Mr. Lee Sang-min is the Minister of the Interior and Safety of the Republic of Korea. 

A lawyer and former judge, he has held significant positions in the legal and judicial domains. His roles have included serving as the Chief Judge at the Wonju Branch of Chuncheon District Court, chairing the Wonju Election Commission, contributing as a presiding judge, a research division at the Supreme Court of Korea, as well as being appointed as the Vice Chairperson of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission and the Chair of the Research Institute for Economy and Society. Most recently, he provided his expertise as the Special Adviser for External Relations to the 20th Presidential Transition Committee in 2022.

Mr. Lee holds an MBA from Korea University Business School and a Bachelor’s degree in Laws from Seoul National University.

Mr. LI Junhua has served as United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs since September 2022. As head of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, he advises the United Nations Secretary-General on all development-related issues, including socioeconomic trends and policies, population dynamics, data management, environmental management and climate action, digital governance, and financing for development. 

Mr, Li served prior in the Chinese foreign service, serving in various capacities over his more than 30-year career. He has served within China, across Asia and Europe, and at the United Nations, including as Director General of the Chinese Department of International Organisations and Conferences, and as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of China to Italy and San Marino (2022-2022) and to Myanmar (2010-2012). Mr. Li holds a master’s in International Public Policy from Johns Hopkins University.

Mr. Ban Ki-moon is the 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations (January 2007 to December 2016). Throughout his tenure, Mr. Ban’s priorities have been to mobilise world leaders around a set of global challenges, from climate change and economic upheaval to pandemics and increasing pressures involving food, energy and water. Mr. Ban has also made major efforts to strengthen UN peace operations, protect human rights, improve humanitarian response, prevent violent extremism and revitalise the disarmament agenda. He led the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and the establishment of UN Women. A lifelong diplomat, he was the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade at the time of his appointment to the UN.

Dr. David Green is the Director for S&T Innovation, Transition & Integration Systems at Green Resilience Insights and Senior Technical Advisor to the Western Fire Applications Centre and Earth Fire Alliance. He is the former programme manager for NASA’s Earth Science Applied Sciences Wildfires and Disaster Risk & Resilience programme areas. He and his team promoted the use of Earth observations derived from space-based instrumentation to improve prediction of, preparation for, response to and recovery from perils. 

David is a member of the American Meteorological Society where he serves on the Data Enterprise and Education Committees and American Geophysical Union where he has been on the Natural Hazards Committee. David earned a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Toronto and Cambridge University and holds two master’s degrees: one in Chemical Physics (University of Pennsylvania) and one in International Management Science, Technology and Commerce (University of Maryland). 

Mr. Sherzod Shermatov is currently serving as the Minister of Digital Technologies at the Ministry of Digital Technologies of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Before assuming this prestigious position, Mr. Sherzod Shermatov held the role of Minister of Public Education in the Republic of Uzbekistan. Additionally, he has an extensive background in the field of innovation and development, having previously worked as the Deputy Minister of Innovative Development. 

His educational achievements further highlight his expertise in the field. He successfully completed his studies at the renowned Yale University. Moreover, he holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Tashkent State Technical University, further solidifying his understanding and proficiency in this domain.

Dr. Dimitri Kusnezov was confirmed as the Under Secretary for the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) on September 8, 2022. As the science advisor to the Homeland Security Secretary, Dr. Dimitri Kusnezov heads the research, development, innovation and testing and evaluation activities in support of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) operational Components and first responders across the nation. S&T is responsible for identifying operational gaps, conceptualising art-of-the-possible solutions, and delivering operational results that improve the security and resilience of the nation.   

Prior to DHS, Dr. Kusnezov was a theoretical physicist working at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) focusing on emerging technologies where he led efforts to drive AI innovation and bring it into DOE missions, business and operations, including through the creation of a new AI Office.  Dr. Kusnezov has served in scientific and national security positions, including Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Energy, Chief Scientist for the National Nuclear Security Administration, Director of Advanced Simulation and Computing and the Director of the multi-billion-dollar National Security Science, Technology and Engineering programs.  

Prior to public service, Dr. Kusnezov had a long career in academia where he published more than 100 articles and edited two books.

Dr. Inhyok Cha is a distinguished professor and special deputy president of global cooperation at GIST, Korea. He advises over 10 ventures in AI, cybersecurity, bio-medical, and climate tech. He is a steering member of, as well as Team leader of Digital Twin TF at the Korean Presidential Committee on Digital Platform Government.

Dr. Inhyok Cha was previously CEO of CJ Olivenetworks and CDO of CJ Group. He has held leadership roles at SK Telecom, Samsung SDS, InterDigital Inc., and Lucent Technologies Bell Labs. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Drexel University. He has published 50+ papers and holds 100+ US patents. 

Barbara-Chiara Ubaldi is the Head of the Digital Government and Data Unit and the deputy Head of Division, in the Division on Innovative, Digital and Open Governments within the OECD Public Governance Directorate. Barbara leads the work on the digital transformation of governments, which includes any initiative leveraging digital technologies and data (including AI) to enhance openness, efficiency and innovation in governments. She is responsible for country reviews, for monitoring the implementation of the OECD Recommendations on Digital Government Strategies, on Enhancing Access to and Sharing of Data, and on Digital Identity, as well as for the OECD OURdata Index and Digital Government Index. Barbara served for eight years as Programme Officer within the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. She gathered extensive experience working on ICT, data and knowledge management for development. A Fulbright Scholar, Barbara holds a M.S. on Public Administration from Northeastern University in Boston. Apolitical listed Barbara among the TOP 20 most influential figures on Digital Government worldwide.

Ms. Lamia El Moubayed is a development specialist. She currently serves on the UN Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA) as Vice Chair and leads a centre of excellence in public financial management in Lebanon with a regional portfolio. 

A fervent supporter of South-South cooperation, she contributed to creating six institutes of public finance and the foundation of two knowledge networks in the Middle East and Africa. She publishes regularly. 

Fluent in four languages, she holds a master’s degree in Development Economics and certifications in Strategic Planning. She was awarded the prestigious distinction of “Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur”.

Ms. Soon-Ae Park is a professor at the Graduate School of Public Administration and also serves as a member of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA). She has held the positions of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, President of the Korea Environmental Policy and Administration Society, and President of the Korean Association for Public Administration.

She has been involved as a member of the Steering Committee of Public Institutions and as the Director of the Evaluation Group for Public Institutions under the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. Additionally, she has contributed to various environmental advisory committees, including the Presidential Commission on Sustainable Development.

Mr. Ko Kidong, Vice Minister for the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, has served in both central and local administration, including roles such the Vice Mayor for Administrative Affairs in Sejong City; Director General for Human Resources Planning, Director General for Government Innovation Planning and Director General for Regional Economy Support at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. Mr Ko holds a bachelor's degree in Public Administration at Yonsei University, a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Graduate School and a Ph.D. in Public Administration at Yonsei University.

Prior to current role as Executive Director of the Caribbean Centre for Development Administration (CARICAD), Mr. Rowe was a career public servant in Jamaica, serving at senior levels. He served as Financial Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Planning between 2012 and 2016 during which the Government executed the successful Economic Reform programme supported by the International Monetary Fund. He was awarded the Order of Distinction, Commander Rank. He holds a Bachelor’s in Management from the University of the West Indies and a Master’s in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. 

Ms. Laila El Baradei is a Professor of Public Administration at the Public Policy and Administration Department, School of Global Affairs and Public Policy (GAPP), the American University in Cairo (AUC), Egypt. She was the Acting Dean for the School of GAPP during the academic year 2013/2014 and served for eight other years as the Associate Dean for the School of GAPP. 

El Baradei’s research interests are varied and have been manifested in a number of published articles and book chapters in the areas of development cooperation management, elections management, decentralisation, organisational change, public administration reform, governance, child labour, downsizing, and accountability. El Baradei was a member of the authors’ team responsible for the State of Arab Public Management Report 2022, Egypt’s Human Development Report 2010, 2008 and 2004; Egypt’s Millenium Development Goals Second Country Report 2004, and the World Bank’s Country Environmental Analysis for Egypt published in 2005. 

El Baradei is also the Faculty Advisor for the Youssef Jameel GAPP Public Leadership Fellowship programme at AUC and is the MPA programme director. She is a member of the Global Steering Committee for Pi Alpha Alpha Honour Society for Public Administration, and the Project Director for IASIA’s Working Group for Gender, Equality and Diversity.