SPEAKERS
Angela Glover Blackwell, founder and chief executive officer of PolicyLink Angela Glover Blackwell started PolicyLink in 1999. From her position as CEO, she promotes economic and social equality and has led PolicyLink to become a point of reference in the improvement of access and opportunity for low-income people and the integration of communities of colour, particularly in the areas of infrastructure, housing, transport, education and health. Before founding PolicyLink, Blackwell was vice president of the Rockerfeller Foundation, where she directed the cultural division. A lawyer by profession, she founded the Oakland Urban Strategies Council where she pioneered new approaches to community building in that area of California. As a person of reference in the movement for equality in the United States, Blackwell publishes regularly in The New York Times, The Huffington Post, Washington Post and appears on CNN. She is co-author of Uncommon Common Ground: Race and America's Future and has contributed to other works, such as Ending Poverty in America: How to Restore the American Dream and The Covenant With Black America.
Janet Lamkin, president of Bank of America California Janet Lamkin is president of Bank of America California. She is responsible for developing a business model to deepen the bank's business relationships. She has worked for Bank of America California for the past 17 years of her career. Formerly the president of the Professional Business Women of California association, Janet currently serves on boards of the California Chamber of Commerce, the Los Angeles Coalition and the Bay Area Council, where she was the first woman chair. Janet has been recognised as one of the 100 most influential businesswomen in the Bay Area of California by the San Francisco Business Times for the past five years Lamkin is a frequent speaker on leadership development, particularly subjects pertaining to career and personal growth for women.
Alfonso Vegara, president of Fundaci贸n Metr贸poli Alfonso Vegara is an architect, economist and sociologist with a PhD in city planning. His professional career has focused on improving the urban habitat and defending the importance of research as the basis for sustainable development of cities and territories. He has been the president of ISOCARP, the International Society of City and Regional Planners, which is present in 70 countries. Alfonso is a trustee of the Eisenhower Fellowships and honorary consul for Singapore in Madrid since 2005. He channels his research via Fundaci贸n Metr贸poli, a centre for innovation on cities and territories, of which he is the founder and president. Alfonso Vegara has also taught in many universities in Europe and the United States. He has published many books, including Territorios Inteligentes, and been awarded important national and international prizes in recognition of his professional career and research.
Guillermo Dorronsoro, Deusto Business School Guillerno Dorronsoro has a PhD in industrial engineering (with a major in Mechanical Engineering) from the Higher School of Engineering in Bilbao. Masters in City and Regional Planning from the Polytechnic University of Valencia. Vice president of IK4 Research Alliance and member of the board of Orkestra and Information Systems of Euskadi. He has held executive posts in global corporations (Accenture, Iberdrola, EDP/Naturcorp, Socintec/Indra) with tasks related to strategy and the promotion of new technology-based businesses. Dorronsoro was academic director of the first year of the Master's degree in Business Innovation (Deusto Business School - University of Cambridge/Judge Business School) and is assistant professor in the Information Technology Department at the Deusto Business School (Master's Degree in Innovation, Sustainable Globalisation, Competitiveness and Strategy Management). In recent years he has taken active part in setting up organisations such as the European Software Institute (ESI), the Energy Cluster and Fundaci贸n Tecnalia.
Mei Ling Liem, consultant for the Amsterdam City Council Mei Ling Liem is strategy advisor for Amsterdam's mayor and city councillors. She has worked with deputy mayor AndrĂŠe van Es on social integration and citizenship. She has recently planned strategic urban issues, as a member of the team preparing for the new City Council, after the local elections of 19 March 2014. Mei Ling Liem has collaborated with the Netherlands and European Union on policies for human rights and the position of women. She has also worked for the think tank of the Dutch Labour Party
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Simon Giles, Senior Director of Accenture Simon Giles is Accenture's Intelligent Cities Strategy expert and consultant for cities and governments on economic development, citizen centred design and digital master planning. He runs a global advisory team, based in London, that works with interdisciplinary teams of architects, engineers and digital designers to develop new development strategies for existing and future cities. Currently, Simon Giles advises the World Economic Forum on the future of urban development. He is currently working on projects in the United Kingdom, Mexico, Estonia, Denmark, Germany and Japan.