Programme

Simon Nixon is Chief European Commentator of the Wall Street Journal. He joined the WSJ in 2008 and was previously European editor of the flagship Heard on the Street financial analysis column. From 2004 to 2008, he was executive editor of the breakingviews financial commentary service and before that he was City editor of The Week and a founder editor of Moneyweek. He started his career in investment banking, working for five years as an equity analyst. He has a first class degree in history from Trinity College, Cambridge University.

Alexander Galitsky is the co-founder and Managing Partner of Almaz Capital Partners. Almaz Capital Partners has offices in Moscow, Russia and Menlo Park, CA, and is backed by Cisco Systems, EBRD and IFC. He is a well-known innovator, entrepreneur and investor in Russia/CIS, Europe and the USA. Prior to Almaz, Alexander formed the ICT investment practice at Russian Technologies, one of the first venture capital funds in Russia, and made a several private successful investments. His past and current investments include: Parallels, Yandex, QIK (sold to Skype), Vyatta (sold to Brocade), Acumatica, Jelastic, NavMaps (sold to TeleAtlas), 2Can, Alawar, AlterGeo, SJLabs (sold to VocalTec), EverNote, GridGain, WikiMart, etc.Prior to his investment career, he founded and headed five successful high-tech companies as CEO, including ELVIS+, TrustWorks Systems (sold to Hamsard), EzWIM (sold to TMT Ventures), ELVIS Telecom (sold to Telenor), NPC ELVIS. He specialized in WiFi, Virtual Private Network technology and product development on the Global market in partnership with Sun Microsystems and was a pioneer of the Russian Internet industry in 90s.

Dr Fan Gang is one of China's most influential economists and one of China's leading reform advocates. His remarks are closely followed for clues about how Chinese leaders are thinking about the global economy. Based in Beijing, he is the Director of the National Economic Research Institute (NERI) and Chairman of the China Reform Foundation, China's first economic think-tank. Trained at the Chinese Academy of Social Science (CASS) and Harvard University, he is also a professor at several top universities in China. Dr Fan Gang is a respected advisor to China's leadership on economic reform and strategic development. He is an expert in the macroeconomics of long-term development, international trade and currency, foreign relations and China's regional integration within Asia. He speaks on China's financial risk and financial systems reform, foreign exchange regimes and revaluation and on China's economic reform and globalisation. He is a member of the Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security of China, a member of the Advisory Committee of the Hong Kong Center for Monetary Policy, sits as a member of the International Advisory Board of the Center of International Development, Harvard University, is a member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the People's Bank of China, is an advisor to the State Foreign Exchange Administration of China and International Advisor to the Center for International Development at Harvard University. He is a Fellow of the World Economic Forum (since 1994), a Fellow of the Chinese Economist Society (USA) (since 1993) and is a consultant to the World Bank, UNDP, ESCAP and to the OECD. He was awarded the accolade of a 'Global Leader for Tomorrow' by the World Economic Forum in Davos (1995) and has been ranked number 33rd in the "world's top 100 public intellectuals" by Foreign Policy and Prospect (2008).

Chairman of the Board of Directors, ABB Ltd, since 2007. Born on July 20, 1942 - German citizen. Education: 1970 Doctorate in Physics, University of Cologne, Germany. Professional Experience: Continental AG: 1999 - 2009, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Directors – Continental AG, Germany. 1991 - 1999, Chief Executive Officer – Continental AG, Germany. ITT: 1989 - 1991, Senior Vice President; President and Chief Executive Officer – ITT Automotive Inc., U.S. 1987 - 1989, Vice President – ITT Corporation, U.S. Alfred Teves GmbH: 1984 - 1989, Chairman of the Management Board – Alfred Teves GmbH, Germany. 1982 – 1984, Head of Development and Technology – Alfred Teves GmbH, Germany. 1971 - 1982, Different positions – Alfred Teves GmbH in Germany, Brazil and the U.S. Other board memberships: Member of the supervisory board, Allianz Versicherungs AG, Germany. Member of the supervisory board, Deutsche Telekom AG, Germany. Member of the board of directors, Schindler Holding AG, Switzerland. Chairman of the advisory board, Sapinda Holding B.V., The Netherlands.

Before joining the Center, Dr. Marinescu served as the UNDP Iraq Senior Economist and Programme Director for the multi-agency Private Sector Development Programme assisting the Government of Iraq and its social partners on structural reforms for inclusive market building in a complex post conflict environment. Projects included the corporatization of State Owned Enterprises, SME development, investment promotion and the launch of the UN Global Compact in Iraq. She also served as USAID Economic Governance Sector Lead for Social Safety Net and Pension Reforms in Iraq, and as World Bank Social Protection Expert in the Human Development Unit for MENA Region. Prior to that, Dr. Marinescu served as Minister Secretary of State for Labor and Social Protection in Romania during a time of major socio-economic transformations that preceded the country’s integration in the European Union. She was formerly elected Senator and served as President of the Labor and Social Affairs Committee in the Senate of Romania. Dr. Marinescu holds an MBA in International Relations and a PhD in Economics from the Academy of Economic Studies ASE Bucharest, a Diploma in Leadership from Harvard University and a Certificate in Modern Labor Market Administration from Cyprus International Institute of Management. She was the editor in chief of two national newspapers specialized in labor market and social affairs.

Vladimir Mau is Doctor of Economics, Professor, PhD, Honored Economist of the Russian Federation. Born on 29 December 1959 in Moscow, he graduated from the Moscow Institute of National Economy in 1981. Since 1991 he participated in the development and implementation of economic reforms in Russia, including working as Advisor to the Chairman of the Russian Government from 1992-1993. From 1997-2002 Mau was the Head of the Working Center for Economic Reforms of the Russian Government. In 2002, he became the Rector of the Academy of National Economy of the Russian Government, and in 2010 the Rector of the newly formed the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. Rector Mau is a renowned expert in the field of economic theory, the history of economic thought and national economy. He is the author of 25 monographs, books and textbooks published in Russia and the UK, as well as more than 600 other works. The main results of his research focus on economic history and the history of economic thought in Russia and the USSR; the theory and history of economic policy; economic transformation and economic reforms. Rector Mau is a member of Economic Council of the President of Russian Federation. He is and also a chairman of the Expert Board under the Government Commission for Economic Development and Integration, and member of several governmental commissions and committees.

Ozcan Saritas is Professor of Innovation and Business at the National Research University, Higher School of Economics, Moscow; and the editor-in-chief of Foresight: the journal of future studies, strategic thinking and policy. He has been a Senior Research Fellow at the Manchester Institute of Innovation Research (MIoIR), Manchester Business School for over 10 years and worked as an adviser for the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). Professor Saritas’ research focuses upon Strategic Management, Innovation and Socio-economic and Technological Foresight. As one of the world’s leading Foresight researchers and practitioners, he has worked with a number of national governments in Europe, Asia and America to develop National Science and Technology Policies; has collaborated with international organizations such as United Nations, European Union and OECD in the areas of Industrial Development, Economic, Social and Environmental Sustainability; and has completed a number of projects successfully in sectors including Energy, Transportation, Aerospace, Automotive, Information and Communication Technologies and Nano- and Bio-technologies. Professor Saritas designs and delivers executive education courses on Foresight; gives lectures on Technology Management and Strategic Planning; and supervises PhD and Master’s students.

Pak Erik leads McKinsey operations in the EEMA region. He focuses on strategy development and implementation for a variety of local companies, multinationals and governments. Advises government authorities on structural transformations in Telecommunications, High Tech, the banking sector and oil & gas industry. He also advises private companies on growth strategies, transformations from local to global and operational efficiency. He takes part in business forums as an expert in global strategies, Telecommunications and High Tech. Before stepping into the position of Managing Partner in EEMA, Pal Erik led McKinsey’s Eastern European offices for three years. He holds a Master of Science degree in industrial economics from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.