UNLEASH announces new Global Advisory Board

The new members of the UNLEASH Global Advisory Board have been found. The members have expertise within UNLEASH’s core focus areas, such as innovation, development, tech, climate, and gender equality.

The role of the new Global Advisory Board will be to bring relevant strategic, academic, and industrial experience with a view to provide sufficient sparring and counselling regarding matters of importance to the success of UNLEASH. The Board will directly influence the development and continuation of UNLEASH by providing strategic guidance to the UNLEASH Board of Directors, advising the continuous development of the UNLEASH program, supporting the engagement of impactful partners, and joining select UNLEASH activities of specific relevance to individual members.

Since the first Innovation Lab in Denmark in 2017, UNLEASH has developed rapidly and undergone a significant transformation. UNLEASH has internationalized with innovation labs in Singapore and China; expanded its network of partners and engaged core partners in multi-year partnerships; and moved from being a largely event driven organization to a programmatic organization with year-round activities across the world.

“It is my clear aspiration that the Global Advisory Board will play a significant role in deciding on the strategic and programmatic path of UNLEASH as we navigate both opportunities and challenges. I look forward to drawing on each member’s insights, knowledge, and expertise.” says Chairman of UNLEASH, Flemming Besenbacher.

The board is comprised of eight people, who have all had prior engagement with UNLEASH and who embody the values and missions of the programs.

Building a foundation for continuous innovative program development and increased impact

Jamey Butcher, CEO and President of Chemonics, who has been the Lead Scale Partner in both 2018 and 2019, will be the Chair of the board. “I’m honored to be serving as the first Chair of UNLEASH’s Global Advisory Board, and to be leading an incredible group of advisors in developing strategic and programmatic recommendations for the innovation lab. Chemonics has developed an incredible partnership with UNLEASH, and we know there is so much more to accomplish – we are just getting started,” says Jamey Butcher, who has also served as a UNLEASH+ judge in 2019 and 2020.

Another board member who knows UNLEASH well, is Anders Holm, Executive Director of the Hempel Foundation which has supported UNLEASH for several years. Anders Holm has also been a judge in UNLEASH+ 2020 and brings knowledge from the Hempel Foundation’s work with a specific interest in biodiversity and climate.

Nandan Nilekani is the co-founder and chairman of EkStep, a not-for-profit effort to create a learner-centric, technology-based platform to improve basic literacy and numeracy for millions of children. He was most recently the chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) in the rank of a cabinet minister. Nandan Nilekani was previously the co‑chairman, Infosys Technologies Limited, which he co-founded in 1981 and brings technical knowledge of innovation to the board.

Trisha Shetty first engaged with UNLEASH when she was invited as a speaker to the inaugural event in 2017. Trisha Shetty is a social activist and lawyer from Mumbai, India. She started SheSays, a non-profit organization working for gender equality through youth and civic-society engagement. Trisha also currently serves as the President, Steering Committee of Paris Peace Forum, sits on the Global Leadership Council for The Museum for the United Nations – UN Live, is a Health Commissioner for Lancet-Chatham House to improve population health post COVID and was previously an Obama Foundation Scholar at Columbia University.

Karan Singh Thakral is serving his second term on the board. Karan is the Executive Director of the Thakral Group of companies, a family business. The group is 117 years old with businesses in real estate, technology, manufacturing, consumer goods distributing and retailing. Karan serves as Chairman and Director of several companies in Thakral Group.He is a keen supporter of entrepreneurship and is a chairman of SGAN, the VC arm of the Thakral group, and mentors 100+ startups across India, the USA, and Singapore.

In 2020, Caroline Bryant, who is a Program Manager for Porticus participated as a judge in UNLEASH+. Caroline has worked in the fields of strategic philanthropy, global development, and development finance for over 15 years. She has worked for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in London.

Mikkel Skovborg is the Senior Vice President for Innovation at the Novo Nordisk Foundation and an ecosystem builder within the Life Sciences in the Nordics – with a mission is to maximize the number of research-based discoveries translated into new therapies or products benefitting people and the society.  Prior to joining the Novo Nordisk Foundation, Mikkel was a Director in the consultancy company Damvad Analytics, followed by a position as Research Attaché for the Danish Foreign Service in one of the worlds most vibrant ecosystems in Silicon Valley, US.

Ms. Nena Stoiljkovic is also joining the board and brings more than 30 years of experience working on global development issues such as climate change, gender, and fragile and conflict-affected situations including through her previous role of Vice President for Asia and Pacific for the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Ms. Stoiljkovic has promoted development finance innovation in a variety of leadership roles at IFC and has also helped shape the World Bank Group strategy, working with the International Development Association on a pioneering private sector window to catalyze greater private investment in low-income and conflict-affected countries.

Finally, as a representative for the UNLEASH talent community, Mary Munyoki joins the board. Mary is a Country Manager at Youth for Technology Foundation (YTF) in Kenya, leading business development and multi-stakeholder partnership. Mary has played a very active part in several UNLEASH programs and will represent talent interests and perspectives in the board.