Virgin Unite: The NewNow Leaders
In this session, Paul Polman will be in discussion with the Founding Leaders of the NewNow talking about the importance of systems based thinking, and how this has played a pivotal role in their work.
Speakers
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Paul PolmanBusiness Leader, Climate and Equality CampaignerPaul Polman
Counsellor
Business Leader, Climate and Equality Campaigner
Paul Polman works to accelerate action by business to tackle climate change and inequality. As CEO of Unilever (2009-2019), Paul demonstrated that business can profit through purpose, marrying a long-term, multi-stakeholder model with excellent financial performance. During Paul’s tenure, shareholders saw their returns increase by 290% while the company consistently ranked 1st in the world for sustainability. Today Paul works across a range of organisations to advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which he helped develop. This includes his work to drive systems change with Systemiq and bold new industry coalitions, including in fashion and food. He leads the UN Global Compact, is an Ambassador for the Race to Zero, and works to develop our next generation of leaders, through the Oxford University Saïd Business School, INSEAD, One Young World and others. Paul’s actively campaigns on a range of human rights issues, including promoting disability inclusion through the Valuable 500 and the Kilimanjaro Blind Trust, which he set up with his wife Kim. Follow him on twitter and sign up to receive his newsletter here. More on www.paulpolman.com.
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Roya MahboobThe NewNow, Founding LeaderRoya Mahboob
The NewNow, Founding Leader
Roya Mahboob is Afghanistan's first female tech CEO and entrepreneur, making a significant impact beyond the business world. She leverages her tech success to foster education and empowerment for Afghan women and girls and champions their rights. Mahboob founded the Digital Citizen Fund (DCF) to improve Afghan women's technological and financial literacy. She is also the co-founder of the Afghan Girls Robotics Team and supports their endeavors while promoting robotics education through the Inoura platform. She is launching Zalla, an online platform to elevate the voices of Afghan women and journalists. Roya Mahboob's commitment to STEAM education and economic opportunities for women, with a strong emphasis on human rights, has earned her global recognition. She was named among TIME's 100 Most Influential People in 2013, received the Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Award in 2014, and received other prestigious accolades such as the Advancement of Gender Equality through Education Award. She was a Young Leader at the World Economic Forum in 2015, an Asia Game Changer in 2019, and received the Doha Forum Award in 2022. Her contributions have been honored with the Lantos Human Rights Awards, the Presidential Leadership Scholarship, and an honorary Doctorate of Science from McMaster University.
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Jaha DukurehThe NewNow, Founding LeaderJaha Dukureh
The NewNow, Founding Leader
Jaha Dukureh is a Gambian women’s right activist and CEO and founder of Safe Hands for Girls—an organisation dedicated to providing support to African women and girls who have survived Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Her relentless efforts in the field have earned her the prestigious appointment as the Regional UN Women Ambassador for Africa in February 2018. Having personally endured the harrowing experiences of FGM and forced child marriage, Dukureh passionately advocates for eradicating these practices in Africa, with a particular focus on UN Women’s initiatives. Her work centers around mobilising youth and promoting awareness about the urgent need to end FGM and child marriage across the continent. By collaborating with women’s organisations and civil society, Dukureh was pivotal in influencing the Gambian Government to outlaw FGM through effective youth mobilisation and campaigning in 2015. Her global leadership in this fight is highly regarded. She has been named in the TIME 100 list of the most influential people in the world, and also was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018.
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Taylor WilsonThe NewNow, Founding LeaderTaylor Wilson
The NewNow, Founding Leader
Taylor is a physicist who, at 14 became the youngest person in history to produce nuclear fusion, building a reactor capable of smashing atoms in a plasma core at over 500 million degrees Fahrenheit (40 times hotter than the core of the sun) in his parents’ garage. He has gone on to develop many award-winning technologies, and has lead research in fields including energy production and storage, robotics, materials science, and biology. Taylor directs several interdisciplinary laboratories for fundamental and applied research in nuclear science, and is the founder of Prometheus Industries, a company focused on science driven R&D and commercializing advanced technologies. He is also involved in efforts related to defense, space exploration, and science-driven public policy both in the United States and around the globe, and works to infuse a curiosity for science, technology and the natural world into popular culture, through outlets such as TED and NOVA. Taylor is a correspondent on the HBO documentary series VICE where he has hosted documentaries on topics such as dark matter, the search for extraterrestrial life, and conflict in outer space. Taylor is the subject of the biography The Boy Who Played with Fusion (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015), written by author Tom Clynes, and an untitled biopic in development at 20th Century Fox, to be directed by Jeff Nichols