Ambition and Drive
4 | MANE ENERGY | JULY 2018
The World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders list represents individuals who are key figures in sustainable social innovation. The list comprises of 100 individuals, all of whom are under the age of 40.
These individuals come from all walks of life, including; business leaders, technologists, artists, public servants and social entrepreneurs. They all must dedicate some of their time into addressing some of the world’s biggest issues such as the environment, education and poverty.
Previous lists have featured household names such as Google’s Larry Page, actor Leonardo DiCaprio and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
This year’s list has been published and includes 3 people from the UK. Maya Foa – a highly decorated lawyer working to end extreme human rights abuses, Mustafa Suleyman – a leading figure in the development and application of AI to solve real-world problems and lastly Susannah Rodgers – Gold medal Paralypic swimmer who now chairs the Athlete Advisory Group and is also a Non-Executive Director on the Board of British Athletes Commission.
The two major sports stars who might be known to many who have made this list are footballer Mathieu Flamini, currently plying his trade in Spain for Getafe, and former 2016 World Champion F1 driver Nico Rosberg.
Nico Rosberg since leaving the track has been dedicating his time as an ambassador to many international brands. Nico has also been pursuing entrepreneurial ventures as an angel investor. He recently opened a new driver academy in order to find a support new talent in motorsport.
Mathieu Flamini, known by many football fans from his two spells at Arsenal has been listed as he is the co-founder of GFBiochemicals, a biochemical company seeking to find an alternative to oil-based products. He has been nominated for multiple awards including the Bio-based Business Person of the Year at the World Bio Markets Award in 2016 and is also a member of the Paris 2024 Olympic Environmental Excellence Committee.
Mathieu on top of all of this was also a member of the team that created BIOCIRCE, Europe’s first Masters’ degree specialising in the bio-economy, going helping fight the stereotype that football layers are not intellectual whilst also raising great awareness in his work.
All those on the Young Global Leaders List deserve huge recognition for their work on various scales.