Meet our 2026 Speakers

Eva Riesenhuber is Global Head of Sustainability at Siemens, where she leads sustainability as a strategic driver of business transformation across industrial, infrastructure, grid, and mobility sectors. She focuses on scaling decarbonization and circularity through digitalization and AI, helping customers build resilient value chains, accelerate adaptation, and unlock growth opportunities in a rapidly changing world. With a multidisciplinary background spanning law, finance, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, venture capital, and investor relations, Eva integrates sustainability into business strategy, innovation, and portfolio decisions. She works closely with executive leaders and boards to navigate regulatory complexity and position sustainability as a source of competitiveness, resilience, and long-term value creation. Her areas of expertise include industrial and infrastructure decarbonization, the energy transition, circular product design, AI-enabled sustainability, and value-chain resilience. She is also passionate about building collaborative ecosystems that advance sustainable infrastructure and societal progress. Eva serves on the Supervisory Board of Siemens Mobility and on the Sustainability Council of Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW). She holds a doctorate in International Public Law from Goethe University Frankfurt and LL.M. degrees from NYU School of Law and Université Paris Nanterre. She was recognized as one of the TOP100 Most Influential Women in German Business from 2022–2025 and named to the TIME100 Climate Leaders list in 2025.

Damilola Ogunbiyi is the CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All, and Co-Chair of UN-Energy. With Mrs. Ogunbiyi at the helm, Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) has entered into working relationships with over 200 partners, supported over 100 countries globally, and secured commitments of more than USD 1.6 trillion in energy finance. She has practical on the ground experience, she initiated the Nigerian Electrification Project, a USD 550 million facility which is a joint World Bank and African Development Bank programme that to date has provided energy access to over 8 million people across Nigeria and implemented over 100 megawatts of decentralized energy projects supplying electricity to hospitals, schools, and government facilities. Mrs. Ogunbiyi is a member of the World Bank’s Private Sector Investment Lab, a member of the Global Leadership Council of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), an Advisory Board member of the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, and a member of the Climate and Environment Advisory Council of the European Investment Bank (EIB). She was part of the COP28 Advisory Committee and was Co-Chair of the COP26 Energy Transition Council (ETC). She is a global leader and advocate for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and is passionate about achieving SDG7, which calls for access to reliable, affordable, sustainable, and modern energy for all by 2030. Mrs. Ogunbiyi was recognized in the 2026 TIME Earth Awards, the 2025 Forbes sustainability leaders list, the 2024 TIME100 Climate list and is the recipient of the First Class Order of Zayed II from the UAE President in recognition of her contribution to the success of the climate conference, COP28. She also received the Think Global Leadership Award in 2026, the Global Female Leadership Impact (GFLI) Award in 2024 and the Energy Institute President’s Award for 2023.

Prabhu Pingali is a Professor of International Development Economics at Cornell University, and the Founding Director of the Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI). He was Chair of the Governing Board of ICRISAT, a CGIAR Center focused on dryland agricultural systems. Prior to joining Cornell, he was Deputy Director, Agricultural Development at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (2008-13), and Director of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (2002-08). In addition, he worked with the CGIAR for 15 years from 1987-2002, first with IRRI in the Philippines and then with CIMMYT in Mexico. Dr. Pingali is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and the Indian National Science Academy a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), India’s National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) the American Agricultural Economics Association (AAEA), and the African Association of Agricultural Economists and a former President of the International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE). He is globally recognized for his research and policy contributions focused on the nexus of hunger, poverty and environmental sustainability. Prof. Pingali has written 15 books and over 200 journal articles and book chapters. He is the recipient of the 2025 M.S. Swaminathan Award for Leadership in Agriculture.

General Richard Nugee was commissioned into the British Army in 1986. He completed numerous operational tours and also specialised in personnel (HR) roles both for the Army and Defence culminating in Chief of Defence People (equivalent to Global HR Director for Defence). As his final role he wrote a Review of Defence's approach to Climate Change and Sustainability. He has since earned international recognition for bringing the implications of Climate Change and Sustainability to Defence and National Security sectors and has expanded this policy interest into delivery as the Chair, Director and Advisor of a number of renewable energy and environmental sustainability organisations. He is Chief Executive of the Scar Free Foundation, Chair of the Royal NAAFI Board, a strategic advisor to consultancies and organisations, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and is Patron, Chair and Trustee of a number of organisations such as Invictus Games UK2027.

Patty is Director of the Food and Agriculture Program at ClimateWorks Foundation. Patty brings decades of experience in leading philanthropy on climate, energy and food systems transformation. Previously, Patty led the climate and health portfolios at the Global Alliance for the Future of Food, was the founding COO at the European Climate Foundation (ECF), and helped launch Energy Foundation China.

Mike leads a portfolio of global campaigns that secure climate commitment and action from the world’s most influential companies: from driving action towards zero carbon grids (RE100, Smart Energy Coalition and the 24/7 Carbon-Free Coalition), to growing demand for electric vehicles (EV100) and low carbon materials (SteelZero and ConcreteZero). He is also co-lead of the We Mean Business Coalition’s Electric Advantage programme, and a Director of ResponsibleSteel where he chairs the Finance and Risk Committee. Mike has worked with companies across the world on climate and sustainability issues since 1998, spending more than a decade at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), including as Director of Executive Programmes and Director of Strategy & Communications. Before joining CISL, he was Chief Operating Officer of AccountAbility where he led the development of the AA1000 framework for sustainability accounting and reporting. Mike started his career as a business consultant for the COBA Group, following studies in politics, philosophy and economics at the University of Oxford, and international relations at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University.

Sheldon Whitehouse represents Rhode Island in the United States Senate, where he is fighting to position America as a leader in the clean energy economy and protect the Ocean State from the consequences of climate change. As Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW), Whitehouse takes on the fossil fuel industry and spearheads policies combatting the climate crisis and strengthening environmental protections. A graduate of Yale University and the University of Virginia School of Law, Whitehouse served as Rhode Island’s U.S. Attorney and state Attorney General before being elected to the United States Senate in 2006.

Mauro Atalla, Ph.D., leads engineering and technology, product management excellence and innovation, and sustainability for Trane Technologies. Mauro joined Trane Technologies in 2025, with a distinguished career spanning 26 years in the industrial sector. He is an accomplished professional with significant roles in both the aerospace and buildings industries, leading large engineering organizations and infusing innovation across a broad range of technical disciplines and product lines. As the engineering and technology leader at Collins Aerospace Systems, Mauro guided a global engineering team, spearheading strategic planning, advancing technology and talent development, and ensuring excellence in product safety and cybersecurity. Mauro has been recognized as an ASME Fellow for his significant contributions to the field, and was awarded the 2018 Graduate Alumni of the Year award by Virginia Tech.

Bernhard is the Director Global Accelerator and Ventures at the United Nations (UN) World Food Programme (WFP). Since he created the Global Accelerator in 2015, it has become one of the Worlds biggest impact startup accelerators, offering 18 annual programmes. Prior to starting the Accelerator, Bernhard co-founded the award-winning ShareTheMeal app that crowdsources funding for WFP and has delivered over 329 million meals for hungry children worldwide. His previous experience includes creating WFP’s Business Innovation Unit and working as a Project Leader at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

Helen is an experienced leader on international climate and humanitarian issues, with over 25 years in government and corporate engagement. Under her leadership, Climate Group has created coalitions of over 650 ambitious companies through initiatives such as RE100, EV100, 24/7 Carbon-Free Coalition, ConcreteZero, and SteelZero, which are crucial in sending demand signals to markets and policy-makers to drive the energy transition, as well as building the Under2 Coalition of state and regional governments, and Climate Week NYC. Helen sits on the board of the We Mean Business Coalition, and the Sustainable Development Capital Energy Efficiency Income Trust. Helen was awarded an OBE in 2022 for services to the climate and was included in The Independent's Climate 100 List 2025.

Chris Ninnes was appointed CEO of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) in October 2011. Before joining the ASC, Chris was Deputy CEO and Director of Operations at the Marine Stewardship Council from 2006 to 2011, where he led the expansion of the MSC's technical and commercial work. From 2003 to 2006 Chris was Vice President of MRAG Americas, which followed his appointment as Technical Director for MRAG Ltd from 1996 until 2002. Chris worked for the UK Department for International Development from 1983 to 2002 where he advised on seafood industry development issues in Africa and the Caribbean. He has also been a professional inshore fisherman.

Jason Walsh is the Executive Director of the BlueGreen Alliance (BGA). Under his leadership, BGA has won significant victories at the state and federal level, including landmark industrial policies and investments in infrastructure and climate legislation passed by the 117th Congress. Walsh has more than twenty-five years of experience at state and federal levels in policy development and advocacy in a range of issue areas—including climate, clean energy, and economic and workforce development—and as a coalition organizer and manager.v Walsh previously served in the Obama administration, as the Director of the Office of Strategic Programs in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and as a Senior Policy Advisor in the White House Domestic Policy Council, where he led Obama administration’s efforts to align and scale up federal investments in workers and communities impacted by the shift away from coal in the power sector. Walsh holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington and a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute. He is also a graduate of the AFL-CIO’s Organizing Institute.

Erin Sikorsky is Director of the Center for Climate and Security (CCS) at the Council on Strategic Risks and author of Climate Change on the Battlefield: International Military Responses to the Climate Crisis (Bloomsbury, 2025). She previously served as Deputy Director of the Strategic Futures Group on the National Intelligence Council (NIC), where she co-authored the quadrennial Global Trends report and led the US intelligence community's climate security analysis. As founding chair of the Congressionally mandated Climate Security Advisory Council, she coordinated between the intelligence community and government scientific agencies. Over a prior decade as a senior intelligence analyst, she led teams examining conflict risks in Africa and the Middle East, earning the National Intelligence Analysis Award. Sikorsky is an adjunct professor at George Mason University, teaching a course she designed on climate change and national security. She is a contributing editor at Lawfare, a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and serves on the advisory board of Smith College's Center for Environment, Ecological Design and Sustainability. She appears regularly on CNN, the BBC, and the Weather Channel, and has published in Foreign Policy, Survival, War on the Rocks, and The Hill. She holds a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University and a B.A. from Smith College.

Justin Worland is TIME's senior correspondent covering energy and climate change and the founder of Future Proof, TIME’s platform for navigating the changing energy and climate economy. For the past decade, his reporting has explored how climate change and the energy transition are reshaping the world around us. His weekly column reaches nearly half a million subscribers. In 2022, Worland was named the inaugural Climate Journalist of the Year by Covering Climate Now. He previously served as the journalism fellow at the University of Chicago's Energy Policy Institute and is currently the Outrider Foundation fellow at TIME. Worland is a term member at the Council on Foreign Relations and was a founding steering committee member at the Uproot Project, a non-profit that works to diversify environmental journalism.

Phil is Chief Scientist at Spark Climate Solutions, a non profit dedicated to supporting the development of emerging, high-impact climate fields to enable a pathway to a safer future climate. Before joining Spark, Phil served in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where he helped to inform and implement President Biden’s climate agenda. Prior to rejoining government, he was President and Executive Director of the Woodwell Climate Research Center (formerly Woods Hole Research Center), which helps to manage climate change through use-inspired research. In the Obama administration, Phil served as a Senior Policy Analyst in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and as a Senior Advisor in the US Global Change Research Program. Before joining the White House, Phil was Chief Scientist at Climate Central, a climate change communications organization. At Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Phil was a Senior Scientist and Deputy Division Leader, and led research on impacts of climate change in California and the US west. He holds a bachelor’s degree magna cum laude from Harvard in astronomy and astrophysics and a PhD in applied physics from Stanford. Phil enjoys cycling and playing with his dog, Rosie.

Emma Cox is a sustainability and finance leader with over 35 years corporate and public sector advisory experience and is a qualified chartered accountant and chartered management consultant. Emma Cox has recently joined Climate Group’s UK Board of Trustees. Previously she was Global Climate Leader and UK partner at PwC, responsible for driving the development and delivery of leading-edge climate solutions to clients around the world and representing PwC on external climate and nature related issues and platforms. She is a visiting fellow at Oxford Saïd Business School’s Centre for Corporate Reputation. Emma was Head of Purpose for PwC UK and led both its client facing and internal sustainability and climate change teams. Her experience is based across the private, public and NGO sectors, focusing on the need for systemic solutions to address the intertwined challenges of climate, nature and inequality. An engineer and accountant by training, she previously set up and co-led PwC UK’s structuring services deals practice and was Head of People for PwC’s Advisory practice. She was a founder member of PwC UK’s Diversity Council and a Trustee of the PwC Foundation.