Catalytic Philanthropy Forum 2022 Catalytic Philanthropy Forum 2022
The Catalytic Philanthropy Forum is an exclusive platform for conversation around the future of philanthropy and its potential for catalytic impact amidst increasingly complex and cross-border global challenges. It brought together private philanthropists, corporate actors, and ecosystem stakeholders, including key policy makers. The forum featured Bill Gates, one of the most pioneering thinkers of our time, and a range of other leaders at the forefront of the third sector, including H.R.H. Prince Khaled Bin Alwaleed Al Saud, H.E. Salama Alameemi, and H.E. Homaid Al Shimmari.
Rima Al Mokarrab is Executive Director of the Strategic Affairs Unit of the Executive Affairs Authority (EAA). The EAA provides analysis and advice on a variety of portfolios to the President of the UAE, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Ms. Al Mokarrab is on the Board of Trustees of New York University, and on the Board of Trustees of the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies (ECSSR). Ms. Al Mokarrab also is Chair of Tamkeen, an organization that plans, develops, and delivers projects on behalf of the UAE, and co-founded and currently co-chairs the annual Abu Dhabi Ideas Forum in partnership with the Aspen Institute. She is the Vice Chair of the Board of Zayed University. She previously sat on the Board of the UAE Space Agency.
With holdings on three continents, Prince Khaled stands at the gateway between the Middle East’s evolving economies and the Western world. He invests in an array of successful, but diverse global businesses with a focus on transformative solutions.
As a venture capitalist who advocates for and invests in green emerging technologies, Prince Khaled is extremely engaged with the biotechnology and food sciences sectors, promoting ventures that serve as solutions to climate, sustainability, and food security concerns facing today’s global community.
An accomplished and pioneering Emirati professional, H.E. Salama Alameemi brings a wealth of leadership experience and proficiency in delivering solutions that translate the government’s vision into realities with measurable outcomes. As a purpose-driven leader, H.E. Alameemi believes in empowering others, building successful teams being accountable and setting standards of excellence. She is also a sports enthusiast and enjoys exploring the world through travel.
Homaid is the Deputy Group CEO and Chief Corporate & Human Capital Officer in Mubadala Investment Company. He has oversight into Mubadala’s Business Services, Enterprise Technology Services, Government Affairs, Construction Management Service, Employee Career Growth, Talent Acquisition, Learning and Development, Performance Management and Emiratization.
Homaid is a member of the Investment Committee at Mubadala, which is mandated to develop the organization’s investment policies and guidelines, in addition to reviewing all proposed projects and investments to ensure they are in line with Mubadala’s business objectives. Furthermore, Homaid is also Chairman of the Management Committee at Mubadala, which is responsible for reviewing, considering and approving certain corporate, organizational, operational, and performance matters across the Group in accordance with the Delegation of Authority.
Bill Gates is co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. As co-chair, he shapes and approves foundation strategies, advocates for the foundation’s issues, and sets the organization’s overall direction. He works with grantees and partners to further the foundation’s goal of improving equity in the United States and around the world.
Bill co-founded Microsoft in 1975 with Paul Allen and led the company to become the worldwide leader in business and personal software and services. In 2008, Bill transitioned to focus full-time on his foundation’s work. Through his private office, Gates Ventures, he pursues his work in climate change and clean energy innovation, Alzheimer’s research and other healthcare issues, interdisciplinary education, and technology. He is also the founder of Breakthrough Energy, which works to address climate change by supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs, big thinkers, and clean technologies.
In 2010, Bill, Melinda French Gates, and Warren Buffett founded the Giving Pledge, an effort to encourage the wealthiest families and individuals to publicly commit more than half of their wealth to philanthropic causes and charitable organizations during their lifetime or in their will.
Elizabeth Tanya Masiyiwa is a social entrepreneur and smartech executive. She is the CEO of Delta Philanthropies UK and the CEO of Akello, an African company transforming education with technology-based solutions. Elizabeth is a non-executive Director who serves on the Econet Wireless Zimbabwe and EcoCash Holdings Zimbabwe boards, two of the largest companies listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. She is a board member of Higherlife Foundation and is responsible for the education portfolio across the foundations and the Econet Group of Companies. Elizabeth serves on the Ashesi Foundation board, sits on Harvard University’s Leadership Council for the Centre of Africa Studies, and advises several entrepreneurship and philanthropy networks.
Jane Wales is Vice President of the Aspen Institute and Executive Director of its Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation. She is the founder of the Global Philanthropy Forum and its regional affiliates in Africa and Brazil, and the former host of the nationally syndicated National Public Radio interview show WorldAffairs. Previously, Jane served in the Clinton Administration as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director of the National Security Council. She simultaneously served as Associate Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. In the Carter Administration, Jane served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of state. In the philanthropic sector, Jane chaired international security programs at the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the W. Alton Jones Foundation, and she directed the Project on World Security at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. From 2007 to 2008, she served as acting CEO of The Elders. Jane is Chair of the Board of FSG and a member of the board of directors for the Center for a New American Security, OpenCorporates, and IDInsight. She is Co-Chair of the Generosity Commission.
Mariët Westermann joined NYU Abu Dhabi as Vice Chancellor and Professor of Arts and Humanities on August 1, 2019. Westermann had been with the Mellon Foundation since 2010, and served as executive vice president for programs and research from 2016. In that role, she oversaw all grantmaking programs and launched initiatives that strengthen the humanities, liberal arts education, and access, diversity, and equity in universities and cultural institutions. She was previously on the faculty at NYU, first as director of the Institute of Fine Arts and then as the first provost of NYU Abu Dhabi. Before joining NYU in 2002, she was associate director of research at the Clark Art Institute. From 1995 to 2001, she was on the faculty of Rutgers University.
She received her undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, from Williams College, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She received her Master’s and her PhD from NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts.