Ambassador José Valencia, Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the World Trade Organization, UNCTAD and other economic international organizations in Geneva.
Ambassador Jose Valencia has been Permanent Representative to the WTO, UNCTAD, and other international economic organizations since August 2020. He is the current Chairperson of the Committee on Trade and Environment of the WTO. Ambassador Valencia, a career diplomat, was Ecuador's Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2018 to 2020. Previously, he has been Ambassador to South Africa (concurrent to Mozambique and Namibia), delegate observer to the African Union (Addis Ababa), and Permanent Representative to the OAS in Washington, DC. He has also held posts in the Ecuadorian Missions to the UN in New York and Geneva and at the Ministry at the Capital Headquarters.
Ambassador Valencia has a JD degree from the Catholic University of Ecuador. He earned a master's degree in public administration (MPA) from Harvard University and a master's degree in political sciences (MA) from Columbia University (New York), in addition to a Diploma on International Studies from the Diplomatic School of Spain (Madrid).
Jose Valencia has worked as an associate professor in several Ecuadorian universities. He has written and co-authored publications on international humanitarian law, human rights, migration, environmental protection, and other international affairs subjects.
Ambassador Jose Valencia was appointed Permanent Representative to the WTO, UNCTAD and other economic international organizations on July 2020.
Ambassador Valencia was Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador from 2018 to 2020. Previously, he has been Ambassador to South Africa, observer to the African Union, Permanent Representative to the OAS in Washington, DC. He has also held posts in the Ecuadorian Missions to the United Nations in New York and Geneva, and at the Ministry at the Capital Headquarters.
Ambassador Valencia has a JD degree from the Catholic University of Ecuador. He earned a Master’s Degree in Public Administration (MPA) from Harvard University, and a Master’s Degree in Political Sciences (MA) from Columbia University, in addition to a Diploma from the Diplomatic School of Spain.
Jose Valencia has worked as associate professor in several Ecuadorian universities, and has written and co-authored publications on international humanitarian law, human rights, migration, environmental protection, and other topics.
Tatiana Valovaya of the Russian Federation was appointed as Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva on 30 May 2019.
Ms. Valovaya has over 35 years of extensive experience in journalism, diplomacy and government service. She is currently Member of the Board and Minister in charge of integration and macroeconomics of the Eurasian Economic Commission, the executive body of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), which is responsible for implementing decisions, upholding the EEU treaties and managing the day-to-day business of the Union.
She began her career with the Government of the Russian Federation in 1989 and served in various capacities, including as the Third and Second Secretary at the Russian Permanent Mission to the European Union in Brussels (1989-1994) and Deputy Director and subsequently Director of the Department of International Cooperation of the Russian Federation (1999-2012). Before joining the Government of the Russian Federation, she worked as a reporter to “The Economic Gazette” in Moscow (1983-1989).
Ms. Valovaya graduated from the Department of International Economic Relations of the Moscow Financial Institute, holds a Ph.D and a Doctorate of Economic sciences from the State Financial Academy, Moscow.
Rudy Van Beurden is Senior Vice President Public Affairs at FluxSwiss in Switzerland. FluxSwiss is an affiliate company of Belgian based Fluxys, a gas infrastructure company owning and operating pipeline and LNG infrastructure in Europe and Latin America. Rudy has been active within Fluxys since 1996, where has been responsible for a wide range of operational, commercial, strategy and M&A activities. Besides his current activities within the Fluxys group, he has also been Vice President of Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) for several years. He was chairman of the Board of EASEE-gas from 2013 till 2019, a European association set up in 2002 in order to develop and promote business practices to simplify and streamline both physical gas transfer and trading across Europe. From 2015 till June 2020 he was also chairman of the board the Belgian gas association, gas.be. In 2022 he became Vice Chairman of the Transmission Committee within the International Gas Union (IGU) Rudy Van Beurden graduated as an aeronautical engineer from the Polytechnical Division of the Royal Military Academy in Brussels.
Rudy Van Beurden has been Senior Vice President Public Affairs at FluxSwiss since 1 February 2020. Besides his current activities within the Fluxys group, he has been chairman of the Board of EASEE-gas from 2013 till 2019, a European association set up in 2002 in order to develop and promote business practices to simplify and streamline both physical gas transfer and trading across Europe. From 2015 till June 2020 he was also chairman of the board the Belgian gas association, gas.be.
Within Fluxys, and following the ownership unbundling into a fully independent gas infrastructure company, he became responsible for international business development of the company between 2008 and 2012. In 2012 he became the corporate Communication and Public Affairs Manager at Fluxys.
Rudy Van Beurden graduated as an aeronautical engineer from the Polytechnical Division of the Royal Military Academy in Brussels. After having served as a Belgian Air Force officer for about 10 years, Rudy Van Beurden started his career in the gas business in 1996 with the former integrated Belgian gas company Distrigas. In the past he has been responsible for a wide range of operational, commercial, strategy and M&A activities within the company. Within Distrigas he contributed to the creation and operational setup of the Zeebrugge trading hub and later became Managing Director of Huberator, an affiliate company, to manage the hub services.
Francoise has a vast experience in the forest-timber sector, in business management, as well as in national associations, before her election as president of ATIBT.
During her nearly 20 years in Belgium and 25 years in Africa (Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon), she built up an extensive international network and her knowledge of the countries of the Congo Basin, make her a contact person for stakeholders.
She is a member of the FAO Advisory Committee on Sustainable Forest-based Industries.
Peter Paul is currently the Chief Policy Officer of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and is responsible for driving the adoption of the GRI Standards into rules and regulations set by (national) policy makers and capital markets around the world.
Peter Paul has over 20 years of professional experience in public policy, communications and sustainability. In addition to leading his own business, Peter Paul has held executive positions at the LEGO Foundation and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).
Earlier in his career, Peter Paul has held various international positions in communications, sustainable development, government affairs and issues management at The Dow Chemical Company, including leadership of Dow’s Global Water Strategy Team. He holds a degree in Communications from the College for Economic and Business Administration Studies in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.
Elisabeth van Delden is the Sustainability Manager Europe at Woolmark and Campaign Manager for Make the Label Count
Elisabeth started working in the natural fibre industry in 2011 when she joined the International Wool Textile Organisation (IWTO) as Secretary General in Brussels. This was the time and place where she developed her passion for natural fibres and gained expertise in navigating the EU's legislative processes. Before joining Woolmark, she consulted with natural fibre companies along the entire supply chain, from farm to fashion. In her role as Campaign Manager for Make the Label Count, Elisabeth advocates for a level playing field for natural fibres within EU textile legislation. Make the Label Count is building an international coalition of organisations representing a wide range of natural fibre producers and environmental groups, who are all working together to ensure that sustainability claims for textiles in the EU are fair and credible.
AnneMarie van den Berg of the Netherlands was appointed Assistant Secretary-General for Supply Chain Management, in the Department of Operational Support on 10 April 2023.
Ms. van den Berg has over 25 years of experience within the United Nations system, leading and coordinating complex logistical and supply chain initiatives. She was the Coordinator of the Global United Nations COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment and Chair of the United Nations System-Wide COVID-19 Medevac Taskforce, which are two of the Secretary-General’s initiatives to provide critical and preventive care to United Nations personnel, their dependents, humanitarian and development partners.
She also led the Logistics Division in both the Departments of Operational Support and Field Support. Ms. van den Berg began her professional career in logistics and supply chain management in the private sector and served for 13 years at the World Food Programme (WFP), predominantly in emergency response, humanitarian and operational roles in Africa, Latin America and Central Asia.
She also served at the United Nations Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS), the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID).
Ms. van den Berg holds a master’s degree in Latin American Studies from Leiden University in the Netherlands, and a Master of Business Administration from the Open University in the United Kingdom. She is fluent in Dutch, English, French and Portuguese.
Bob Van Den Berghe is a Deputy Senior Programme Coordinator of the UNODC WCO Container Control Programme (CCP). He has a wealth of law enforcement expertise and experience, as well as a proven track record of implementing large scale projects in the Latin American and Caribbean region. For more than 30 years, Bob served in various positions in the national government and UNODC.
He joined UNODC in 2014 as the Regional Coordinator in charge of implementing the CCP in Latin America and the Caribbean based in Panama. Before joining UNODC, Mr. Van Den Berghe worked for the federal judicial Police in Belgium. From 2000 to 2014, he was part of the federal anti-narcotic team from the federal judicial Police at the Port of Antwerp in Belgium, considered the most important port in Belgium, and the second major commercial port in Europe.
He has a lot of experience in international cooperation in order to improve port security, to fight organized crime and to assist the Governments to maintain and strengthen maritime, border and air container cargo controls so as to prevent illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, precursor chemicals, biological, radioactive or nuclear (CBRN) materials, and other illicitly trafficked goods such as falsified medical products, protected wildlife and contraband.