(c) Hafed Walda

ALIPH brings together states and private partners who have chosen to join forces to protect heritage in danger

The Foundation Board is the decision-making body of ALIPH. It legislates the strategic orientations of the institution, its initiatives and partnerships, and selects the projects to be financed. The Chair of the Board is Ms. Bariza Khiari, adviser to the President of the French Republic and representative of France, and the Vice-Chair is H.E. Mohamed Al Mubarak, President of the Department of Culture and Tourism of Abu Dhabi and representative of the United Arab Emirates. Other members of the Board with voting rights are representatives of contributing states and foundations, philanthropists and qualified personalities.

ALIPH is an “alliance” between several states, private partners and experts, guaranteeing a pluralistic vision. The following states, institutions and individuals have decided to come together to fund this initiative. France, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Morocco, Luxembourg, China, and Cyprus have provided financial support. ALIPH also benefits from the support of Switzerland and received contributions from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Getty, and philanthropists Dr. Thomas S. Kaplan and Mr. Jean-Claude Gandur.

The Scientific Committee’s mission is to enlighten the Foundation Board on the scientific aspects relating to designing a strategy, the choice of projects and setting up scientific evaluation panels. Its ad interim Chair is Dr. Mounir Bouchenaki, with the rest of the committee made up of international experts in the protection of cultural heritage.

The Finance and Development Committee supports the Foundation Board with respect to the investment policy and development of ALIPH’s activities.

The Audit Committee oversees the adherence to accounting and financial standards, supervises all audit work and ensures that the Secretariat is correctly managed. Its Chair is Mr. Jeffrey D. Plunkett J.D., with Mr. Abderrazak Zouari, Pierre Henri Pingeon,  and representatives of the Secretariat.

The Ethics, Governance and Remuneration Committee ensures that the Foundation adheres to accepted standards of ethics. Its chair is Mr. Jean-Claude Gandur, with Professors Markus Hilgert and Marc-André Renold as members of the committee.

The Secretariat is the operational body of ALIPH and is charged with the day-to-day management and implementation of the strategy and decisions of the Foundation Board. In particular, it organises calls for projects, negotiates and concludes financial support agreements, carries out the monitoring of projects, prepares the meetings and decisions of the Foundation Board, supports the various specialist committees and contributes to awareness raising, promotion, and fundraising.

The Secretariat is organised as a start-up and is run by Executive Director Mr. Valéry Freland.

The International Council cultivates and stewards a circle of allies to support and facilitate the Foundation’s mission, in line with its action-oriented philosophy.

Chair, Ms. Bariza Khiari (France)

Bariza Khiari is the personal representative of the President of the French Republic on the ALIPH Foundation Board as well as its Chair since 14 November 2023. She is the current President of the Institut des Cultures d’Islam, a cultural establishment in Paris. Ms. Khiari has been a French politician since the 1970s. She was a Senator from 2004 to 2017 and the first Vice President of the French Senate from 2011 to 2014. She was also a Judge at the Court of Justice of the French Republic. Throughout her political career, Ms. Khiari has defended equality and religious minorities in the Middle East. She contributed to the creation of a Senate study group on these issues, advocating interfaith cooperation. Ms. Khiari was appointed Chevalier in both France’s National Order of the Legion of Honor and National Order of Merit. Originally from Algeria, Ms. Khiari is binational. She holds a Master’s degree in business management from the Institute of Business Administration of the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.

Vice-Chair, H. E. Mohamed Al Mubarak (UAE)

Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak presently serves as Chair of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, which oversees the conservation and promotion of Abu Dhabi’s heritage and culture. In 2016, H.E. Al Mubarak was appointed Chair of the Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC), master developer of major tourism, cultural and residential destinations in Abu Dhabi. He also serves as Chair of Miral Asset Management, an organization responsible for creating and managing destinations in Abu Dhabi, and Chair of Aldar Properties. In addition, he is Chair of Aldar Academies, and Chair of Image Nation Abu Dhabi – a content creation company for film and television in the Middle East. H.E. Al Mubarak is a graduate of Northeastern University (United States of America), with a double major in economics and political science.

Dr. Thomas S. Kaplan (private donor)

Dr. Thomas S. Kaplan is an American business and community leader, philanthropist, environmentalist, and art collector. He served as the Chairman of ALIPH from 2017 to 2023. In addition, he is the Chairman of the investment and asset management firm The Electrum Group LLC; past President and Chairman of the 92nd Street Y, Manhattan’s premier cultural and community center; Founder and Chairman of Panthera, the global leader in big cat conservation; and, Founder of The Leiden Collection, the world’s largest private collection of Rembrandt and Dutch Golden Age art. Dr. Kaplan is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the International Council of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University. Among other distinctions, he was appointed Chevalier (2014) and promoted to the rank of Officier (2020) in France’s National Order of the Legion of Honor, Commandeur in France’s Order of Arts and Letters (2017), and Officier in the Netherlands’ Order of Orange-Nassau (2018). Dr. Kaplan earned his Bachelor’s, Master’s and DPhil degrees in modern history from the University of Oxford. He is married to Daphne Recanati Kaplan. They have three children and reside in New York City.

HH Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan Al Saud (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)

His Highness Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan Alsaud is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s first Minister of Culture, the Governor of the Royal Commission for AlUla, and a member of the Kingdom’s Council of Economic and Development Affairs. Prince Badr also provides thought leadership and strategic guidance to several entities as Chairman of the Board, including the Diplomatic Quarter Authority, the Misk Art Institute, and the Saudi Society for the Preservation of Industrial Heritage, amongst others. Previously, His Highness was Chairman of the Board of the Saudi Research and Marketing Group (SRMG), the largest publishing company in the Middle East, and Chairman of the Board of the Saudi Heritage Preservation Society. He is a law graduate of King Saud University.

HE Nadia Ernzer (Luxembourg)

HE Mrs Nadia Ernzer is a career diplomat who has carried out different missions within the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MFEA) and the European institutions. At national level, she worked on sub-Saharian Africa, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Balkans and Turkey, notably in the context of the Luxemburg presidencies of the Council of the European Union in 2005 and 2015. From 2016 to 2020, she was Deputy Secretary General of the MFEA. At international level, she was based in Vienna early in her career and covered inter alia UN files. She spent seven years within the European institutions, at the General Secretariat of the Council and at the European External Action Service, mainly dealing with Russia. She was also Ambassador to Albania. In summer 2022, Mrs. Ernzer has been nominated Luxembourg Ambassador to OECD and UNESCO.

Mr. Wen Dayan (China)

Wen Dayan is the Director General of Foreign Affairs at China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration. From 2009-2013, he was Deputy Director of European Cultural Relations at the Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China, and Protocol Officer from 2005-2008. During his work at the Ministry of Culture, he served as the Cultural Attaché at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo between 2001-2005. Mr. Wen earned his Bachelor’s degree at the Beijing Foreign Studies University, before attending the École Nationale d'Administration (ENA) in France, where he graduated with honors. He went on to pursue a Master’s degree in public administration at the ENA, followed by a Master’s in law from the Renmin University of China.

Ms. Eleni Apeyitou (Cyprus)

Mr. Mehdi Qotbi (Morocco)

Mehdi Qotbi has been President of the Fondation Nationale des Musées du Maroc since 2011. An internationally renowned artist, he works to promote intercultural understanding through the Cercle d'amitié franco-marocain, of which he is founder. He is also founder and editor of Trait d'Union Maroc-Europe and a former member of the Advisory Council on Human Rights of Morocco. Mr. Qotbi has received several honors and distinctions, including Commandeur of the Legion of Honor, Commandeur of the Order of Arts and Letters, Officier of the National Order of Merit, Chevalier of the Order of Academic Palms (France), Commandeur of the National Order of Merit (Hungary) and Commandeur of the Order of Civil Merit (Spain). Mr. Qotbi is a graduate of the École des Beaux-Arts in Rabat (Morocco) and the École des Beaux-Arts in Toulouse (France).

Mr. Jean Claude Gandur (private donor)

Art collector, philanthropist and entrepreneur, Jean Claude Gandur co-founded the Addax & Oryx Group in 1987, active in the energy sector, which he currently chairs. In addition, Mr. Gandur chairs the Addax & Oryx Foundation, a non-profit organization established in 1996, focused on funding projects that target the root causes of poverty in Africa and the Middle East. In 2010, he founded the Fondation Gandur pour l’Art to ensure the preservation and public accessibility of his internationally recognized art collections, and in 2011, he created the Fondation Gandur pour la Jeunesse dedicated to the development and social integration of disadvantaged youth. Mr. Gandur is Chair of both Foundations. Mr. Gandur was appointed Officier in France’s National Legion of Honor in 2017. He studied law and political science at the University of Lausanne (Switzerland), and ancient history at the University Panthéon-Sorbonne in Paris (France).

Dr. Katherine Elizabeth Fleming (Getty)

Dr. Katherine Elizabeth Fleming is President and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust, the world’s wealthiest art institution. Getty's mission is to support the exhibition, research, and conservation of the world's artistic heritage. Fleming was Provost of New York University (NYU) from 2016-2022 and holds the A.S. Onassis Chair of Hellenic Culture and Civilization in NYU’s department of history. A specialist on the modern Mediterranean, Fleming was educated at Barnard College of Columbia University, the University of Chicago, and the University of California Berkeley and has served at academic institutions in France, Greece, and the USA. She is a board member of several institutions in the cultural and educational not-for-profit sectors, among them Barnard College, the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation, and the Universities of Paris system. An elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, she is also a Commander in the Greek Order of Beneficence and a Chevalier in the French Legion d’Honneur.

Dr. Mariët Westermann (qualified personality)

Dr. Mariët Westermann is the Director and CEO of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation, directing its flagship institution in New York, overseeing the Foundation and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, and providing collaborative leadership working with the director of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and the project director for the future Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. Westermann led NYU Abu Dhabi, a degree-granting liberal arts and research campus of NYU, as Vice Chancellor, Chief Executive, and Professor of Arts and Humanities from 2019 to 2024. She was the institution’s Provost at its founding, from 2007 to 2010. At NYU Abu Dhabi, she oversaw all academic, administrative, financial, and operational affairs. Previously, Westermann served as Executive Vice President at the Mellon Foundation, as a faculty member and Director at NYU/Institute of Fine Arts, as Associate Director of Research and Academic Programs at the Clark Art Institute, and as a faculty member at Rutgers University. She is a graduate, magna cum laude, of Williams College and holds Master's and Ph.D. degrees in the History of Art from NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts. Westermann has received fellowships, honors, and grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, American Philosophical Society, Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, Clark Art Institute, College Art Association, and Metropolitan Museum of Art. Westermann serves on the boards of ALIPH – The International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas, the Educational Testing Service, and the Rijksmuseum, and chairs the Scholar Rescue Fund of the Institute of International Education. In Abu Dhabi, she is a board member of AmCham Abu Dhabi and the US-UAE Business Council.

Dr. Richard Kurin (qualified personality)

Richard Kurin is the Smithsonian Distinguished Scholar and Ambassador-at-Large. He serves as the Smithsonian liaison to the President of the United States of America’s Committee for the Arts and the Humanities and the White House Historical Association and is a member of the U.S. Department of State Cultural Heritage Coordinating Committee. Prior to his current role, Dr. Kurin served as Acting Provost and Under Secretary for Museums and Research from 2015, and from 2007, as Under Secretary for History, Art, and Culture. Moreover, he served on the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO and helped draft an international treaty to safeguard living cultural heritage. He has published scores of scholarly articles on cultural representation, intangible cultural heritage, and the sociology and arts of India and Pakistan. Dr. Kurin has been honored by Harvard University’s Peabody Museum, the International Council of Museums, the American Anthropological Association, the American Folklore Society and the Cosmos Club. He is an elected fellow of the American Academy of the Arts and Sciences. With a PhD in anthropology from the University of Chicago, Dr. Kurin has held Fulbright and Social Science Research Council fellowships and has taught at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

Prof. Dr. Markus Hilgert (qualified personality)

Markus Hilgert is the Secretary General and CEO of the Cultural Foundation of the German Federal States. A specialist in Ancient Near Eastern Studies, he has served as Director of the Ancient Near East Museum at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin from 2014 until 2018. From 2007 until 2014, he was Professor for Ancient Near Eastern Studies (Assyriology) at Heidelberg University. From 2015 until 2018, Prof. Dr. Hilgert was the Coordinator of the national trans-disciplinary research alliance ILLICID focusing on the illicit traffic with cultural property in Germany (funded by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research). He was the founding Director of the Heidelberg Center for Cultural Heritage at Heidelberg University and the Center for Digital Cultural Heritage in Museums (ZEDICUM) at the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation. From 2017 until 2018, Prof. Dr. Hilgert was the Coordinator of the national program “museum4punkt0 – Digital Strategies for the Museum of the Future” under the auspices of the Federal Commissioner for Culture and Media. Prof. Dr. Hilgert has received several awards for his academic achievements and holds honorary professorships at Heidelberg University, Marburg University, and Berlin University (Freie Universität).

Prof. Marc-André Renold (Switzerland)

Marc-André Renold, Dr. iur., LL.M. (Yale) is Emeritus Professor of art and cultural heritage law at the University of Geneva. Until December 2023, he served as the Director of the Art-Law Center and the holder of the University of Geneva's UNESCO Chair on “The International Law of the Protection of Cultural Heritage”. Prof. Renold is attorney-at-law, member of the Geneva Bar and of counsel for the firm Wenger Plattner. His areas of practice are, among others, art and cultural heritage law, intellectual property and public and private international law. He is the author or co-author of many publications in the field of international and comparative art and cultural heritage law.

Mr. Ernesto Ottone Ramirez (UNESCO)

Ernesto Ottone Ramírez is the Assistant Director-General for Culture of UNESCO. He served as Chile’s first Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage from 2015 to 2018, where he created the Department of First Peoples, a Migrants Unit and strengthened copyright laws and heritage protections. During this time, he also chaired the Regional Centre for the Promotion of Books in Latin America and the Caribbean (2016-2017). From 2011 to 2015, Mr. Ottone Ramírez served as Director-General of the Artistic and Cultural Extension Center of the University of Chile, which manages the National Symphony Orchestra of Chile, the Chilean National Ballet (BANCH), the Chile Symphony Choir and the Vocal Camerata. From 2001 to 2010, he held the position of Executive Director at the Matucana 100 Cultural Center in Santiago. Mr. Ottone Ramírez holds a Master’s degree in management of cultural institutions and policies from the University of Paris IX Dauphine and a Bachelor of Arts in theater from the University of Chile.

Dr. Mounir Bouchenaki (Chair of the Scientific Committee, ad interim)

Mounir Bouchenaki , born in November 1943 in Algeria , contributed during four years (2013 -2017) to the launching of a UNESCO category II Centre in Bahrain, where he is now an advisor. He was elected Director-General of ICCROM end 2005 - 2011. He was the initiator of the ICCROM/Sharjah Centre . His appointment at ICCROM followed a long career of 25 years at UNESCO, where he was Assistant Director-General for Culture ,Director of the Division of Cultural Heritage, Director of the World Heritage Center at UNESCO, and in his own country, Director of Antiquities, Museums and Historic Monuments in the Algeria from 1970 to 1981. He holds a Ph.D. in archaeology and ancient history . He has been awarded the medals of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, Officier des Arts et des Lettres, and Commander des Arts et Lettres . In 2002. He was raised to the rank of “Commendatore of the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity” by the President of the Italian Republic. He was awarded by the President of the Algerian Republic with a Golden Medal of Culture, and by the French President of the Republic the title of "Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur ».He was awarded by SAS Prince Albert II of Monaco and by HRH Princess of Hanover the medal of Culture. He published a number of books on and articles. His last book is published in French about the “ Mutilated Heritage”(2017) . Presently, He is Special Advisor to the UNESCO Director General and to the ICCROM Director General. He was member of the Advisory Board of the Smithsonian Institution for 8 years (USA), and Member of the Advisory Board of the State Hermitage Museum( Russia)up to last year, Ad hoc Expert for the Safeguarding of the site of Angkor( Cambodia), Ad Hoc expert for the restoration of two churches and a mosque in Mosul(Iraq), Honorary president of the Del Bianco Foundation in Florence(Italy), and Honorary president of the Borsa del Mediterraneo for Tourism and Archaeology in Paestum ( Italy). He was recently elected (June 2022) Interim Chairperson of the ALIPH Scientific Committee.

Mr. Valéry Freland (Executive Director)

Valéry Freland, a French career diplomat, has been the Executive Director of ALIPH since September 2018, where he is responsible for the strategic implementation and management of the Foundation. A graduate of law and a former student of Sciences Po (Paris) and the École Nationale d’Administration (ENA – class Léopold Sedar Senghor), he has held several positions in the central administration of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (European Affairs, Cultural Affairs) and abroad: Culture and Audiovisual Advisor at the Permanent Representation of France to the European Union (Brussels, 2007-2009), Advisor for Cooperation and Cultural Action at the French Embassy in Tunisia (2010-2013), Consul General of France in Boston (2015-2018). He has also served as the Diplomatic Advisor to the French Minister of Culture and Communication, Frédéric Mitterrand (2009-2010). He is Officier of the French Order of Arts and Letters.

Dr. Jeffrey D. Plunkett J.D. (Chair of the Audit Committee)

Jeffrey Plunkett is the chairman of the Audit Committee of ALIPH. He is the former Executive Vice President and Global General Counsel of Natixis Investment Managers. At Natixis, he was a member of the firm’s executive committee and managed the company’s global legal operations, including the legal function management at Natixis’ multiple autonomous investment management and distribution subsidiaries operating globally in different jurisdictions. Prior to joining Natixis, he was a partner at Goodwin Procter LLP, a global law firm where he specialized in corporate and securities law, mergers and acquisitions and other business transactions. Mr. Plunkett also serves on the board and is Secretary of the French-American Chamber of Commerce - New England, is a member of the board of TransCultural Exchange and is a past member of the board of trustees of the French Cultural Center in Boston. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College and his J.D. from Cornell Law School.

Chair (ad interim), Dr. Mounir Bouchenaki (Algeria)

Mounir Bouchenaki , born in November 1943 in Algeria , contributed during four years (2013 -2017) to the launching of a UNESCO category II Centre in Bahrain, where he is now an advisor. He was elected Director-General of ICCROM end 2005 - 2011. He was the initiator of the ICCROM/Sharjah Centre . His appointment at ICCROM followed a long career of 25 years at UNESCO, where he was Assistant Director-General for Culture ,Director of the Division of Cultural Heritage, Director of the World Heritage Center at UNESCO, and in his own country, Director of Antiquities, Museums and Historic Monuments in the Algeria from 1970 to 1981. He holds a Ph.D. in archaeology and ancient history . He has been awarded the medals of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, Officier des Arts et des Lettres, and Commander des Arts et Lettres . In 2002. He was raised to the rank of “Commendatore of the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity” by the President of the Italian Republic. He was awarded by the President of the Algerian Republic with a Golden Medal of Culture, and by the French President of the Republic the title of "Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur ».He was awarded by SAS Prince Albert II of Monaco and by HRH Princess of Hanover the medal of Culture. He published a number of books on and articles. His last book is published in French about the “ Mutilated Heritage”(2017) . Presently, He is Special Advisor to the UNESCO Director General and to the ICCROM Director General. He was member of the Advisory Board of the Smithsonian Institution for 8 years (USA), and Member of the Advisory Board of the State Hermitage Museum( Russia)up to last year, Ad hoc Expert for the Safeguarding of the site of Angkor( Cambodia), Ad Hoc expert for the restoration of two churches and a mosque in Mosul(Iraq), Honorary president of the Del Bianco Foundation in Florence(Italy), and Honorary president of the Borsa del Mediterraneo for Tourism and Archaeology in Paestum ( Italy). He was recently elected (June 2022) Interim Chairperson of the ALIPH Scientific Committee.

Ms. Amel Chabbi (United Arab Emirates)

Mr. Gao Zheng (China)

Dr. Laith Hussein (Iraq)

Dr. Patrick Michel (Switzerland)

Prof. Claudio Parisi Presicce (Italy)

Dr. Samuel Sidibe (Mali)

Dr. Bahija Simou (Morocco)

Dr. Abdullah Alzahrani (Saudi Arabia)

Dr. Nadine Panayot (Lebanon)

Dr. George Abungu (Kenya)

Chair, Dr. Richard Kurin (United States)

HE Saood Al-Hosani (United Arab Emirates)

Ms. Irene Braam (United States)

Ms. Deborah Stolk (Netherlands)

Mr. Valéry Freland

Mr. Valéry Freland, Executive Director

Dr. Sandra Bialystok, Communication and Partnerships Director

Mr. Laurent Oster, Director of Finance and Operations

Dr. Elke Selter, Program Director

Dr. Bastien Varoutsikos, Strategic Development Director

Mr. Othman Boucetta, Chief of Staff

Mr. Waseem Albahri, Project Manager

Ms. Gala-Alexa Amagat, Project Manager

Mr. Adonis El Hussein, Project Manager

Ms. Alexandra Fiebig, Project Manager

Mr. David Sassine, Project Manager

Ms. Elsa Urtizverea, Project Manager

Ms. Maria Gurova, Communication and Partnerships Officer

Ms. Bates Assilbekova, Communications and Partnerships Officer

Mr. Harry Tarpey, Strategic Partnerships Officer

Ms. Marion Maadoune, Grant Finance Officer

Mr. Ivan Dautriche, Grant Finance Officer

Ms. Solange Mackoubily, Administrative and Accounting Assistant

Ms. Olena Kokliagina, Ukraine Grant Officer

Ms. Daryna Zhyvohliadova, Ukraine Consultant

Mr. Nicolas Zuvic, Intern

Ms. Irina Bokova, Former Director General of UNESCO (Bulgaria)

Irina Bokova is the former Director General of UNESCO (2009 – 2017) and a former Bulgarian politician and diplomat. Prior to her tenure at UNESCO, she served as a member of the National parliament of Bulgaria, as deputy minister of foreign affairs and minister of foreign affairs (ad interim). She has also served as Bulgaria’s ambassador to France and Monaco and as the personal representative of Bulgaria’s president to the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. Ms. Bokova has received state distinctions from more than 40 countries across the world and is Doctor honoris causa of leading universities across the world, such as King’s College, University of Edinburgh, Paris-Saclay, Boston University, Catholic University of Milan or Tonji University (China). In 2020 she was also elected International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in the category of Scientific, Cultural and Non-profit Leadership. Ms. Bokova serves on the Board of the Ban Ki Moon Centre for Global Citizens, as a Member of the Concordia Leadership Council, and as a Member of the Strategic Committee of the Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA), among others. She is the President of The Council of the University for Peace, a visiting lecturer at the University of Geneva, a Miwon Scholar of Peace Studies at Kyung-Hee University (Seoul), and a Member of the International Advisory Council of the Beijing Forum at the University of Beijing. Ms. Bokova has been very active in the domain of protection of cultural heritage.

Mr. Michael Møller, former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations - Director General of the United Nations Office in Geneva (Denmark)

Michael Møller, a Danish national, is a seasoned international civil servant who dedicated over 40 years to the United Nations, starting his career in 1979 with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and ending it in 2019 as an Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Director-General of the UN Office in Geneva and Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Disarmament. Møller served, inter alia, as the Deputy Chef de Cabinet of Secretary-General Kofi Annan and as the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and Head of Peacekeeping Forces in Cyprus. He held various other posts in New York, Geneva, Mexico, Iran, Haiti, Cyprus and Geneva. He was also Executive Director of the Kofi Annan Foundation. He is currently on the Boards of a number of Organisations and Foundations, including the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipation Foundation (GESDA), the Kofi Annan Foundation and One Young World. Mr. Moller was critical in the determination of International Geneva as the operational hub of the United Nations and the Global Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. He established the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Lab in Geneva in 2016. He created the Perception Change project and founded the International Gender Champions initiative, and pioneered the Strategic Heritage Plan to renovate the Palais des Nations. His contributions to the work of the United Nations earned him several awards, including the French Legion d’Honneur in 2019 and the Bourgeoisie d’Honneur de Genève in 2020. Born in Copenhagen in 1952, Møller holds degrees in international relations from Johns Hopkins University and the University of Sussex.

Ms. Elisabeth Decrey Warner, Founder and former President of Geneva Call (Switzerland)

Elisabeth Decrey Warner is the Founder and former President of Geneva Call (1998 – 2018) and a former Swiss politician. From 1989 to 2001, she represented the Social Democratic Party on the Grand Council of the canton of Geneva (Parliament), serving as vice-president and then president from 1999 to 2001. In 1997, Ms. Decrey Warner was a member of the Swiss delegation to Ottawa to sign the UN Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention. Believing that the treaty should be supplemented by the possibility of negotiating with armed non-state actors, she founded to this end, in 1998, the Geneva-based NGO Geneva Call. Ms. Decrey Warner has served on the boards of several humanitarian organizations, including the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance, the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining, and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. She is also a board member of the organization Leaders pour la Paix (Paris) and vice-president of Terre des hommes in Switzerland. She is a recipient of the French Legion of Honor (officier), an Honorary Doctorate of the University of Geneva, the Hessian Peace Prize, and was nominated as one of 1000 women for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize.

Mr. Francesco Bandarin, Former Assistant Director General of UNESCO (Italy)

Francesco Bandarin is the former Assistant Director General for Culture of UNESCO (2010-2018) and former Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Center (2000-2010). An Italian national, he holds a degree in architecture from the Iuav University of Venice and a masters in city planning from the University of California, Berkeley. He currently teaches at SciencesPo in Paris. As Director of the World Heritage Centre, Mr. Bandarin was responsible for the implementation of the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. In 2014, he served as president of the jury of the Venice Biennale of Architecture. He is a member of the Advisory Council of the Smithsonian Centre for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, and a member of the Managing Board of the Santagata Foundation for the Economy of Culture.

Ms. Viviane de Witt, Former Auctioneer (Switzerland/France)

Viviane de Witt is a former French auctioneer and Geneva-based businesswoman. For twenty years, she held the gavel at Hotel Drouot and Crédit Municipal de Paris and was one of the first women to lead auctions in France and Switzerland. She is also the Director of Radio Cité Genève, a local radio station in Geneva, and has served as CEO of Manufacture DeWitt Haute Horlogerie, a private business manufacturing precision watch components. Ms. de Witt is a recipient of the French Legion of Honor and the Medal of Arts and Letters in recognition of her contributions to the worlds of arts and culture.

Mr. Lionel Sauvage, Philanthropist (France/USA)

Lionel Sauvage is a French philanthropist and collector of 18th century French art based in Los Angeles, California. Following a career in finance, including serving as a portfolio manager at the Capital Group, he became deeply involved in supporting the arts. Mr. Sauvage currently serves as a board member of the American Friends of the Louvre, the Société des Amis du Louvre, the American Friends of Chantilly, the INSEAD Foundation, and the Abraham Path Initiative (Vice Chairman). He is also the co-founder of FLAX, the foundation connecting France-based artists with opportunities in Southern California. Mr. Sauvage holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from INSEAD and an engineering degree from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Electricité et de Mecanique (ENSEM).

Mr. Claude Haberer, Advisor to the President, Bangkok Bank (Thailand)

Claude Haberer is a banking and finance executive who is since 2022 Advisor to the President of Bangkok Bank, in Bangkok. He was previously Equity Partner at Banque Pictet & Cie occupying the position of CEO (2011-2019) and then Chairman of Pictet Wealth Management Asia, based in Hong Kong. The first 30 years of his career were spent at BNP Paribas in an array of different functions, including CEO of BNP Paribas Private Bank North Asia, CEO of BNP Taiwan, Head of BNP Paribas’s Investor Relations and Head of Mission of BNP’s Inspection Générale. He holds an MBA from HEC Business School, a masters in Chinese from INALCO Paris and is an alumnus of Moscow State University. He speaks French, English, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish and Russian. Mr. Haberer also serves as Chairman of the Ricci Association, publisher of the largest bilingual dictionary of the Chinese language and is the author of a history of Chinese-Philippine relations. He is a member of the Société d’études syriaques (Paris), a Member of the Finance Committee of the Society of Jesus at the Vatican and an advisor to a private equity fund in Thailand. He is a recipient of France’s National Order of Merit (Chevalier dans l’Ordre national du Mérite) and was Distinguished Fellow at INSEAD (2018-2020).

Ms. Deborah Lehr, Chief Executive Officer, Basilinna (USA)

Deborah Lehr is the Chief Executive Officer at Basilinna. She has worked across Asia, the United States, the Middle East, and Europe, with a focus on business advisory, sustainability, finance, and culture. After her firm was acquired, Deborah launched a new public affairs firm for PR firm, Edelman, where she doubled both the revenues and staff in three years. She also serves as the Executive Director of the Paulson Institute, created by former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson. Deborah is the founder and Chairman of the Antiquities Coalition, which fights against the illicit trade in antiquities. Earlier in her career, Deborah served on Wall Street at the New York Stock Exchange and Merrill Lynch, as well as in the U.S. Government as a Director at the National Security Council, and at the U.S. Trade Representative. Her leadership roles and dedicated efforts in fighting the illicit trade in antiquities have earned her global recognition. Deborah is on the Board of the National Geographic, the World Monuments Fund, the Middle East Institute, Meridian, and the International Advisory Boards of Sesame Workshop and ALIPH. She is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.