Mr. Leslie Maasdorp is Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the New Development Bank. In this role, he is responsible for the treasury, portfolio management, finance, and accounting functions of the Bank.

Over the past 25 years, he has occupied senior leadership roles in both the private and public sectors. Most recently he served as a Managing Director and President of Bank of America Merrill Lynch for Southern Africa for a period of four years. Prior to that, he served in a dual role as Vice Chairman of Barclays Capital and Absa Capital. In 2002 he was the first African to be appointed as International Advisor to Goldman Sachs International.

Before his 13 years as a global investment banker, he served in several senior leadership roles in the Government of South Africa. In 1994 after the transition to democracy, he was appointed as Special Advisor to the Minister of Labour, and in 1999, in his role as Deputy Director-General of the Department of Public Enterprises, he led the restructuring and privatization of state-owned enterprises for the South African Government.

Before his appointment at the NDB, Mr. Leslie Maasdorp was appointed by the Board of ADvTECH as Chief Executive Officer. In 2007 he was designated as a young global leader by the World Economic Forum. He holds a BA degree in Economics and Psychology from the University of the Western Cape and a Master of Science degree in Economics from the School of Oriental and African Studies, at the University of London.

Meng is the Head of Asia and Oceania networks with the United Nations Global Compact, overseeing over 15 country networks and operations across the region. Before joining the United Nations in 2007, Meng has worked for the non-profit and public sector across the US and in Asia. She was a fellow on Asian public policy with Harvard Kennedy School and book author of “Responsibility Changes the World-UN Global Compact Leading Business Revolution Worldwide”. She speaks regularly at global and regional conferences on the topics of corporate social responsibility, inclusive business, climate change, cross-sector partnership and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Meng has been honored by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader in 2015.

Dr. Xinyi Wu serves as a Senior Partner & Managing Director of Boston Consulting Group, based in Beijing, China. Xinyi has been working in the consulting industry for ~20 years. He is the topic leader of ESG issues, specialty in Climate Change and Energy areas in BCG Greater China, with extensive project experiences. He is also the core leadership of BCG’s Principal Investors & Private Equity practice area.

Dr. Xinyi Wu has led BCG’s efforts supporting United Nations and global leading NGOs, to understand China’s mega shift towards renewables and decarbonization. He has also been creating impacts helping corporates and investors, operating in China, on their pathways to address the climate challenge and reaching net zero. On top of that, Xinyi has a deep engagement with a wide coverage of energy topics, including electricity, green technologies, oil & gas, etc. Xinyi is the first author of BCG’s recent publication Investing in the Future: Being a Climate-smart Private Equity Investor in China.

Dr. Xinyi Wu received his Bachelor of Medicine from Beijing University Medical School. He also has a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the Department of Hematology/Oncology of UCLA Medical Center, and an MBA in Finance and Strategy Management from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.

Simon Collins is the founder of Fashion Culture Design and the ex-dean of the Fashion School at Parson’s New School for Design, a role which after seven years he stepped down from at the end of the Autumn semester in 2014.

A graduate of fashion from the Bournemouth and Poole College of Art and Design and Epsom School of Art and Design, Collins has advised several influential start-ups such as Byronesque and Fashion GPS. He was a judge for the Lexus Eco Challenge Award with the CFDA, the Concept Korea Award, and the Samsung Designer Fund.

Collins' career within the industry of 20-plus years has seen him work at brands such as Polo Ralph Lauren, Zegna, and Marks & Spencer. As creative director of Nike’s Asia-Pacific region, Collins played a pivotal role in launching collaborations with Comme des Garcons and Issey Miyake.

In April 2008, Collins was appointed as dean of Parson's New School for Design for which he oversaw the operations of the influential BFA degree program in Fashion Design, as well as the Associate AAS degree programs in Fashion Studies and Marketing and the MFA in Fashion Design and Society.

Collins introduced a number of initiatives to the school, including collaborative design competitions with Louis Vuitton and Kering and internship opportunities. He also secured a showcase at New York Fashion Week for the annual MFA collections garnering significant industry interest in both the candidates and the school at large.

In 2017, he co-founded WeDesign, a global platform offering remote design courses. He has focused expansion of the venture on China, announcing plans in 2019 to open six centres within the year.

When he is not hosting Fashion Culture Design, Collins spends his time advising brands, companies, fashion weeks, and governments. He also writes for The Wall Street Journal, BoF, and in 2014 published his first book 'The School of Fashion'.

Shimer is the Senior Advisor at UN Global Compact. She leads the global program of Sustainable Infrastructure for the Belt and Road Initiative to Accelerate the SDGs Action Platform.

Prior to her role at UN Global Compact, Shimer was with the World Economic Forum for over six years, managing three foundations initiated by the World Economic Forum, Global Shapers Community, Young Global Leaders, and the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship Greater China and Northeast Asia region. Shimer started her career as a journalist and producer with Shanghai Media Group.

Shimer receives her Master of Law, International Relations from Peking University, and Bachelor of Arts, Asian Studies from the University of Sydney. She is also a candidate for the Master of Philosophy at Peking University.