Teamlop

Chair of the Advisory Panel (Malta)

George Vella

Dr George Vella has spent more than four decades serving at the highest levels of public service, diplomacy, and international leadership. He served as President of the Republic of Malta from 2019 to 2024, following a distinguished career in national government, academia, and international affairs. Prior to his presidency, Dr Vella served as Malta’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and held senior academic and diplomatic roles, representing Malta in key bilateral and multilateral forums. Throughout his career, he has been a strong advocate for dialogue, multilateralism, and peaceful cooperation, particularly in the context of the Mediterranean and global governance. He brings exceptional experience in statesmanship, diplomacy, and international leadership, providing strategic oversight, credibility, and guidance as Chair of the Advisory Panel.

Member of the Advisory Panel (Australia / UK)

Samantha Cohen CVO, OBE

Samantha Cohen has over 25 years’ experience advising senior leaders across the public and private sectors. She is currently Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council, where she works closely with governments and business leaders to advance trade, investment, and economic cooperation across the Commonwealth. Previously, she served as Chief of Staff to the global CEO of Rio Tinto, supporting leadership across complex international operations. For 17 years, Samantha served Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, holding senior roles including Press Secretary and Private Secretary. She continues to support Commonwealth initiatives as a Board Member of the Queen Elizabeth Commonwealth Trust, bringing deep experience in leadership, governance, and institutional stewardship.

Member of the Advisory Panel (Japan)

Kazuhiko Koguchi

Kazuhiko Koguchi is former Secretary General of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and is an expert in governance and strategies of multilateral development banks (MDBs). During his professional career over forty years, Kazu held various senior positions to oversee international economic and financial issues in the Ministry of Finance of Japan, as well as in three MDBs: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and World Bank Group (WBG). Kazu was the EBRD Director for Central Asia from 1999 to 2002, managing his country teams, projects and government relations in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. Then he was the Executive Director for Japan at the Boards of ADB (2012 to 2015) and WBG (2016 to 2018), when he was engaged in key strategic debates and decisions for the two institutions, representing the government of Japan. Most recently, he was the EBRD Secretary General from 2021 to 2025, and was in charge of managing Board and management relations and was a member of the Bank’s Executive Committee. During these years, he was involved in the Bank’s important strategic decisions, including EBRD’s response to Covid, the War on Ukraine as well as the Bank’s gradual expansion into sub-Sahara African countries and Iraq. EBRD is a leader in promoting its recipient countries’ transition towards Green Economy through assisting them in developing renewable energy, sustainable infrastructure, innovative finance and engaging in policy dialogue with the governments. During his career working for MDBs, Kazu developed a keen interest in these issues, and was engaged in policy debate with MDBs’ shareholders and clients over the years. Kazu is a Japanese national, and has a bachelor’s degree in economics from University of Tokyo, and a master of business administration from University of California, Berkeley.

Member of the Advisory Panel (Papua New Guinea)

Winnie Anna Kiap CBE

Winnie Anna Kiap has spent more than three decades serving at the highest levels of diplomacy and international cooperation. She is currently Chair of the Commonwealth Foundation, where she provides strategic leadership to advance civil society engagement and inclusive development across the Commonwealth. Previously, she had a distinguished diplomatic career with the Government of Papua New Guinea, serving as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and Ambassador to multiple European countries. She has represented her country in key bilateral and multilateral negotiations. She brings deep experience in diplomacy, governance, and international relations, contributing strong leadership and strategic perspective to the Advisory Panel.

Member of the Advisory Panel (Netherlands)

Simone Filippini

Simone Filippini has spent more than 20 years working at the intersection of impact investment, development finance, and private-sector engagement. He is currently Managing Director of SGS Advisory, supporting organisations to mobilise capital for inclusive and sustainable growth. Previously, Mr Filippini served as Chief Executive Officer of the UNCDF, where he led global initiatives to unlock public and private finance for least developed countries. Earlier in his career, he worked with the International Labour Organization and other international institutions. He brings deep expertise in blended finance, impact investing, and global development partnerships to the Advisory Panel.

Member of the Advisory Panel (Kenya)

Manoah Esipisu

Manoah Esipisu has spent more than three decades serving in senior diplomatic, public policy, and international leadership roles. He is currently Chief Executive Officer of the Equity Group Foundation, leading initiatives focused on education, leadership development, and inclusive economic empowerment. Previously, Ambassador Esipisu served as Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations and as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, representing Kenya in major multilateral negotiations and global policy forums. He brings deep experience in diplomacy, governance, and international development to the Advisory Panel.

Member of the Advisory Panel (Mexico / USA)

Gabriella Oseguera

Gabriella Oseguera has spent more than two decades advising senior leaders on international development, governance reform, and multilateral engagement. She has worked extensively with international organisations, governments, and foundations to advance inclusive development and institutional effectiveness. Her career spans policy dialogue, programme leadership, and strategic partnership development across regions. She brings strong experience in international relations and global cooperation, contributing valuable insight and perspective to the Advisory Panel.

Member of the Advisory Panel (Kenya)

Dr. Dana Alsulaiman

Dr. Dana Alsulaiman is an Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Bioengineering at KAUST, where she joined the faculty in 2021. She is the Principal Investigator of the BioMAD Lab, leading cutting-edge research at the intersection of advanced materials and next-generation technologies for minimally invasive disease diagnosis, real-time health monitoring, and precision healthcare. She also serves as a contributing faculty member of the KAUST Smart Health Center of Excellence.

Prior to joining KAUST, Dr. Alsulaiman completed her postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Professor Patrick Doyle at MIT, where her work advanced the fields of encoded hydrogel biosensors and microfluidic technologies. Her research excellence has been recognized through numerous prestigious international honors, including the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Regional Young Talent Award (2023) and the RSC Materials Horizons Emerging Investigator Award (2025).

Beyond academia, Dr. Alsulaiman is a passionate advocate for scientific innovation and talent development. She actively contributes to outreach initiatives, panel discussions, and prominent youth forums, while mentoring local and international interns and visiting students—supporting the growth of a vibrant, globally connected scientific community in Saudi Arabia and beyond.

Member of the Advisory Panel (Kenya)

Kaire Holts

Kaire Holts is an interdisciplinary researcher with international academic and policy experience, working at the intersection of labour studies, leadership and social change. She holds a PhD from the University of Hertfordshire (UK), where her research examined entrepreneurial subjectivities. Her work explores the social dimensions of leadership, focusing on how individual and collective identities are produced through practices of self-management. Alongside academic posts in Germany, the United Kingdom and Estonia, she has worked as an expert for national and international organisations, including the International Labour Organization, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research.

Member of the Advisory Panel (Kenya)

Corneliu Bjola

Corneliu Bjola is Professor of Digital Diplomacy at the University of Oxford, UK, and the Head of the Oxford Digital Diplomacy Research Group. His research focuses on the impact of digital technology on the conduct of diplomacy, with a special interest in public diplomacy, international negotiations, and methods for countering digital influence operations.  His current research examines the emerging role of artificial intelligence and quantum technologies in diplomacy, with a particular focus on their capacity to support decision making, refine negotiation practices, and strengthen crisis response, while also addressing the ethical and governance challenges these technologies pose across diplomatic institutions, processes, and international order.

His most recent publications include special issue on tech diplomacy in Global Policy (co-ed, 2025), which examines the emergence, conceptual foundations, and global practice of tech diplomacy as a distinctive approach to managing the geopolitical and governance challenges of emerging technologies. He also co-edited The Oxford Handbook of Digital Diplomacy (Oxford University Press, 2024), which provides a comprehensive overview of the theory, practice, and future of digital diplomacy across different regions and issues. Another recent volume, Digital International Relations: Technology, Agency, and Order (Routledge, 2023, co-ed.), explores how digital disruption impacts world order and global governance. Additionally, he has authored or edited several academic books on digital diplomacy, including the twin volumes Countering Online Propaganda and Violent Extremism: The Dark Side of Digital Diplomacy (2018) – listed by BookAuthority among the 20 Best New International Relations Books to Read in 2019 – and Digital Diplomacy: Theory and Practice (2015). His co-edited volume Digital Diplomacy and International Organizations: Autonomy, Legitimacy, and Contestation (Routledge, 2020) examines the broader ramifications of digital technologies on the internal dynamics, multilateral policies, and strategic engagements of international organizations.

He has conducted training sessions for the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Diplomatic Academies in U.K., European Union, Germany, Greece, Georgia, Spain, Israel, Lithuania, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Armenia, Honduras, Bahrain, Romania as well as for international organisations such as the UNITAR, the Digital Cooperation Organisation, United Nations System Staff College, the Commonwealth, the International Labour Organization, and the United Nations Population Fund.

He has been interviewed on issues related to the impact of technology on global affairs by various global media outlets such as CNN, Financial Times, El Confidential, Deutsche Welle, Der Spiegel, Arab News, Politico, Radio Cooperativa ( Chile), TRT World, Folha de S.Paulo, ABC Radio National, Raconteur, The Scholars’ Circle, China Social Science Network, Microsoft Stories, Tech Monitor, Al Jazeera, New Statesman, Guardian Nigeria, Debating Europe, Times of Israel, EkotürkTV, NetzPolitik, The Article, Revista Noticias, The National, The Hill, The Independent, NBC News, La Croix, Quartz, BBC Mundo, Digi24, AFP, The Economist/IQ, EuroActiv, Jerusalem Post, Global Times, Diplomatic Courier, and the Diplomatic Magazine.