobond has been voted the best emerging market deal in Africa and third in emerging markets in 2014. Prior to his elevation as a Cabinet Secretary, Mr. Rotich was the Head of Macroeconomics at the Ministry of Finance, since March 2006. Under this capacity he was involved in formulation of macroeconomic policies that ensured an affordable and sustainable path of public spending aimed at achieving the Government’s development priorities. He was also involved in preparation of key budget documents including the Budget Policy Statements, as well as providing strategic coordination of structural reforms in the area of fiscal and financial sector. Before joining the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Rotich also worked at the Research Department of the Central Bank of Kenya since 1994. Between 2001-2004, he was attached to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) local office in Nairobi to work as an economist. Mr. Rotich has also served in other senior positions. He was a Director on several Boards of State Corporations, including; Insurance Regulatory Board; Industrial Development Bank; Communications Authority of Kenya; and Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. Mr. Rotich holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration (MPA) from the Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University, USA. He also holds a Master’s Degree in Economics and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics, both from University of Nairobi, Kenya.

Chris Ruane is Trustee of Oxford Mindfulness Centre and a long-time advocate for mental health and human flourishing. He has been a member of the British Parliament since 1997. In 2013, he set up free mindfulness classes in the UK Parliament and has established a mindfulness practice group in UK Parliament in 2013 and the Mindfulness All Party Parliamentary Group in 2014, a cross party group dedicated to developing public policy on mindfulness in health, education, criminal justice, and the workplace.

Monica Rubiolo is Head of Trade Promotion at the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO.

She leads SECO’s efforts to foster trade in developing countries that is socially responsible, environmentally friendly, inclusive and thereby sustainable. This includes supporting framework conditions for sustainable trade, enhancing international competitiveness and market access of SMEs and producers alike, and strengthening a resource-efficient private sector in partner countries.

Monica Rubiolo obtained her PhD from the University of Tübingen, Germany, and published extensively on issues related to economic development. She was Assistant Professor at the Catholic University in Cordoba (Argentina) and has also taught at the Universities of Tübingen (Germany) and Bilbao (Spain). She has worked in Taipei, Taiwan, and at the European Institute of Latin American Studies (IRELA) in Madrid. She joined SECO in 2003, focusing on public financial management and financial sector support, before moving to Trade Promotion. She is member of the Boards of the Swiss Sustainable Coffee Initiative and Swiss Platform on Sustainable Cocoa.

H.E. Mr. Febrian Alphyanto Ruddyard was appointed as the Vice Minister of the National Development Planning/Vice Head of National Development Planning Agency on 20 October 2024.

He served as Permanent Representative of the Republic of Indonesia to the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, and other international organizations in Geneva from December 2021 to January 2025.

During his tenure in Geneva, Ambassador Ruddyard was elected to numerous strategic positions in international organizations, among them: President of the Trade and Development Board of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (2023- 2024), President of the United Nations Conference on Disarmament (February 2024), Vice President of the United Nations Human Rights Council (2024), Chair of the ASEAN Committee in Geneva (2023), Chair of the MIKTA Group (2023), Chair of the Working Group on Situations of the United Nations Human Rights Council (2022), President of the Fifth Session of the Intergovernmental Experts on e-Commerce and the Digital Economy of the UNCTAD (2022) and many others.

Ambassador Ruddyard served as Deputy Minister for Multilateral Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia in Jakarta from 2017 – 2021.

Ambassador Ruddyard joined the Indonesian diplomatic corps in 1990 and has a long record of working in various areas of issues and positions. Among others are Director for Middle East Affairs (2013-2014) and Director for International Security and Disarmament Affairs (2010-2013).

From 2015 to 2017, Ambassador Ruddyard served as the Deputy Chief of Mission at Indonesian Embassy in Vienna. His diplomatic assignment includes the Indonesian Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, Indonesian Embassy in Canberra, and Riyadh. Ambassador Ruddyard also served as the Coordinator of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) on Disarmament Affairs in New York from 2007-2010.

Ambassador Ruddyard holds a Master of Arts in International Studies from the University of Birmingham. He is married with three sons.

Dr. Michelle Rufaro Maziwisa is a postdoctoral researcher at the Dullah Omar Institute for Constitutional Law, Governance and Human Rights.

She is an admitted attorney, and advocates for multi-disciplinary approaches to economic development, taking into account the gendered dimensions of economic governance.

Dr Maziwisa holds a Doctor of Laws (LLD) from the University of the Western Cape, Master of Laws (LLM) from the University of Cape Town and Bachelor of Laws from Nelson Mandela University. She has been awarded research fellowships from the University of Hamburg (Germany) and has presented in national and international conferences.

Her areas of expertise: are public law, multilevel government law and policy, international trade and investment law, business and human rights, constitutional law, women's rights, including feminist trade justice, feminist tax justice.

Rodrigo Rupérez is a consultant for UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on supply chain and voluntary sustainability standards (VSS).

He has worked for APEC, CARICOM and Comunidad Andina (CAM) developing and implementing sustainable development projects in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Perú and the Caribbean region. Awarded in 2021 by the Social Impact Accelerator (SIA), the first pan-European public-private partnership led by the European Investment Bank Group.

Committed to sustainability, his expertise and interests include sustainable value chain, trade, social development and renewable energies. Rodrigo holds an MBA from IESE Business School, research-proficient studies in Science History from the University of Valladolid and a degree in Business and Economics from the University of Navarra.

Cielo Elainne Rusinque Urrego is currently Superintendent of Industry and Commerce of Colombia. 

Prior to that, she served as Director General of the Administrative Department for Social Prosperity. She has taught in the Postgraduate Certificate in Administrative Law at Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Señora del Rosario, worked as a research professor at Universidad Externado de Colombia, and lectured in Constitutional Law at Universidad de Cundinamarca. She currently teaches Constitutional Law at Universidad Externado de Colombia. 

She has extensive experience as a lawyer, consultant, and litigator in both Colombia and France. Her professional background includes working at the law firm Mialot Avocats, serving as advisor to the Military Attaché of the Colombian Embassy in France, working in the Legal Office of the Mayor’s Office of Fusagasugá, and holding judicial assistant and secretary positions at the Office of the Attorney General of Colombia, at the National Directorate of Prosecutors, National Unit for Prosecution against Kidnapping and Extortion. 

She is a lawyer from Universidad Externado de Colombia. She holds two master's degrees: one in Constitutional Law and another in Political Studies Research from Panthéon-Assas University (Paris II), where she is currently a PhD candidate in Constitutional Law. She is fluent in French.