Simone Niven was appointed Corporate Relations Group executive in January 2017. She joined Rio Tinto in 2008 and has accountability for the Group’s reputation and corporate relations areas: external affairs, communities, media, brand, reputation, and employee communications. She also has responsibility for the leadership of the country and regional office teams including Africa, Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, the U.K., and the U.S. Prior to joining Rio Tinto, Niven spent over 15 years working in senior roles at some of the world’s largest companies across many continents, including Vodafone, the United Technologies group, Smiths Group plc, and Smith & Nephew plc in a range of corporate relations fields.

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Miranda Ballentine is the CEO of REBA, an alliance of clean energy buyers, developers, service providers, and NGOs that are unlocking the marketplace for a cleaner, prosperous, zero-carbon energy future. REBA members were involved in 100 percent of corporate large renewables deals in 2018. Ballentine was previously CEO of Constant Power, a DER company, as well as managing director of RMI’s Business Renewables Center. From 2014-2017,  she served President Obama as assistant secretary of the Air Force (Installations, Environment, and Energy). She was responsible for a US$9 billion energy budget and launched the Resilient Energy Demonstration Initiative, developing clean, cyber-secure microgrids. Previously, Ballentine was Walmart’s director of sustainability for renewable energy. She led a global team to achieve Walmart’s 100 percent renewable energy goal, identifying more than US$1 billion in annual energy savings and 9 million metric tons of avoided GHGs.

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Hubert Joly is Executive Chairman of Best Buy Co. Inc. In this role, he leads the board of directors while advising and supporting the CEO on key matters, such as strategy, capability building, M&A, and external relationships. He also may assume certain responsibilities at the request of the CEO, in areas such as government relations, community relations, and leadership development. Joly joined Best Buy in 2012 and served as the company’s CEO until June 2019. He led the company through its much publicized Renew Blue transformation. The transformation resulted in improvements in customer satisfaction, market share gains, revenue growth, and improved margins. Joly then led Best Buy into its next phase, Best Buy 2020: Building the New Blue. This growth strategy aims to enrich lives through technology by addressing key human needs in entertainment, productivity, communication, food, security, and health and wellness. Under Joly’s leadership, Best Buy committed to preparing youth from underserved communities for the tech-reliant jobs of the future. Additionally, the company is on a path to reduce its carbon footprint by 60 percent.

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Since Mayor Sam Liccardo took office in 2015, San Jose has thrived. In his very first year, Liccardo settled intense battles over pension reform with 11 unions, saving taxpayers US$3 billion over the next three decades and enabling the restoration of San Jose’s police force. Since then, he has led the most successful period of economic growth in the City’s history, announcing major expansions from employers like Adobe, Apple, Broadcom, and Google. Liccardo has also implemented innovative approaches to reduce homelessness—such as converting motels, expanding work-first programs, and building “tiny home” villages—while working with community partners to house more than 1,000 homeless veterans. Furthermore, he has helped broaden prosperity in San Jose by launching after-school programs in less affluent neighborhoods, providing jobs for 2,000 at-risk teens, teaming with community colleges to eliminate tuition for low-income students, and lifting the minimum wage across the region. Liccardo has also co-led successful measures to bring Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and other transit improvements to San Jose and protect its hillsides and open spaces from sprawling development. In 2018, San Jose residents overwhelmingly re-elected Liccardo, with 76% of the vote.

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