Claver Gatete is a Rwandan politician and diplomat who has been serving as the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa since 2023.
Prior to this, Mr. Gatete was the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Rwanda to the United Nations in New York. Mr. Gatete has served in senior government positions, notably as Minister of Infrastructure (2018-2022) and Minister of Finance and Economic Planning (2013-2018).
He has also served as Governor (2011-2013) and Deputy Governor (2009-2011) of the National Bank of Rwanda, Rwanda’s Central Bank, and Secretary General and Secretary to the Treasury at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning in Rwanda (2003-2005).
He was Director General for Economic and Social Affairs in the Office of the President of Rwanda (2000-2003), during which time, he served as the President’s Representative to the New Partnership for Africa’s Development and Coordinator of the National African Peer Review Mechanism.
Mr. Gatete holds a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in agricultural economics from the University of British Columbia in Canada.
Rachel is a consultant in the Legal Unit of the CITES Secretariat, working on a range of legal affairs such as the national legislation project, compliance and matters concerning trade in marine species.
Before joining CITES, Rachel worked as First Secretary, Legal at the United Kingdom Mission to the UN and WTO in Geneva. She has also worked on a range of international trade and environment matters as a legal adviser within the United Kingdom Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Born in Scotland, Rachel studied law at the University of Cambridge and completed legal training with Ashurst LLP in London and Singapore.
Ms. Athanasia Gavala is the Director General of the Hellenic Competition Commission. Ms. Athanasia Gavala's work focuses on merger control, cartel investigations, and antitrust compliance. She has previously worked as counsel in the private sphere and since 2021 she is the Director General of the Hellenic Competition Commission.
Mr. Lansana Gberie was appointed Sierra Leone's Ambassador to Switzerland and the Permanent Representative to the UN and other International Organisations in Geneva in July 2018.
Prior to his appointment to Geneva, Mr. Gberie had been serving as a Political Economy and Security Sector Reform Expert at the United Nations Development Programme project on Liberia Public Expenditure Review of the Justice and Security Sector from November 2017 to March 2018, and as a Political Affairs Officer at the United Nations Mission in Liberia from October 2016 to June 2017. He was also member of the Kimberley Process Review Mission Team for Venezuela in April 2016.
From January 2013 to October 2015, Mr. Gberie was appointed by the Secretary-General as Coordinator and Finance Expert of the United Nations Panel of Experts on Liberia. Between 2011 and 2013, he worked as a Senior Researcher/Political Analyst for the Security Council report in New York. In 2010 and 2011, he was a Senior Researcher at the Institute for Security Studies in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Mr. Gberie also worked as Head of the Liberia Country Office and Senior Associate at the International Centre for Transitional Justice (2008-2009), as Senior Research Fellow at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Ghana (2004-2006), and as Head of the West Africa Programme and Senior Researcher for the International Diamond Trade and Human Security Project of Partnership Africa Canada in Ottawa (1999-2004).
He holds a PhD from VU University of Amsterdam, Netherlands, in social sciences (Africa), a master’s degree in international relations and military history from Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada, and a bachelor’s degree from Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone.
Bas Geerts is the Head of Sustainability at Cefetra Group. Initially educated in Marketing and Communications he broadened and deepened his knowledge with a study on Sustainability, combined with extensive international working experience at World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). He has well over 2 decades of experience in leading multi-stakeholder initiatives, focused on implementing sustainability in several global supply chains (e.g. timber, palm oil, soy, cotton, cane sugar, wild and farmed seafood).
Anna Gelpern is a Scott K. Ginsburg Professor of Law and International Finance at Georgetown Law and a non-resident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
She has published research on government debt, contracts, and regulation of financial institutions and markets. She co-directs the Sovereign Debt Forum (SDF), a collaboration with Queen Mary University of London and scholars from around the world, that most recently launched the #PublicDebtIsPublic initiative, a joint project with Georgetown's Massive Data Institute to create the first centrally collated web-based sovereign debt documentation and data commons.
Paolo Gentiloni served as European Commissioner for Economy from 2019 to 2024.
In December 2024, the United Nations Secretary-General appointed him Co-Chair of the Group of Experts to Promote Policy Solutions for Resolving the Debt Crisis. He is also a nonresident Distinguished Fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Previously, he served as Prime Minister of Italy (2016–2018), Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (2014–2016), and Minister of Communications (2006–2008).
From 2001 to 2019, Gentiloni was a member of the Italian Parliament, where he served as Chairman of the Broadcasting Services Watchdog Committee (2005–2006) and as a Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee (2013–2014).
Earlier in his career, he worked as a professional journalist and served as a Councillor for the City of Rome (1993–2000).
He was also one of the 45 founding members of the Democratic Party (Partito Democratico – PD) and led the party as its President from 2018 to 2019.
Born in 1954, he graduated in Political Science from La Sapienza University in Rome. His most recent book is La sfida impopulista (The (Un)populist Challenge, Rizzoli).
Marvin George is a Commonwealth Scholar who currently serves as Dean of the School of Drama. He is a teaching-artist with over two decades of experience in applied theatre, interested in traditional Caribbean performance and popular development. Although based in Jamaica he continues to serve as director at Jouvay Ayiti, Caribbean Yard Campus, and Arts-in-Action in his native, Trinidad and Tobago, and as a member of CARIBNET (the Caribbean Network of Arts Presenters). As an actor he has worked with some of the Caribbean’s leading playwrights/directors including his mentor Rawle Gibbons, and Nobel Laureate, Sir Derek Walcott. Through his directorial work and teaching at the School of Drama, particularly on ‘Caribbean Culture in Performance’, Marvin continues to interrogate his research interests. He has recently recommenced PhD study at The UWI on a performance research project titled, “making mas with development; making development with mas.”
Her Excellency Ms. Davaasuren Gerelmaa is a senior diplomat with extensive experience in multilateral diplomacy, international cooperation, and policy coordination. She currently serves as Mongolia's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office at Geneva, where she represents her country across a wide range of international organisations and development agendas.
Ambassador Gerelmaa has held key positions within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia, including roles in multilateral affairs and human security, and has contributed to Mongolia's engagement with the United Nations, WTO, and regional forums.
A committed advocate for digital transformation and trade facilitation, she serves as a member of the ASYCUDA Advisory Board, where she actively supports the strategic direction of UNCTAD's digital customs reform initiatives. Her leadership reflects Mongolia's long-standing commitment to international cooperation, digital innovation, and inclusive development.
Ambassador Gerelmaa holds advanced academic qualifications in international relations and public policy.