Paul has over a decade of experience in strategic communications, external relations and stakeholder engagement within international finance.
He is currently leading the day to day operations of the Secretariat, and prior to this was head of communications, with responsibility for research and publications, outreach and external affairs, PR and media strategy.
Prior to joining the BU, Paul managed a portfolio of conferences on international finance and institutional investment at Informa, one of the world’s largest media, events and publications companies.
He holds an MA from King’s College London and a BA from Trinity College Dublin.
Melanie Heath is a conservation leader with 30 years’ experience in international conservation and sustainable development. She is working to ensure that trade in wild species is legal and sustainable, for the benefit of the planet and people. As part of TRAFFIC’s senior leadership team, she plays a leading role in the development and promotion of the work of the Global Programme Office, with special attention to global and multi-regional programmes, partnerships and policy dialogue.
TRAFFIC has recently launched its 2030 Strategy with a significant focus on five priority areas: strengthening global policy frameworks; improving effectiveness of national policies and regulations; empowering communities; enabling responsible supply chains; and catalysing responsible consumption. Before joining TRAFFIC, Melanie was the Global Director for Science and Policy with BirdLife International.
H.E. Kim Hee-sang is Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea.
As a career diplomat, he has dedicated much of his 30-year experience to economic affairs and trade negotiations. He served as Director of FTA Goods Negotiations and as Director of FTA Negotiation Coordination Division, and had led the effort for Korea-EU FTA negotiations. He was appointed as the Deputy Director-General for Bilateral Economic Affairs in 2017 and as Director-General of the same bureau in 2018, and was responsible for Korea's bilateral economic relations with many key economic partners.
He has been posted to the Korean Missions to the UN Office in Geneva and to the European Union, the Korean Embassy in India and the Korean Consulate General in Shanghai.
From 2019 to 2022, he was appointed as the Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of the Korean Permanent Delegation in the OECD. Most recently, he has served as the Ambassador to the Republic of Uzbekistan.
He holds a BA in Economics from Seoul National University and a Master of Laws from the University of Edinburgh, U.K.
Ambassador Alaa Hegazy is the Permanent Representative of Egypt to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva, a role he assumed in November 2024.
He has held numerous senior positions throughout his career, including Assistant Foreign Minister and Chief of the Minister’s Cabinet in Cairo, and Ambassador of Egypt to the Kingdom of Sweden.
Ambassador Hegazy has also served in key diplomatic posts in Washington D.C., Beijing, and Geneva, and has been closely involved in international economic affairs and multilateral diplomacy. He holds degrees in Economics & Law, a Master’s degree in International Political Economy from Warwick University (United Kingdom) and a Law degree from Cairo University.
Pasi Hellman is Under-Secretary of State for International Development at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland since September 2022.
Before his current position, Mr Hellman was Finland’s Consul General in Shanghai, China (2019- 2022), with the responsibility to also cover four neighbouring provinces of Shanghai. He was Managing Director in the Nordic Development Fund in Helsinki (2012-18), and has served in the Board of Directors of the Asian Development Bank in Manila, the Philippines (2004-2007).
In Finland’s foreign service he has held key positions at the Ministry, including Deputy Director General at the Department for Development Policy, Director for International Financial Institutions Division, and Adviser to the Minister for International Development.
He has also worked at the Finnish embassies in the Netherlands and in Kenya. Mr. Hellman has wide experience of board level positions in national and international financial and other institutions, most notably in the African Guarantee Fund, UNU/WIDER, and as Finland’s Governor or Alternate Governor in various international financial institutions (AfDB, ADB, IDB, IFAD).
Throughout his career collaboration and synergies between the public and the private sector have been key guiding principles in his work. Mr. Hellman is a graduate of the Turku School of Economics (currently part of the University of Turku) in Finland, where he obtained the degree of Doctor of Science in Economics (International Business) in 1996 and Master of Science in Economics in 1991.
Mark Henderson is a project manager and trade negotiator with 15 years' experience working with and for WTO, European Commission and the Chinese government. Since August 2018 he has worked to support developing and LDC Members with Trade Facilitation Agreement implementation at the WTO Secretariat.
During his tenure at the European Commission's Directorate General for Trade, Mark led negotiations that integrated the Paris Agreement into the Japan EU Economic Partnership Agreement, pioneering climate change considerations in major trade deals. He also contributed to shaping the EU's trade strategy within UN Sustainable Development Goal negotiations and supported the EU's chief negotiator during UNCTAD XIV in Nairobi.
Mark has managed teams delivering global projects, conducting numerous training sessions, seminars, and conferences across three continents. His work convened international stakeholders from business, politics, and the judiciary to discuss critical topics such as trade facilitation, environmental sustainability, regulatory reform, and competition policy within WTO Membership.
Marisa Henderson is Chief of the Trade and Creative Economy Section at UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The Section supports developing countries to maximise trade-and-development gains from the creative economy, leveraging creativity and cultural assets to generate jobs, diversify economies, and reduce poverty sustainably.
Marisa has worked at UNCTAD for over twenty years and has authored several publications on international trade and development, most recently the Creative Economy Outlook 2024. She holds a PhD in International Political Economy from the University of Warwick (UK) and a master’s in International Relations from the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO, Costa Rica/Argentina).
Elzette Henshilwood is a Technical Project and Relations Manager for the SMEP Programme, managing a portfolio of projects implementing solutions in the Textiles and Tanneries sectors.
With a background in urban studies, she has contributed to sustainable urban development through land use planning, environmental management, and urban research, with work published by UN Habitat.
In this role, she bridges the gap between sustainable manufacturing and urban development, recognising that cleaner production practices and solutions are essential for the circularity, resilience and sustainability of cities.
Jonathan HEPBURN is a Counsellor in the Agriculture and Commodities Division of the World Trade Organization (WTO). He has twenty-five years' experience working on trade, public policy and sustainable development, especially in the area of agriculture, food security, and the environment, and has authored and edited numerous publications on these topics.
Jonathan Hepburn is a Counsellor in the Agriculture and Commodities Division of the World Trade Organization (WTO). He has twenty-five years' experience working on trade, public policy and sustainable development, especially in the area of agriculture, food security, and the environment, and has authored and edited numerous publications on these topics.