Bringing you the stories & insights from One Young World's Global Advisory Board
The world’s most impactful leaders have a wealth of stories to tell. Whether they are stories of success, failure, inspiration, growth, loss or change, every step in one’s leadership journey serves as a learning moment for others pursuing shared aspirations and ambitions. Join us to hear from One Young World’s Global Advisory Board as they offer us their time, expertise and memories that will provide OYW Ambassadors with the continued passion to fuel their vital work.
This Series is co-hosted by Kristina Drenker, Managing Ambassador for Europe, and Dyonne Niehof, Coordinating Ambassador for Benelux & Germany, and inspired by the successful Líderes de Impacto Series initiated by OYW Ambassador Jason Pareja Jauregui and the OYW Latin America & Caribbean team.
What to expect
Each conversation with the invited speaker will be warm, informative, and engaging. For up to 45 minutes, our guests will be interviewed by Kristina or Dyonne, and will feature questions centered around their key pieces of work and leadership journeys. Make sure to submit any questions in advance, and we’ll do our best to get through them.
Join us from wherever you are. Whether you are wrapping up your workday, taking a lunch break or going for your morning walk, we want to bring as many One Young World Ambassadors as possible to connect during these sessions.
Upcoming guests
Starting at the end of April, we'll be bringing you new sessions every few weeks.
Paul Polman
Tuesday 26 April. 16:30 - 17:15 CET
In the first session of the "Impact Leadership" series, we will be hearing from Paul Polman, Chair of the One Young World Global Advisory Board.
Paul Polman works to accelerate action by business to tackle climate change and inequality.. A leading proponent that business should be a force for good, Paul has been described by the Financial Times as “a standout CEO of the past decade”.
As CEO of Unilever (2009-2019), he demonstrated that a long-term, multi-stakeholder model goes hand-in-hand with excellent financial performance. Paul was a member of the UN Secretary General’s High-Level Panel which developed the Sustainable Development Goals and as an active SDG Advocate, he continues to work with global organizations and across industry to push the 2030 development agenda.
Paul’s new book, “Net Positive”, is a call to arms to courageous business leaders, setting out how to build net positive companies which profit by fixing the world’s problems rather than creating them. He Chairs IMAGINE, a social venture dedicated to systems change, the B Team and Saïd Business School, and he is Vice-Chair of the UN Global Compact and Honorary Chair of the International Chamber of Commerce, which he led for two years.
Feike Sijbesma
Tuesday 31 May. 15:00 - 16:00 CET
In the second session of the "Impactful Leadership" series, we will be hearing from Feike Sijbesma.
Feike Sijbesma has been CEO of Royal DSM for nearly 13 years and transformed Royal DSM from a bulk-chemical company into a global leading Life Sciences & Materials Sciences company, focusing on nutrition (food), health and sustainable living (a.o. green energy). At DSM sustainability and innovation is not only a key responsibility but also a core value and a main business driver. DSM became a clear purpose driven company, being financially successful and doing well (450% Total Shareholder Return) by addressing the UN SDG’s and doing good for the world. Feike is a strong advocate for inclusion and diversity as well.
In early 2020, Feike Sijbesma transitioned to the role of Honorary Chairman of Royal DSM of which he has been CEO between 2007 and 2020.
From March till September 2020, Feike Sijbesma has been Special Corona Envoy for The Netherlands.
Feike sits on a variety of Boards, as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Royal Philips, as a non-executive board member of Unilever, and as a member of the Supervisory Board of the Dutch Central Bank.
Feike is co-chair, together with Ban Ki-Moon, of the Global Center on Adaptation. He is the Climate Leader of the World Bank, focusing on carbon pricing (CPLC). He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the World Economic Forum and is heading the CEO Climate Leaders group. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the IMF and Co-Chair of the UN Scaling Up Nutrition initiative.
Mr. Sijbesma is a recipient of the Humanitarian of the Year Award & Leaders of Change Award presented by the United Nations; received an honorary doctorate from Maastricht as well as Groningen University, Netherlands; he was listed by Fortune on the World's 50 Greatest Leaders, by Harvard Business Review as one of world’s 100 most successful CEO’s. He also received the Courage to Lead Award from the World Resources Institute.
Mr. Sijbesma studied medical (molecular) biology at the University of Utrecht and business administration at Erasmus University in Rotterdam and followed extensive courses at IMD, INSEAD, and Harvard Business School. He is married and has 2 boys.
Michael Møller
Tuesday 19 July. 16:00 - 17:00 CET
In the third session of the "Impactful Leadership" series, we will be hearing from Michael Møller.
Michael Møller (Denmark) is a former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations. He was until 1 July 2019 the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, the Secretary-General of the Conference on Disarmament and the Personal Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General to the Conference. Prior to assuming these duties in November 2013, he was the Executive Director of the Kofi Annan Foundation (2008-11). He was the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Cyprus from 2006 till 2008 and Director for Political, Peacekeeping and Humanitarian Affairs in the Office of the Secretary-General from 2001 till 2006, serving concurrently as Deputy Chief of Staff for the last 2 years of that period. Between 1997 and 2001 he was the Head of the Office of the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs at UN headquarters in New York. He served in different capacities in New York, Iran, Mexico, Cyprus, Haiti and Geneva where he started his career in 1979 with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Luis Javier Castro
Tuesday 2nd August, 6-7pm CET
In the fourth session of the "Impactful Leadership" series, we will be hearing from Luis Javier Castro.
Luis Javier Castro defines himself as an entrepreneur and activist. He is the Founder and CEO of Mesoamérica Investments, a Private Equity Firm from where he has lead investments across Latin America for the last 25 years in fields such as Renewable Energy, Telecommunications, Restaurants, Dairy Industry among others, with world-class partners such as OTPP, ACTIS, Bain Capital and large business groups in the region.
Luis Javier is a member of the Board of Directors of Grupo de Energía de Bogotá and Codensa, as well as of different companies in Mesoamerica’s portfolio. He is the Founder of Yo Emprendedor, an NGO dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship in Central America and President Emeritus of AED (Alianza Empresarial para el Desarrollo), an organization that he presided for 10 years and brings together more than 150 companies in search of a more prosperous, inclusive and respectful environment.
He is a fellow of the Aspen Institute, a member of YPO, a member of the acquisition committee of Tate Modern and participates in multiple boards of development organizations. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the largest NGO in the world, with a budget of 5 billion dollars a year, United Way Worldwide and a member of G50 group.
Due to his business career, El Financiero, a Costa Rican newspaper, has twice named him Businessman of the Year, title he currently holds.
Strive Masiyiwa
Strive Masiyiwa's original 10th May session has been rescheduled for a later date.
Mr. Masiyiwa is a United Kingdom based Chairman and founder of Econet Wireless, a diversified telecommunications group with operations and investments in Africa, Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia Pacific. He is an Executive Director on the board of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe Ltd and is Chairman of Liquid Telecom Holdings (an Econet Group company). Also, through Econet’s subsidiaries, the Group funds one of the largest scholarship programs for orphaned and vulnerable children in Africa.
Strive serves on a number of international boards, including the Rockefeller Foundation, the Council on Foreign Relations’ Global Advisory Board, the Africa Progress Panel, Chairman of the Alliance for the Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and the Micronutrient Initiative.
Strive is a juror of the Hilton Foundation’s Humanitarian Prize. He is also one of the founders of the Carbon War Room and a founding member of the Global Business Coalition on Education.
About the hosts
Kristina Drenker
One Young World Managing Ambassador for Europe
Kristina is passionate about supporting individuals on their personal and professional journeys. As a social impact and digital transformation coach and consultant, she collaborates across industries to plant and accelerate the cultural change needed to foster sustainable development.
She currently works as the Executive Assistant to the Board of Directors at bluplanet, the leading digital marketplace and trusted reseller for cloud solutions from Salesforce with the aim to co-create and execute the digital transformation journey of its customers and to build new growth engines. She is passionate about technology and its power to revolutionize sustainable development, whilst empowering individuals, teams, and companies to live the change they aim to create.
After attending The One Young World Summit 2018, The Hague, she became an advocate for sustainability and female empowerment at her former employer Coca-Cola European Partners, where she particularly pushed for innovative solutions to reduce packaging waste.
Dyonne Niehof
One Young World Coordinating Ambassador for Benelux and Germany
Dyonne is a public affairs professional, helping clients navigate the political landscape of the Netherlands. She advises branch associations, companies, municipalities, and entrepreneurs. Her passion is bridging the gap between politics and society. She is a board member of the local branche of D66 - a social liberal political party. In addition she organises an annual event on behalf of her professional association, where ten small charities are invited to meet politicians, policymakers, and lobbyists and given advice on how to bring their interests to the attention of relevant stakeholders.