On March 11, the World Economic Forum announced that Unitus President and CEO Geoff Davis had been selected as a Young Global Leader for 2008. This honor is bestowed each year to recognize and acknowledge the top 200 to 300 young leaders from around the world for their professional accomplishments, commitment to society, and potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world. The 2008 Young Global Leaders include 121 business leaders as well as leaders from government, academia, the media, and society at large from 65 countries.<\/p>\n
“The World Economic Forum is a true multi-stakeholder community of global decision makers. We need the Young Global Leaders to be a voice for the future in the global thought process and as a catalyst for initiatives in the global public interest,” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.<\/p>\n
Drawn from a pool of almost 5,000 candidates, the Young Global Leaders for 2008 were chosen by a selection committee of 31 eminent international media leaders, including Thomas H. Glocer, Chief Executive Officer, Reuters, United Kingdom; Arthur Sulzberger, Chairman and Publisher, The New York Times, USA; Robert Thomson, Publisher, Dow Jones & Company and The Wall Street Journal, USA; and Hisashi Hieda, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Fuji Television Network, Japan. The selection committee is chaired by H.M. Queen Rania Al Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.<\/p>\n
The current community of Young Global Leaders represents more than 60 countries and includes Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Co-Founders of Google, USA; Crown Prince Haakon of Norway; Malvinder M. Singh, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Ranbaxy Laboratories, India; Hiroshi Nakada, Mayor of Yokohama, Japan; Nicky Newton-King, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, JSE, South Africa; Carlos Danel, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Banco Compartamos, Mexico; and Jack Ma Yun, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Alibaba Group, People’s Republic of China.<\/p>\n
“It is our belief that this community of committed individuals can actually change the status quo. They are not only a preview of what effective, collaborative leadership in the 21st century might look like, they are actually putting it into practice today,” said David Aikman, Senior Director and Head of The Forum of Young Global Leaders. “It is our privilege to work with such inspirational leaders and to bring them together in a global network that builds their insights and skills even further, providing them with a global platform to tackle the key challenges of our generation.”<\/p>\n
Established in 2004 by Professor Klaus Schwab, The Forum of Young Global Leaders is a unique, multi-stakeholder community of the world’s most extraordinary young leaders who dedicate a part of their time to jointly addressing global challenges and who are committed to devoting some of their knowledge and energy to collectively work toward a better future. As part of their engagement, the Young Global Leaders give their time to task forces to initiate, develop, and drive innovative solutions on important, globally-oriented issues, including health, education, the environment, global governance and security, and development and poverty.<\/p>\n
For more information and a detailed list of all Young Global Leaders, please visit\u00a0www.younggloballeaders.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n