Tahira Banks is the Co-founder of Why Thoughtful, a digital marketing agency. Driven by a passion to use her work to create opportunities for other people to live their dreams; particularly people that come from developing regions like herself. Growing up, Tahira always believed that the world was filled with endless opportunities. To that end, Tahira believes that if we create more opportunities and platforms for people to believe in and realize their full potential, we’ll start to see radical improvements in the way our economies work, the way our societies evolve, the way we treat each other. Together with her partner Gino Steve Webster, Tahira created Thoughtful, a digital marketing agency, to help brands around the World, and specifically in developing regions, do just that; Use their products and services to grow their businesses and empower people and other organizations in the communities they serve. She has been fortunate to have worked with diverse clients from across the United States, Los Angeles to New York, and throughout the Caribbean. Our team has achieved success with brands in Tourism, Entertainment, Digital and Television Production, Telecommunications, Commercial Banking, Research, Energy, Education, Sports and Government. We are all connected. With collaboration, we get stronger and better.
Alejandro Bañol Salazar is the Bioeconomy and Green Business Focal Point at the Green Business Office of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia.
He is an environmental engineer with a postgraduate degree in environmental law and a master’s degree in government and public policy. Bañol Salazar has experience in the public and private sector in coordination and leadership for consulting and structuring programs and projects, particularly in environmental management, bioeconomy and biotrade.
He has also experience from the technical, business and environmental cooperation component to develop actions regarding productive transformation and territorial development.
Ruth Banomyong is currently Dean at the Faculty of Commerce & Accountancy (a.k.a Thammasat Business School), Thammasat University in Thailand.
Mr. Banomyong received his PhD in 2001, in the field of International Logistics within the Logistics & Operations Management Section (LOMS) at Cardiff Business School (UK). He was the winner of the James Cooper Cup in 2001 for the best PhD dissertation in logistics from the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport (CILT) in the United Kingdom.
In 2016, Supply Chain Asia (Singapore) awarded him the prize of supply chain educator of the year while the Industrial Engineering & Operations Management (IEOM) Society awarded him with the Distinguished Educator Award in 2021.
Mr. Banomyong's main research interests are in the field of multimodal transport, international logistics, trade facilitation, logistics development policy, supply chain performance and humanitarian supply chains. He has published over 100 papers and reports in journals, such as International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management, and has co-authored more than 10 books.
Since 1995, he has been a consultant for international agencies, such as the United Nations Conference on Trade & Development (UNCTAD), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP), The World Bank, The Asian Development Bank (ADB), The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the OECD.
Professor Manuel Barange is Assistant Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and Director of its Fisheries and Aquaculture Division. He is an honorary professor at the University of Exeter, UK, and Visiting Professor at the Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, CAFS, China.
Barange was Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Director of Science at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory (UK) and Chair of the scientific committee of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Professor Barange is a global fisheries and aquaculture expert, with particular focus on climate and anthropogenic impacts on marine ecosystems and on the role of aquatic foods in ending hunger and poverty.
He has over 130 academic publications and is the lead Editor of the FAO flagship biennial publication “State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture”. He has contributed to several IPCC reports and was Review Editor of the IPCC special report on Oceans and the Cryosphere (SROCC). In 2010 he was awarded the UNESCO-IOC Roger Revelle Medal for his contribution to ocean science.
Mr. Michal Baranowski has served as undersecretary of state in Poland’s Ministry of Economic Development and Technology since December 2024. He is a political scientist and author of numerous publications on transatlantic relations, European policies, and the European security order.
Baranowski began his career as an analyst in GMF’s Brussels office and served the organization in various capacities, focusing on transatlantic cooperation, particularly with Central Europe and the Eastern Partnership countries. Between 2008 and 2011, he worked at GMF’s headquarters in Washington, DC, where he led a project on transatlantic trade. In 2011, he established GMF’s Warsaw office, the city’s first permanent office of a Western think tank. Ten years later, he became managing director of GMF East, overseeing the organization’s work in Poland, Ukraine, the Baltic States, the Visegrád Group, and Romania. His team produced a report on a “Marshall Plan” for Ukraine.
Baranowski is a frequent contributor to Polish and international media, offering analysis of economic and international affairs. He studied economics and political science at Mercer University in the United States, the University of Oxford, and Maastricht University. He holds a master’s degree in European public affairs from Maastricht University.
Carla Barata has been serving as the Acting Director-General of the Directorate-General for Consumers (DGC) since August 2024. Prior to this, she has been the Head of Unit of the International Affairs Department at the DGC since 2017.
With over 35 years of experience in consumer protection policy and law, she is a respected expert in the field. She actively represents the DGC and Portugal as a member of several European and international cooperation networks, including the Consumer Protection Network (CPN), Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) network, UNCTAD, FIAGC, OECD (serving as one of the Vice-Chairs of the Committee for Consumer Protection “Bureau”), and ICPEN.
Over the past 15 years, Jorge has led programs on marine and coastal governance, climate adaptation, and biodiversity conservation across Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia-Pacific, and the Gulf.
Jorge’s work has contributed to global dialogues on ocean sustainability, mobilizing over US$10 million in program funding, and informed innovative policy solutions in collaboration with national governments and multilateral partners. For example, serving as an ‘ocean advisor’ and working closely with ambassadors’ part of the Pacific Small Islands Developing States (PSIDS), Jorge made significant contributions to the negotiations and drafting of the original SDG 14 concept note in 2013.
Whether at the World Bank, the United Nations, or in high-level advisory roles in governments [e.g., Saudi Arabia], Jorge has consistently applied results-driven leadership, technical rigor, and a deep commitment to inclusive development. Jorge’s hobbies include SCUBA Diving and sailing ‘traditionally rigged’ vessels.
In 2020 Fabrizio was appointed Seafarers and Inland Navigation Sections Coordinator, this role assists the ITF Affiliates to be represented at an international level in a variety of fora, including the ILO and IMO.
Fabrizio joined the ITF in 1993 as an inspector in Italy and took on the role of coordinator in 1996. He then moved to London to start work in the ITF London office where he has held several positions including head of the 'Actions' unit and Manager of the Maritime Operations team. In 2011, Fabrizio became Assistant Secretary of the ITF Seafarers, Fisheries and Inland Navigation sections.
Following his studies, Fabrizio spent two years in service in the Italian navy working on board coastguard and search & rescue vessels as chief engineer. He then worked as an engineer on board dry cargo, tankers, and cruise vessels in both the public and private sectors.