Serena Zheng is working in the Chief Architect and Data Management department of ABN AMRO Bank in Amsterdam, active in advocating equality and strongly interested in sustainable finance.

Serena is a former member of Youth Action Hub Netherlands. She joined UNCTAD Youth in 2018. She is 26 years old, born and raised in China, moved to Europe to study and work at the age of 20, lived in France, Spain and the Netherlands.

Zera is the Global Head of Business Resilience Consulting at Maersk. Her leadership in the development of resilience programs, recognized with the Business Continuity Institute Award in 2020, underscores her commitment to industry-wide improvement and innovation. Holding an M.Sc. in Political Economy and certifications such as Associate Member of the Business Continuity Institute (AMBCI) and Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP), Zera brings a wealth of expertise to her field.

Furthermore, Zera has contributed to significant global initiatives, including the UNCTAD Port Resilience Guidebook and sharing her insights through a World Economic Forum blog.

Her involvement in crisis and contingency management, alongside contributions to podcasts and participation as a speaker at various forums, highlights her dedication to resilience. Leading the development of the Maersk Supply Chain Resilience Model in 2021, Zera plays a pivotal role in advancing the field of supply chain resilience with a focus on collective progress and knowledge sharing.

Angela Zhong is a recent Harvard graduate, where she earned a degree in economics and environmental science public policy, along with a citation in Mandarin. Angela has been invited to speak at events including but not limited to: the World Economic Forum, World Bank Spring Meetings, SXSW, the past 3 UN Conference of Parties, the C40 Cities Summit, and many more. For her work, Angela was recognized as the G20 Indonesia 2022 Youth Sustainable and Livable Planet Champion and a Common Purpose 25 under 25. She is currently an analyst at TPG. 

Dr. Martin Zhu is a PhD graduate from the School of Energy and Environment at the City University of Hong Kong and a member of the Green Technology and Finance Development Committee of the HKSAR. He has been recognized among the 3rd Guangdong-HK-Macao Greater Bay Area Outstanding Entrepreneurs and was featured on the 2022 “Innovation China” Youth Entrepreneurship List – Shenzhen U30.

Dr. Zhu’s research focuses on the fundamentals of heat transfer, energy conversion, and engineered materials, with an emphasis on integrating theory and experimentation. Through the HK Tech 300 incubation program, he and his team founded i2Cool, a startup dedicated to commercializing innovative cooling technologies developed in the laboratory to advance energy efficiency.

Michael Zimonyi leads the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB)'s policy and external affairs work. He joined CDSB in 2012 and focuses on policy and corporate engagement. He is also a member of the UN Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative's Technical Working Group. Prior to joining CDSB, Michael has worked at a global pharmaceutical corporation and at the sustainability think tank Forum for the Future. Michael has a degree in Chemistry with Environmental Science from the University of Birmingham, completed a course on Sustainable Finance at the University of Oxford and is a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Omar Zniber is Morocco’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva since 2018. He is currently President of the GSTP Committee of Participants and President of the Group of Francophone Ambassadors in Geneva. He previously served as Ambassador to Germany, Austria, Slovakia, and Slovenia, and held senior positions in Morocco’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He holds a doctorate in public international law from Paris II Panthéon-Assas University.

The Directorate of Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Industrial Development oversees the Organization’s normative contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals, in addition to supporting and advancing the application of strategies and interventions for sustainable industrial development in the environment, energy, and SME areas. Advancing competitiveness and job creation are also key impact dimensions for the Directorate, in addition to the advancement of digitalization and artificial intelligence.  Mr. Zou is also the Director General’s Special Representative for the G77 and China.

Before joining UNIDO, he performed multiple roles, including as Deputy Director General of International Department at the Chinese Ministry of Finance and Alternate to the Chinese Executive Director at the World Bank, and Global Environmental Facility Operational Focal Point for China.

Friedrich zur Heide is the coordinator of the GIZ project BioInnovation Africa.

Geographer by background with a focus on ecology and human-environment interactions, he has worked for the last 11 years in the field of development cooperation.

In particular he has worked as an advisor and coordinator on international short- and long-term assignments, including Mauritania, Ethiopia, Cameroon and Turkey in the areas of natural resources management and valorization as well as protected area and land use management in various forms of organization, from the UN, NGOs via consulting to GIZ.

Friedrich zur Heide is the coordinator of the GIZ project BioInnovation Africa.

Geographer by background with a focus on ecology and human-environment interactions, he has worked for the last 11 years in the field of development cooperation.

In particular he has worked as an advisor and coordinator on international short- and long-term assignments, including Mauritania, Ethiopia, Cameroon and Turkey in the areas of natural resources management and valorization as well as protected area and land use management in various forms of organization, from the UN, NGOs via consulting to GIZ.

Laurent Zylberberg is currently Senior Executive Vice-President of the French Caisse des Depots in charge of International and Public Affairs. He is also Chairman of the European Long Term Investors Association since 2016.

Previously, he was political adviser for different Ministers (Home office, Defence, Prime Minister’s office, social affairs) from 1989 to 1993, he also taught at Sorbonne University in political science and public law. Social Affairs Counsellor at the French Embassy in London until 1996, then joined “Euroconsultants” a consulting company in Brussels. Back to Paris in 1998, he worked for France Telecom/Orange as marketing director for public services. In 2002, he is appointed Group Director for public affairs. In 2005, he is Group Director for Employee Relations. In 2011, he is appointed as CEO of Orange Vietnam before being designated, in 2013 as Group Chief Compliance Officer.

Laurent has a background in sociology, political science and public law. He holds a PhD (1992) in sociology.