Our Team
Founders & Leadership
Charles Kao
Co-Chair & CEO
Expertise: Tourism, Sustainability, Media & Technology
Location: France and USA
Founder and lead of a number of multinational travel, technology, green economy, and publishing companies.
Jack Whelan
Head of ESG & Sustainability
Expertise: International technical, environmental, and sustainability specialist
Location: Australia
International development and ESG consultant with extensive experience across the UK/EU and Asia-Pacific regions.
Lelei LeLaulu
Co-Chair
Expertise: Development , Media & Community Empowerment
Location: Washington D.C.
Nobel Peace Prize 2025 Nominee. Expert in sustainable development and media, with a strong focus on empowering communities.
Natarajan Ishwaran (Ish)
Head of Development & Strategic Partnerships
Expertise: Sustainability, ecological sciences and international environmental policy
Location: France, Paris
Shaun Mann
Strategic Advisor — Program Validation & Impact Readiness
Expertise: Development Banks & Economic Growth
Location: Washington D.C.
Senior Investment Policy Officer at the IFC/World Bank. Experience in tourism, retail, and investment climate advisory services.
Advisory Board
Amitava Bhattacharya
Strategic Senior Special Advisor, Cultural Development
Location: India
Founder of the 25-year-old Art for Life initiative for Culture and Development, addressing SDGs and social inclusion using ICH, which is recognized, accredited, and used as a successful case study by UNESCO and UN Tourism.
Himali Jinadasa
Senior Advisor for Development Location: Sri Lanka
Deep experience in international development, cultural diplomacy, and multilateral partnerships, having worked with UNESCO, IRCI, various UN and donor institutions, and the Sri Lankan government.
Dr. Jens Thraenhart
Strategic Advisor, Sustainable Tourism
Location: Thailand
Senior tourism executive and global strategist, currently serving as Co-Chair of the UNWTO Affiliate Members. Former CEO of Barbados Tourism and Executive Director of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office, with a track record of advancing sustainable and regional travel initiatives.
Aurang Zeb
Team Leader, LLM Systems
Location: Texas, USA
Lead Data Scientist at Citi with deep expertise in enterprise data systems, microservices, and API integration. With prior roles at Health Alliance Plan, IBM, and CIBC, he has led large-scale data architecture and BI initiatives across finance and healthcare, delivering scalable, high-impact solutions.
Barbara Pyle
Legacy & Creative Producer, Madame Planet
Location: St. Lucia
An Emmy Award-winning producer, environmentalist, and co-creator with Ted Turner of Captain Planet and the Planeteers. A media pioneer for social and environmental change, she has championed youth empowerment and sustainability across global platforms for decades.
Dr. Orhan Akal
Strategic AI Advisor, LLM Systems
Location: Florida
An AI leader with a proven track record of scaling platforms from pre-seed to $500M+ valuations. At Overjet, he led core efforts in medical imaging, claims automation, and fraud detection. He now advises and builds AI-native startups, with a focus on LLMs, multi-agent systems, and go-to-market execution.
Bevan Springer
Expertise: Media & Journalism, Sustainability Leadership
Location: New York City area
Award-winning journalist and media strategist. Founder of CMEx and contributor to outlets including BBC, UN Radio, and the New York Daily News.
Al Merschen
Expertise: Leadership & Management, Communication Innovation
Location: USA, Los Angeles
International tourism marketing and strategic communications entrepreneur focused on innovation and collaboration.
Alla Peressolova
Special Advisor – Silk Road Specialist, Sustainable Tourism & Thematic Routes Development
Location: Spain
Former Head of the UNWTO Silk Road Programme, where she pioneered global collaboration among Silk Road countries and advanced the principles of sustainable tourism.
Sisa Ntshona
Executive Advisor, Community Activation & Inclusive Economies
Expertise: Public–Private Partnerships, Rural & Community Tourism
Location: Johannesburg
African leader in tourism, financial services, aviation and manufacturing industries. Recent CEO of South African Tourism and Head of SME Banking at Barclays Africa.
Guy Bigwood
Special Advisor, Regenerative and Resilient Destinations and Events
Location: Spain
Serial entrepreneur. Fellow of the Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals (FISEP). CEO of the Global Destination Sustainability Movement (GDS-Movement). Recipient of the 23 sustainability awards.
Tony Thompson
Special Advisor, Leadership Council
Location: United Kingdom
Senior executive leader with extensive experience and proven results in developing the strategy, management, and delivery of complex and challenging event portfolios and projects, across a range of industry sectors around the world. 18 years as VP Events, directing the World Travel & Tourism Council Global Summit.
John Hazelwood
Chief Architect, AI & Systems
Location: Greece
Founder of large IT development services company in Bulgaria. Now leads an embodied AI venture developing humanoids and experiential learning platforms with robotics partners.
Dawn Chubai
Special Advisor, Live Shopping
Location: Canada
25 years building trust and driving sales through a camera lens — first as a national TV broadcaster, then as a top-selling home shopping host with over $250M in direct product sales.
