Paul served as the Executive Secretary of South Africa’s post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Paul also co-founded the International Centre for Transitional Justice, an organization that works in over 40 countries that have endured massive human rights violations under repression conflict. Paul is also a co-founder and CEO of Maiyet, an ethical luxury fashion brand that cultivates traditional design and culture by partnering with global artisans. Most recently, Paul co-founded The Conduit, which serves as a home for those committed to improving the world by harnessing the power of creativity and entrepreneurship. The Conduit serves as a home for a diverse community of people passionate about social change. 

Lord Turner chairs the Energy Transitions Commission, a global coalition of companies, NGOs and experts working to achieve a net zero economy by 2040.

In addition to his cross-bench role in the House of Lords, Adair Turner is also an honorary fellow of the Royal Society (the UK scientific academy dedicated to promoting science excellence for the benefit of humanity). Lord Turner regularly advises climate and government bodies - including the COP Presidency and ministers in the EU, UK, China and Australia, and is often featured in global media as an expert on the energy transition, including in the Financial Times, Economist, BBC, CNN and Bloomberg.

He holds a number of roles in industry: he is the Chairman of insurer group Chubb Europe and Chairman of UK challenger bank Oaknorth Ltd. Until October 2024, he was on the Board of AESC Japan, the manufacturers of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. In addition, he was recently appointed adviser to Watershed Technologies Inc., and to Renew Power (India)

During his public policy career, Lord Turner chaired the UK Financial Services Authority (2008-2013), and played a lead role in the post crisis redesign of global banking and shadow banking regulation. From 2008 to 2012, he was the first chair of the UK’s Climate Change Committee, an independent body charged with defining the UK’s path to a zero carbon economy. Between 2002 and 2006, he chaired the UK Pensions Commission and recommended the creation of a system of defined contribution pensions which included an ‘opt-out’ element and has proved transformative. He also chaired the Low Pay Commission (2002-2006), and was Director General of the Confederation of British Industry (1995-2000).

He was appointed to the House of Lords in 2005.

Afsheen Kabir Rashid MBE is co-founder and CEO of Repowering, an organisation that specialises in creating local energy projects across London. Until recently Afsheen was chair of Community Energy England and a board member of Friends of the Earth. She was a senior policy advisor at the Department of Energy and Climate Change. She has close to 20 years’ experience working at local and national levels. She has a MA in Geography and MEnv in Environment, Science and Society as well as an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Essex. In 2016 Afsheen was awarded an MBE for her work delivering renewable energy to deprived London communities. 

James Irungu Mwangi is the founder and CEO of Africa Climate Ventures, where he is working to help build and accelerate transformative climate-smart and carbon-negative businesses across the continent. James is also the founder of the Climate Action Platform – Africa (CAP-A), a public benefit organization launched in 2021, to unlock Africa’s potential for inclusive prosperity through Climate Positive Growth. 

Previously, James co-founded the Dalberg Group, and over a 20-year period, led the Dalberg’s expansion into Africa, served as Global Managing Partner of Dalberg Advisors, and as Executive Director of the Dalberg Group. James serves as an independent director on several boards including the Skoll Foundation, the Global Centre for Pluralism, One Acre Fund, Old Mutual Limited and Koko Networks. 

James holds an AB in Economics from Harvard University and is a 2021 Yale University World Fellow. He is a 2009 Archbishop Tutu Leadership Fellow of the African Leadership Institute and a 2013 Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. For his efforts to put Africa’s Climate Positive Growth potential on the global agenda, James received the 2022 Climate Breakthrough Award. 

Nicola is a business leader and social innovator, driving multi-sector partnerships for systems change and inclusive economy.  

As Executive Director of Yellowwoods Holdings she leads the group’s efforts to drive system inclusion and sustainability through, and with, its portfolio of businesses that include financial services (e.g. Hollard Insurance), restaurants (e.g. Nando's) and eco-tourism (&Beyond) businesses.  Nicola also manages Yellowwoods’ innovative social financing and grant making. Under her leadership, Yellowwoods has incubated a portfolio of African non-profit social enterprises, including the Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator for which she won the Skoll Award in 2019 and the World Economic Forum Schwab Foundation 2020- Corporate Social Intrapreneur award.  She is a McNulty Prize awardee for her work in the Aspen Global Leadership Network, a member of the Ministerial Task Team on Post School Education and Skills in the context of 4IR and sits on the Advisory Board of Africa Leadership Group. 

Nicola’s diverse career prior to Yellowwoods spans management consulting, senior executive positions in television broadcasting, policy and regulation and in education, being a business entrepreneur, and a documentary filmmaker and an anti-apartheid activist. Nicola was a Fullbright Scholar and holds an MA from New York University. 

Jonathan (Jonny) Wates was appointed to the Wates Group Board in 2008, having previously served as Group Head of Strategy and Sales Director of Wates Homes Ltd. He chairs the Board Sustainability Committee and champions sustainability at a strategic and an operational level. He is a Trustee of the Wates Family Enterprise Trust, the William Wates Memorial Trust and the Wates Foundation. Previously, Jonny was Founder and Chairman of the renewable energy start up Myriad Cleaner Energy Generation. He began his career as a brand manager at International Distillers & Vintners (now Diageo). Outside of the company, Jonny holds a range of positions including: Trustee of Forum for the Future; Associate at Leaders’ Quest; Advisory Board Member for the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations; member of the Advisory Council of Commonland; Ambassador of the World Benchmarking Alliance. He has an MBA from the Cranfield University School of Management and a master’s degree in Sustainability and Leadership from the University of Cambridge. He is passionate about encouraging nature in cities to raise awareness of climate change and promote community well-being. 

Simon Harding-Roots is The Crown Estate’s Managing Director for London.

In this role, he oversees a 10 million sq ft portfolio, including the Regent Street and St James’s Districts, valued at circa £8 billion.

Simon is leading on a strategic new vision for our London Estate that will enable us to evolve as we continue to support exciting and relevant neighbourhoods. The vision will lead our response to wider trends and seeks to deliver for all our communities, visitors and customers. Building on our core long term West End presence, we want to enhance and retain its profile at the heart of London as a Global City.

Most recently, Simon worked at Grosvenor Britain and Ireland as Board Director helping oversee overall strategy, and as Executive Director leading the Major Projects team delivering major real estate investment and regeneration projects across London worth around £2 billion.

Prior to joining Grosvenor in 2015, Simon held a number of roles across London and the property sector, including as Chief Operations Officer at Imperial College London.

He has also held senior roles within the international property market, including with Treasury Holdings Group in China, Arcapita Bank in Bahrain and Majid Al Futtaim in Dubai, UAE.

Audrey Nugent is the Global Advocacy & Campaigns Director at the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC).

In this role, Audrey leads on global advocacy and campaigns collaborating with Green Building Councils around the world to champion ambitious and innovative public policies.

Audrey is passionate about how a holistic approach to building policy and regulation can support the delivery of the Paris Agreement whilst leading to better outcomes for people and communities. Audrey has over 15 years experience working in policy and advocacy and has worked across private, public and the NGO sector.

Audrey is based in London, UK.

Matt Farquharson is editor-in-chief at The Conduit. He is a Sunday-Times-bestselling author, former writer for The Times, The Independent and The Telegraph, and an award-winning editor, podcaster and script-writer.

Ellie Besley-Gould is a Director at Xynteo and the Chair of the Board of Trustees at Foundation for Change. Previously, she was the Head of Purpose at Hawksmoor, heading on for-purpose strategy, implementation and impact reporting for Hawksmoor in the UK and the US.

Alejandro Guarin is the food systems transformation lead at the World Benchmarking Alliance, where he works to ensure that companies contribute to building a fairer and more sustainable food system. Alejandro’s research, advocacy, and policy engagement includes social and environmental issues related to smallholder agriculture, markets, value chains, and consumption. He has experience working in countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe. Previously he was food systems lead at IIED in London, a researcher with the German Development Institute in Bonn, and a consultant for FAO. He has a PhD in geography from Berkeley and studied biology at the National University of Colombia. 

Dr. Guido Schmidt-Traub is Partner at Systemiq Ltd. where he drives work on nature finance, food transitions, green skills, sustainable finance, and policy. From 2021-2024, he served as Managing Partner of the firm. 

Previously he served as Executive Director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network,  which supports the design and implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement. He has been deeply involved in developing long-term decarbonization pathways for G20 members. Previously he served as CEO of Paris-based CDC Climate Asset Management and Partner  at South Pole Carbon Asset Management, where he worked on energy finance. As head of the UNDP MDG Support Team and Associate Director of the UN Millennium Project he has advised governments around the world (including some 30 countries in Africa) on their development strategies and financing frameworks. 

He holds a PhD in Economics from Wageningen University, an M.Phil. in Economics from Oxford University (Rhodes Scholar), and a Masters in Physical Chemistry from the Free University of Berlin.

Claire Mellier is Knowledge and Practice Lead at Iswe Foundation. She is a facilitator, process designer and researcher with expertise in participatory and deliberative democracy. She co-founded the first Global Citizens’ Assembly on the climate and ecological crisis for COP26, which received the backing from the UN Secretary General, António Guterres. She has delivered more than fifteen citizen deliberative processes on climate change and other topics, from the local to the global level. She is an associate researcher at the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformation (CAST) at Bath University, where she published a comparative analysis of the French and UK climate assemblies and a research briefing on systems change and citizens’ assemblies. She is a member of the Advisory Board of the International Panel on Social Progress (IPSP).  Claire has a particular interest in democratic systems change and how deliberation can be used to address polarization and trauma.

Julian Critchlow is an advisory partner to Bain's Energy & Carbon Transition centre and expert in its Energy & Natural Resources practice. Julian is based in London. He has more than 30 years of consulting experience with Bain, leading our global utilities practice for more than a decade, before moving to the UK government to lead the UK action domestically and internationally to drive to net zero. Julian has worked in the downstream energy sector for over 3 decades working with CEOs and boards of global utilities to win in competitive markets through superior strategic insight, operational and organisational delivery. He also led Bain’s work with the World Economic Forum looking at the energy transition in developed and fast growth markets. Finally, he has supported some of the largest global post-merger integrations in sectors as diverse as energy, tech & telecoms, industrial goods & services and construction products. In addition to his client work, Julian is also a keen cold water swimming, has swum the English Channel 4 times and, in 2020, was inducted into the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame for his work on the history of English Channel Swimming. He holds an MBA from Wharton School of Business and an MA/MEng in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cambridge

Paul served as the Executive Secretary of South Africa’s post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Paul also co-founded the International Centre for Transitional Justice, an organization that works in over 40 countries that have endured massive human rights violations under repression conflict. Paul is also a co-founder and CEO of Maiyet, an ethical luxury fashion brand that cultivates traditional design and culture by partnering with global artisans. Most recently, Paul co-founded The Conduit, which serves as a home for those committed to improving the world by harnessing the power of creativity and entrepreneurship. The Conduit serves as a home for a diverse community of people passionate about social change.