Photographer, journalist, writer, and environmentalist. He is equally at ease with group efforts and media success be it in publishing or the cinema. His book, The Earth From Above, sold over 3 million copies in 24 languages and his movies were also highly popular, Six Billion Others and Home. His associations, Good Planet and Action Carbone, act to offset greenhouse emissions and fund projects based on renewable energy.

President and CEO of MHB SA, an investment advisory firm specializing in the implementation of French companies in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. After graduating from the École Nationale d’Administration (ENA), she first started working in the French Department of Finance. She went on to join Simone Veil, Minister of Health, then Prime Ministers Raymond Barre and Jacques Chirac. In 1990, she joined the senior management of the Crédit Commercial de France (CCF).

Founding member of the Fondation Chirac, he was director of the Treasury (1982-1984), Governor of the Bank of France (1984-1987), and Director General of the International Monetary Fund (1987-2000). Throughout his many missions and interventions, he put his expertise to work for “global public goods”. He chaired the World Panel on Financing Water Infrastructure, whose report was published in 2003 at the Kyoto summit.

Managing Partner of the Paris office of Brunswick, she was Ambassador of France to UNESCO until 2010. A career diplomat, Minister Delegate for European Affairs (2005-2007), for nine years she was Spokesperson of the Presidency of the French Republic (1995-2004) before leading the National Centre for Cinematography (CNC) until June 2005. Former student of the ENA, she has also served at the French Embassy in Washington.

Director of Sustainable Development at Veolia Environnement, after having held the same position at Eiffage from 2006 to 2008. She holds a PhD in International Economic Law and continued to accrue her expertise in international organizations such as the International Energy Agency, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the High Commissioner for Refugees. In 1997, she founded ARESE, the first French agency to rate businesses on social and environmental issues. She is the author of 2030: the ecological meltdown (Paris: Grasset).

General Delegate of the Fondation Chirac’s program for Access to quality medicines and healthcare since 2009, he was also President of the Pan-African Organization against AIDS (OPALS) and Honorary President and Member of the French National Academy of Medicine. Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor. Professor Marc Gentilini was awarded the Grand Medal of Honor by the French Red Cross in 2008.

President of the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE), his entire career took place within the French Foreign Ministry. His rich and eclectic professional path took him in England, Iran, Niger, and to the head of the United Nations Division of the Quai d’Orsay. He was ambassador to Lebanon and China before becoming Secretary General of Foreign Affairs, a position he held until 2006. He was appointed Ambassador of France in 2005.

Founder and President of Alter Eco, established in 1998. Alter Eco distributes products from 160 000 small and disadvantaged producers within 43 cooperatives in 25 countries. Thanks to their compliance with Fair Trade requirements, they have managed to access international markets. He founded the group Pur Projet to fight against global warming and deforestation. Pur Projet develops reforestation and forest conservation programs for the Amazon in particular, always in partnership with groups of small producers.

President of Ricol Lasteyrie, René Ricol is at the forefront of independent financial expertise and management of financial risk in France. For the past twenty years, he has participated in efforts conducted by the national and international bodies of the profession to better assist companies in their growth and performance. He chairs the International Federation of Accountants and is president of the network “Tous pour l’Emploi” and the orientation council of “France Investissement”.

In May 2007, she founded a strategy consulting firm. After graduating from the Institut des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (“Languages O”) in Japanese language and culture, she spent eight years as a project manager at the head of the International Relations Department of the City of Paris. Commissioner General of the Year of France in Japan from 1996 to 1999. That same year, she joined the staff of the President of the French Republic, where she specialized in intercultural relations.

Lawyer, former President of the Paris bar, he was also chairman of the European Union’s Bar Council from 2003 to 2005. He acquired his expertise within a firm of legal council that became a law firm specializing in commercial transactions and business law. As a teacher, he actively defends the values represented by the profession of lawyer. He is internationally recognized for his expertise in the field of arbitration.