Maggie McGhee, Executive Director - Strategy and Governance at ACCA, leads ACCA’s development of strategy, its corporate governance arrangements and the governance of ACCA members and students. ACCA has more than 241,000 members and 542,000 future members worldwide, with a large number working in the public sector.
A chartered accountant with a degree in law, Maggie trained with the UK National Audit Office where she was the Director General, Audit. With over 18 years’ experience of auditing central government entities, Maggie is currently an audit committee member of a UK central government body and chairs the Users and Preparers Advisory Group, which provides independent recommendations and advice to the UK Treasury for improving financial reporting in the public sector.
Alan McKinnon is Professor of Logistics in the Kuehne Logistics University, Hamburg, Germany and Emeritus Professor at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK.
Over an academic career spanning 45 years he has conducted research on many different aspects of logistics and supply chain management, publishing extensively in journals, books and reports.
He has advised several governments, parliamentary committees and international organizations, including the World Bank, International Transport Forum and European Commission. He was chair of the World Economic Forum’s Logistics and Supply Chain Council, a member of the EU's High Level Group on Logistics and chair of the Transport Advisory Group of the EU’s Horizon 2020 research programme. Much of his research has focused on the environmental sustainability of logistical activities.
He was a lead author of the transport chapter in the IPCC's 5th Assessment report and has written a book on Decarbonizing Logistics and a World Bank report on Decarbonizing Logistics in Lower Income Countries.
Liam has been working on energy management systems in Ireland since 2005 and internationally since 2011 as the Lead International industrial energy efficiency expert with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) working on the development and delivery of EnMS capacity building. He has worked with UNIDO in South Africa, Malaysia, Moldova, Russia, North Macedonia, Georgia, Iran and Ukraine.
He studied Marine Engineering initially and later achieved a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA). The first decade of Liam's career was spent as a sea-going marine engineer. This was followed by over a decade as an energy manager in the pharmaceutical industry. Since 2001, he has worked as an energy management and decarbonisation consultant.
He has been UNIDO expert on the ISO Technical Committee that developed ISO 50001 and its supporting standards. He has been the lead author on a number of Guidebooks on implementing energy management systems and has led numerous successful implementations of EnMS compliant with ISO 50001 Energy Management Systems.
He has worked with UNIDO in South Africa, Malaysia, Moldova, Russia, North Macedonia, Georgia, Iran and Ukraine.
He has developed training programs on behalf of ISO that have been delivered to energy experts in over 100 countries globally. He was also the Course Director for the European Defence Agency supporting the implementation of energy management systems throughout the defence forces of the EU.
He has spoken at energy conferences in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas about energy management, energy efficiency and energy performance measurement.
Arthur is currently working as an External Affairs and Legal Executive at a multinational corporation. In addition, he is a youth advocate who has supported the UNCTAD Youth Network from its very beginnings. He is engaged in the spiritual, mental and physical development of young people, and as part of the UNCTAD14 Youth Forum, supported the drafting and creation of the first UNCTAD Youth Declaration in 2016.
In 2018, Arthur worked more closely on advancing the values of the UNCTAD Youth Network as an UNCTAD intern, being a member of the organizing team for the 2018 Youth Forum and playing an instrumental role in the conception of the UNCTAD Youth Action Hubs. Believing that UNCTAD and UN agencies more broadly can enhance their efforts to hear from and work with young people from a wider cross-section of society, including disenfranchised and less privileged youth, Arthur has continued to expand the UNCTAD Youth Network on the basis of principles such as inclusiveness, authentic engagement, and non-judgement.
While holding an LLB and a BA in Politics and Policy Studies, he continues to volunteer his time towards the UNCTAD Youth Network and youth advocacy.
Jane Meade serves as Group Executive Director within the Professional Services Group (PSG) and is a member of the ANAO’s Executive Board of Management. Since joining the ANAO in February 2016, Jane Meade has played a key role in supporting the Auditor-General, focusing on the application of professional standards, maintaining the quality assurance framework, and managing external relationships.
Before joining the ANAO, Jane Meade was the National Technical Partner at RSM Australia. Jane Meade has also held senior positions at Tower Australia Limited and Deloitte, including serving as Client Director in both the Professional Standards Review and National Assurance and Advisory Services groups.
Jane Meade holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales, is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, and an Executive Fellow of ANSZOG. Jane Meade is a member of the Forum for INTOSAI Professional Pronouncements (FIPP) and previously served on the Australian Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AUASB).
Jean-Cedric Meeus works with UNICEF as Global Chief of transport for all supplies from an end-to-end perspective. Over the years his work has focused on improving supply chains with UNICEF since 2001 and before with NGOs.
Since 2001, Jean-Cedric performed in different Supply chain functions based in Mozambique, HQ NY (Supply Emergency Response Officer), HQ Copenhagen (Chief Emergency Supply Manager), Dakar Regional office of Western and Central Africa as regional (RO Supply Chain manager). More recently he was seconded to the Gaza UN Special envoy as Supply Chain Advisor.
Prior to UNICEF, Jean-Cedric performed as Supply and Program Technical Specialist with MSF for 9 years in different countries. Jean-Cedric has led and managed emergency operations and Supply chain teams in a wide range of global humanitarian crises and development programs.
Through Jean-Cedric's different positions he managed pharmaceuticals, immunization, health, education, and WASH commodities to be delivered from origin to beneficiaries.
Pradeep S. Mehta is a distinguished public policy advocate and the Founder Secretary General of Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS International), a globally recognized non-profit think tank based in Jaipur, India. With a career spanning over four decades, Mehta has been instrumental in driving critical policy reforms in India and internationally, guided by his enduring motto: to make the world a better place to live in.
Mehta established CUTS in 1983, and under his visionary leadership, it has grown into a global organization with centers in Nairobi, Lusaka, Hanoi, Accra, Geneva, and Washington, D.C.
His advocacy has not only shaped national and global discourse on competition, trade, and consumer protection but has also fostered a generation of changemakers.
Dr. Suman Bery, Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog, credits Mehta’s achievements to his unwavering commitment to consumer welfare particularly in the often-overlooked rural and underserved areas of India and his strategic presence outside the policy bubble of India’s metros.
He currently serves a third term on the WTO Director-General’s NGO Advisory Board and is a member of the G20/B20 Council on Africa’s Economic Integration. He has held several key advisory roles with the Government of India, including on the Board of Trade, Better Regulatory Advisory Group, Steering Committee on Ecomark, and as Chair of both the Planning Commission’s Task Force on Competition Policy and the Ministry of Surface Transport’s Working Group on Road Safety Education.
His contributions have earned him numerous honors, including the M. R. Pai Award (2007), SKOCH Excellence Award (2021) for promoting competition and consumer protection, the Madhav Award for Eminent Alumni from Scindia School (2018), and most recently, the BusinessWorld Social Impact Award (2023).
A prolific columnist, accomplished speaker, and skilled trainer in the social sciences, Mehta was named one of the 30 most prominent columnists in India by a leading national daily. At 76, he continues to serve as a powerful voice for equitable, inclusive, and consumer-centric economic policy around the world.
Professor Maximo Quibranza Mejia is the eighth President of the World Maritime University (WMU), a university established within the framework of the IMO and a global centre of excellence for maritime and ocean education, research, and capacity building.
He is the first President from Asia and the first President who is a graduate of WMU. As the Chief Executive Officer, Professor Mejia oversees and directs the academic programmes, operations, and administration of the University.
With over three decades of professional and academic experience, Professor Mejia is a passionate international advocate for the promotion of safe, secure, sustainable, and efficient shipping on clean oceans.