Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh
Chairman & Founder, Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization; Chairman, UNDESA-GAID

Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh is Chairman of UNDESA-GAID and Chairman and Founder of the international Jordan-based group Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization. He is also Deputy Chairman of the UN Global Compact. Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh holds several other chairmanships, including the Commission on Telecommunications, Information Technologies and E-Business as well as for the International Chamber of Commerce. In August 1972, he established his two firms: Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Company and Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property. After that he established 14 firms, which relate to various fields of management, consulting, legal services, accounting, intellectual property rights and more. Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh has used his experience in intellectual property to develop close relationships with the United Nations and the World Trade Organization. He holds several honors including an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, from Canisius College.

Mr. Nestor Bercovich
Project Coordinator, @LIS2 “Political and Regulatory Dialogue and Inter-Exchange of Experiences,” Information Society Program

Mr. Nestor Bercovich is Coordinator for the project ‘Political and Regulatory Dialogue and Inter-Exchange of Experiences’ at @LIS2, an Alliance for the Information Society of the European Union (EU). This ECLAC project of the EU has the following objectives: 1) support the Latin American countries in the elaboration, implementation, and follow up of national strategies in the national, sub regional, and regional strategies of the information society; 2) analyze and disseminate the best practices and develop different areas of the Information Society, and 3) strengthen the dialogue and south-south cooperation between Latin America and Europe regarding political, technical, and social aspects of the Information Society. Mr. Bercovich obtained his Master’s in Economic Science from the University of Paris VIII in 1985 and his Doctorate in Social Sciences from El Colegio Mexiquence (México) in 2009.

Mr. Miguel Brechner
President & Chairman, Technological Laboratory of Uruguay (LATU)

Mr. Miguel Brechner is President and Chairman of the Technological Laboratory of Uruguay (LATU). In the public sector, he is responsible for the CEIBAL project: One Laptop Per Child Uruguay, where 400,000 PCs were deployed in 2 years. He is also Director at the National Research and Innovation Agency (ANII). Within the private sector, Mr. Brechner was responsible for the export and import of Tech services within the Latin American region, was a consultant abroad as a telecommunications expert, and managed and founded several computer and telecommunications companies from 1978 to 2005. Mr. Brechner has a Bachelor of Science degree in Electricity Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Telecommunications both from King’s College, University of London. He is also an Electricity Engineer, Major in Communication, Facultad de Ingenieria from the Universidad de la República, Uruguay. Mr. Brechner also finished an Executive Program at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in Strategy in Negotiating.

Prof. Dr. Peter A. Bruck Ph.D,
Chairman of the Board of Directors, World Summit Award

Peter A. Bruck is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the World Summit Award (www.wsis-award.org) and Honorary President of the International Center for New Media. He works as the CEO and Chief Researcher of the Research Studios Austria Forschungsgesellschaft. He studied at the universities of Vienna, Iowa and at McGill, Montreal, and holds doctorates in law and communications, and master degrees in sociology and economics. Bruck continues some teaching as Honorary Professor of Information Economy and New Technologies at the Institute of Economics, Faculty of Law, at the University of Salzburg. Bruck has received numerous awards and fellowships in Europe, the US and Canada and is listed in the Canadian and Austrian WHO'S WHO. He has founded the University of Applied Sciences in Salzburg and has been on the Board of Management as Chief Content Officer of the Telekom Austria Group. Within the framework of the UN World Summit on Information Society, Bruck has organised the World Summit Award in e-Content and creativity as a global event and process. As a media and communications scholar, Bruck has published and edited numerous books, research reports and scholarly as well as professional articles. As a media producer, Bruck has worked in newspapers, radio, TV and digital interactive media. For contact: bruck AT research DOT at

Mr. Sebastián M. Cabello
Regulatory Manager, Public Policy, GSMA

Mr. Sebastian Cabello is Regulatory Manager at the Public Policy Division of the GSM Association. He is an economist specialized in public policy, comparative politics, convergence regulation, mobile broadband and technology strategy. Mr. Cabello joined the GSMA in 2006 and works on regulatory issues related to mobile broadband in emerging markets, with a special focus on Latin America and South and Southeast Asia. He served as a consultant for the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Argentina in several Free Trade Agreement negotiations and as a trade in services analyst for the Office of Trade, Growth and Competitiveness of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington, DC. Previously, Mr. Cabello served BSH International, the Argentine multinational ARCOR S.A.I.C. and worked as Research Director at TechPolis Inc. He holds a Masters Degree from the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IR/PS) of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) with a specialization in International Economics. Mr. Cabello was a Fulbright Grantee from 2003 to 2005.

Mr. Stephen Dukker
Chairman & CEO, NComputing, Inc.

Mr. Stephen Dukker is Chariman and CEO of NComputing, Inc. Previously, he held senior management roles at several technology manufacturing and retail companies, including Senior Vice President of Merchandising and Direct Operations for Computer City, President of OPTi, Inc., and President of PC Manufacturing and Distribution for CompUSA. He was also the founder and President of PC Brand, one of the first mail order PC manufacturers in the industry, and is a member of the Board of Directors of Alorica and Digital Persona. Mr. Dukker has spent his entire career driving down the cost of computing. He brings more than 30 years of experience in computer manufacturing and retailing to NComputing. Prior to this, he was also the founder and CEO of eMachines, a company dedicated to making computers affordable. In its first year, eMachines achieved $817 million in revenues and quickly became the third largest manufacturer of personal computers in North America.

Mr. Kamran Elahian
Chairman & Co-Founder, Global Catalyst Partners; Co-Chairman, UNDESA-GAID

Mr. Kamran Elahian is Chairman of the Global Catalyst Partners and Co-Chairman of UNDESA-GAID. He has co-founded ten high-tech companies, one venture capital firm (Global Catalyst Partners) and two non-profit organizations: CAE Systems a design automation software company; Cirrus Logic a fabless semiconductor company; Momenta a pen-based computer company; NeoMagic a mobile multimedia IC company; PlanetWeb a software company for Internet appliances; Centillium Communications a communication IC company; Actelis Networks a broadband communications systems company; Informative a customer feedback solutions software company; Entopia a knowledge management software company and Greenfield Networks a communication IC company which was acquired by Cisco Systems in 2006. Mr. Elahian also founded Schools Online a non-profit public charity organization (with the goal to bring the Internet to disadvantaged schools in the world), which merged with Relief International. He also co-founded Global Catalyst Foundation, a private philanthropic foundation. In December 2006, The Dr. Morris Chang Exemplary Leadership Award, which recognizes individuals for their exceptional contributions to drive the development, innovation, growth and long-term opportunities for the semiconductor industry, was presented to Mr. Elahian.

Mr. Juan Fernández
Senior Advisor, Ministry of Informatics and Communications, Cuba

Mr. Juan Fernández is a Senior Advisor in the Ministry of Informatics and Communications of Cuba and an Assistant Professor in the University of Informatics Sciences (UCI). Previously, he was Advisor for the National Directorate of Informatics of Cuba, Coordinator of the Cuban Commission for Electronic Commerce and Director of Informatization of the Ministry of the Steel, Mechanic and Electronic Industry (SIME). He was also the CIO of the Corporation of Information Technologies and Automation (CITA), Technical Director and Project Manager in the Robotic and Software Center (EICISOFT), and a Senior Researcher and Professor in the Microelectronics Research Center of the Havana Polytechnic Institute (ISPJAE). Mr. Fernández is a founding member of the United Nations ICT Task Force and of the Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG). He participated actively in the negotiating process for the outcome documents of both phases of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). He has given lectures and published articles in Cuba and abroad on various topics including the Management of Big Software Projects, Internet Applications and Electronic Commerce. His current interests are the strategies and models of the use of ICTs for development, and the organization of the software industry in developing countries. Mr. Fernández has received various technical and scientific awards, and has a Patent in Image Processing. He is also a FIDE International Chess Master. He has a Physics degree from Havana University and the degree of Senior Researcher of the National Academy of Sciences of Cuba.

Mr. Ramón Garza
CEO & Founder, Indigo Brainmedia; Co-Chairman, UNDESA-GAID

Mr. Ramón Garza is CEO and Founder of Indigo Brainmedia and Co-Chairman of UNDESA-GAID. Mr. Garza is a leading Latin American journalist with over 30 years experience. He has attained the Chief Editorial Position in three of México’s major news organizations: Grupo Reforma, Televisa and El Universal. In 2007, Mr. Garza received the World Summit Award distinguishing Indigo Brainmedia in the category of e-Entertainment for the best in e-content & creativity. In 2006 he founded Indigo Brainmedia, the first online multimedia experience for understanding and entertaining and he is now launching Flypmedia, a similar venture in the United States. With Reporte Indigo and Flypmedia online experiences, he is pioneering the new media model for the 21st century. Throughout his professional career he has received 18 international awards for investigative reporting, human rights, and design. In 1996, he received the Maria Moors Cabot Prize, granted by Columbia University in New York for his contributions to freedom of the press in Latin America.

Mr. Alfonso Romo Garza-Lagüera
Founder, EducarUno

Mr. Alfonso Romo Garza-Lagüera is Founder of EducarUno, an organization founded in 2006 on the principle that “there is no problem in the world which cannot be solved with better education”. At the moment, EducarUno is opening Docet Institute and Crecere Institute, its first two schools in Mexico. The organization is also starting Training and Transformation Centre for Teachers, an institution where educators receive the latest teaching skills, and Centre for Innovation, which aims to generate new ideas and solutions that can give extra value to society through education. Mr. Garza-Lagüera has organized and achieved a series of successful fund raising events since 2006. These events intend to involve and raise awareness among donors in an original way, so they will continue offering support to education in Mexico. Mr. Garza-Lagüera is also a member of the board of En Nuestras Manos A.C. and in 2007 he supported and collaborated in the launch of the electronic magazine Jóvenes Informados por México (JOIN). In 2004, he and a group of friends established ConsensoUno A.C., a non-governmental organization that aims to foster better practices in Mexico through four essential pillars: education, culture, politics, and social development. Mr. Garza-Lagüera graduated from the Technological Institute of Superior Studies of Monterrey, Mexico.

Ms. Dorothy Gordon
Director-General, Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT

Ms. Dorothy Gordon is Director-General of Ghana’s Advanced Information Technology Institute (AITI-KACE), the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT. She leads a team committed to using the opportunities that exist within the global innovation economy to bring about accelerated development in Africa. AITI provides globally benchmarked IT training, works to create the right environment to stimulate context-responsive ICT R&D and provides consulting services to support clients in achieving global quality standards. A strong network of global partnerships and local networks support AITI’s work in diverse areas ranging from digital inclusion projects at the community level to climate-modeling using high-performance computing resources. She has over 20 years experience as a specialist in international development with increasing leadership and management responsibilities. Her extensive experience within the UN is complemented by work in the private sector and with civil society organizations globally. Ms. Gordon is the Co-Chair of the Commission on Economic Opportunity for the World IT Forum (WITFOR) as well as a member of the Champions network of UNGAID. The present direction of her work relates to how best ICT can be owned by developing countries. She holds degrees from the University of Ghana and the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) of the University of Sussex, UK.

Mr. Rodrigo Arboleda Halaby
President & CEO, Ibero-America and The Caribbean, One Laptop per Child (OLPC)

Mr. Rodrigo Arboleda Halaby is President & CEO of Ibero-America and The Caribbean for the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Association. Born in Medellin, Columbia, Mr. Arboleda has been a Visiting Scholar at the Media Lab of MIT where he worked on the Digital Nations Consortium project and on the Education for Peace initiative (E4P). He is a partner at The Globis Group LLC, Global Business Development, with former US Ambassador Manuel Rocha. Together, they are developing business opportunities in the Ibero-American market, China and the US. Other activities include being a member of the Board of Trustees of Save The Children Foundation (1995-2001) and of Give to Colombia Foundation in Miami (2004-present). Mr. Arboleda completed his Bachelor’s degree in Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1965, and was elected President of the Colombia Society of Architects in Medellin in 1975.

Mr. Peter Hellmonds
Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, Nokia Siemens Networks

Mr. Peter Hellmonds is Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Nokia Siemens Networks since April 2007. Prior to this, he was Vice President of Public and International Affairs at Siemens Networks, a subsidiary of Siemens AG in Munich, Germany, where he was responsible for the development and communication of national and international information society strategies and initiatives. Mr. Hellmonds’ career began in 1977 with an apprenticeship in business administration, followed by six years in international business in Berlin, Germany and in Cairo, Egypt. He then completed a rigorous course of studies, earning a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service degree from the School of Foreign Service of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., a Diploma in International Studies from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, Bologna, Italy, and a Master's degree in Public Affairs (MPA) from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.

His Excellency Mr. Juan Molinar Horcasitas
Secretary of Communications and Transportation, Government of Mexico

Mr. Juan Molinar Horcasitas is Secretary of Communications and Transportation of the Government of Mexico. Most recently, he served as Director General of the Mexican Social Institute. He was Electoral Adviser from November 1996 to November 2000 at the Federal Electoral Institute and Executive Director of Prerogatives and Political Parties during the 1994 electoral process. Mr. Horcasitas was also Under-Secretary of Political Development of the Interior Secretariat, Spokesman for the National Action Party, and Federal Delegate for the National Action Party, coordinating economic affairs for his parliamentary group in the 59th Legislature and coordinated the area of Research and Political Analysis during Felipe Calderón's presidential campaign for the National Action Party and belonged to his transition team. He has also been a National Researcher and Professor of Political Science at El Colegio de México, the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, the National University of Mexico, the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, and the Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales. He has published specialized studies on political science, parties, and electoral systems, in prestigious academic journals and books edited in Mexico, in the United States and United Kingdom.

His Excellency Mr. Alonso Lujambio Irazábal
Public Education Secretary, Government of Mexico

His Excellency Mr. Alonso Lujambio Irazábal is Public Education Secretary of the Government of Mexico. He has had a distinguished career in the academic and public sector. Mr. Lujambio served as Electoral Advisor to the General Council of the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE), which organized the federal elections of 1997, 2002, and 2003. He has been a United Nations advisor and formed part of a UN delegation to design the electoral system for the Iraqi Constituent Assembly. Mr. Lujambio has been a university professor for over 20 years at institutions such as the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, where he directed the B.A. in Political Science, as well as at the Universidad Iberoamericana and the National University of Mexico (UNAM). He has published books, essays and articles on: democratic transition, electoral systems, and federalism and the division of power. Mr. Lujambio is a member of the Editorial Committee of the Fondo de Cultural Económica and was appointed Public Education Secretary on April 2009 by President Felipe Calderón. He obtained an M.A. in Political Science from Yale University and a B.A. in Social Science from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México.

His Excellency Mr. Ivo Ivanovski
Minister for Information Society, Macedonia

Mr. Ivo Ivanovski is Minister of Information Society in the Republic of Macedonia. He was elected Minister in the Government on December 21, 2006. He started his career in 1997 as a technical specialist in computer equipment maintenance. Later, Mr. Ivanovski was promoted to the IT Manager position in the Sector for development and maintenance of computer technology, in charge of budget creating, IT architecture, staff training and development, implementation of new hardware and software systems, and maintenance of WPN infrastructure of four Plaskolite factories in the USA. Over the eleven-year stay in the US, he has been an active member of the Macedonian-American Friendship Association and a member of the Steering Committee of the Macedonian church Mother of God's Falling Asleep in Columbus. Mr. Ivanovski is also an advisor to the VMRO-DPMNE President on matters related to information technology and economy. In 2003, he received an M.A. degree in Hardware Engineering from Ohio State University.

Mr. Bradford R. Kane
CEO, International Commission on Workforce Development (ICWFD)

Mr. Bradford R. Kane is CEO of the ICWFD. With a background in technology and advocacy initiatives on bridging the Digital Divide, broadening the reach of broadband and wireless connectivity to underserved communities, advancing e-health, and deploying economic development tools, Mr. Kane has infused ICWFD with his own brand of energetic leadership, vision and spirit. Also an attorney, Mr. Kane began his career working in Congress, where he served as Legislative Counsel to Congresswoman Cardiss Collins (D-IL), and as Counsel to the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Competitiveness, focusing on the expansion of equal economic opportunity for minority-owned and women-owned businesses, among other issues. He also served on the President's Health Care Task Force, and as Executive Director of both the Coalition on Media Concerns and the Work Opportunity Response Commission. Mr. Kane has previously served as Deputy Secretary for Information Technology and Deputy Controller in the State of California government.

His Excellency Mr. Markku Kauppinen
Ambassador, Trade & Development, Department for Development Policy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Finland

Since 2007, Mr. Markku Kauppinen has been Ambassador for Trade and Development at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Helsinki. Prior to this position, he has held several posts in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1973. From 2003-2007, Mr. Kauppinen was the Ambassador for the Embassy of Finland in Mozambique. Besides Mozambique, he was also in charge of Angola, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia. Mr. Kauppinen was the Deputy Director for Cooperation with Neighbouring Regions from 1997-1999, and was Director from 2000-2003. From 1990 to 1997, he worked at the Embassy of Finland as a counselor for Political and Economic Affairs and minister-counselor. From 1986 to 1990, he went back to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the Head of Export Promotion. From 1981 to 1986, Mr. Kauppinen was the commercial counselor and Head of Mission for the Embassy of Finland, Dublin. In 1973, he was appointed as the Administration Officer until 1978 when he became Head of Purchase Division. Mr. Kauppinen has a Master’s in Economic Sciences.

Mr. Michael Landau
Chairman & President, MAP International

Mr. Michael Landau is Chairman and President of MAP International. Mr. Landau is a global entrepreneur who has built a portfolio of successful ventures in real estate, mortgage banking, information and communication technologies, and advanced banking solutions. He also serves as Chairman of MAP International’s sister company, MAPcash, a new model debit card issuer for consumers in emerging markets. Mr. Landau is a former board member of Regalian PLC, a British real estate development company, and has a longstanding strategic alliance with Inter-Governmental Philatelic Corporation (IGPC), the world's largest philatelic agency. He has been an invited speaker at several high-level conferences and forums, among them a presentation on “Africa’s Industrial Drive: The Private Sector and Corporate Citizenship” at the African Union/U.N. Global Compact Private Sector Forum in Addis Ababa. Mr. Landau received his law degree from Yeshiva University's Cardoza School of Law and is admitted to practice law in New York, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia.

Prof. Dr. Ki-Su Lee
President, Korea University

Korea University appointed Prof. Dr. Ki-Su Lee as the University’s 17th President in February 2008. As a professor in the College of Law at KU, he served as the VP for Student Affairs, the VP for the Planning Division, and the Dean of the College of Law. Externally, Prof. Dr. Lee acts as the Chairman of the Korean Association of Private University Presidents, the President of Korean Association of Arbitration Studies, and the first President of Korea-Germany Alumni Society (ADeKo). He is also Chairman of the Korea Institute for Electronic Commerce, Vice President of Harvard Club in Korea, Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Wisconsin Madison Law School, and Director of the POSCO TJ Park Foundation. In 2001, he received the ‘Korea Judicial Culture Award’ following his role in protecting human rights and improving judicial culture and exchanges by Korean Bar Association. Prof. Dr. Lee is a graduate of Korea University’s College of Law and Seoul National University’s Graduate School of Law. He received his Ph.D. in Law from Tübingen University, Germany.

Ms. Janet Longmore
Founder, President & CEO, Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT)

Ms. Janet Longmore is the Founder and President & CEO of Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT). Over her 25-year career, Ms. Longmore has been a leader in creating new approaches and sustainable solutions that have successfully helped less fortunate people and societies improve their lives for the better. She has distinguished herself as a leader in building innovative, multi-sector partnerships to strengthen the reach and impact of program operations. A talented communicator, Ms. Longmore is passionately committed to effective efforts to bridge the global digital divide and empower people through the application of technology. She has been a featured speaker at numerous ICT for development conferences and events and is a member of the Strategy Council of UN-GAID. In 2002, Ms. Longmore founded DOT, a Canadian-based international organization that focuses on creating educational and economic opportunities through the use of information and computer technologies for youth and communities in need around the globe.

Mr. Mohsen Moazami
Vice President, Internet Business Solutions Group, Cisco Systems

Mr. Mohsen Moazami is Vice President of the Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG), responsible for $1.2 billion of incremental revenue in the consumer products manufacturing, retail, and transportation industries. Mr. Moazami is a proven leader with extensive experience in business leadership and technology-enabled business transformation. He works with senior management of Global 500 companies to help accelerate their strategic use of technology to increase their business success. Under his leadership, the global Retail/CPG/Distribution team has more than doubled the number of customer partnerships, with successful engagements in 60 percent of the Top 10 brands in the world. Before joining IBSG, Mr. Moazami was a Vice President/Senior Partner at Kurt Salmon Associates (KSA) in charge of the global e-business practice. Prior to KSA, he founded and oversaw the growth of Stanford Business Systems, an IT software and consulting firm. Stanford Business Systems was acquired by KSA in 1995. Mr. Moazami is a Board Member of Cisco India and is on the Advisory Board for Coca-Cola Corporation. He Chairs the Cisco RFID Steering Committee responsible for developing the RFID Solutions product roadmap and go-to-market strategies and is an active member of the EPC global Board of Governors. Mr. Moazami received a Master’s degree from Stanford University.

Mr. Nicholas Negroponte
Founder & Chairman, One Laptop Per Child (OLPC)

Mr. Nicholas Negroponte is Founder and Chairman of the One Laptop per Child non-profit association. He is also the author of the 1995 best seller, Being Digital, which has been translated into more than 40 languages. He is currently on leave from MIT, where he was co-founder and director of the MIT Media Laboratory, and the Jerome B. Wiesner Professor of Media Technology. Conceived in 1980, the Media Laboratory opened its doors in 1985. A graduate of MIT, Mr. Negroponte was a pioneer in the field of computer-aided design, and has been a member of the MIT faculty since 1966. In the private sector, Mr. Negroponte serves on the board of directors for Motorola, Inc. and as general partners in a venture capital firm specializing in digital technologies for information and entertainment. He has provided start-up funds for more than 40 companies, including Wired magazine.

Mr. Ulf Pehrsson
Vice President, Government & Industry Relations, Ericsson

Mr. Pehrsson is Vice President of Government & Industry Relations at Ericsson. Leveraging over 25 years of experience in government and telecommunication, Mr. Pehrsson is the architect of the company’s strategic focus on developing strong ties to the local government and community. Prior to joining Ericsson, he served as Deputy Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Director of the Ministry for Industry and Trade and represented the Swedish government at various embassies around the world. Currently, Mr. Pehrsson sits on the board of a number of organizations such as the Swedish ICT Association, Swedish Foreign Trade Association, International Council of Swedish Industry (NIR), International Chamber of Commerce Sweden (ICC), Chair of Computer/Telecom Group, the Swedish Program for ICT in Developing Regions (SPIDER), and the Palestine International Business Council. Mr. Pehrsson holds a Master of Business Administration from the Stockholm School of Economics.

Mr. Shai Reshef
Founder & President, University of the People (UoP)

Mr. Shai Reshef has twenty years of experience in the international education market and, along with being the Founder & President of UoP, is currently the Chairman of Cramster.com, an online global study community helping hundreds of thousands of students with their homework. Formerly, he served as Chairman of the Kidum Group, the largest for-profit educational services company in Israel, which he sold to Kaplan in 2005. Between 2001 and 2004, Mr. Reshef chaired KIT eLearning, a subsidiary of Kidum, the eLearning partner of the University of Liverpool and the first online university outside of the U.S. He holds a Bachelor of Arts, Magna Cum Laude, from Tel Aviv University and a Master of Arts degree in Chinese Politics from the University of Michigan.

Mr. Parminder Jeet Singh
Executive Director, IT For Change

Mr. Parminder Jeet Singh is Executive Director of IT For Change. As Executive Director, he is the coordinator of a UNDP-funded field project, which aims to bring new ICTs to disadvantaged rural women, and is co-coordinator of IT for Change’s research and advocacy project ‘Information Society for the South’. Mr. Singh is a member of the Strategy Council of the UN Global Alliance on ICTs and Development, and is a Special Advisor to the Chair of the Multi-stakeholder Advisory Group of the UN Internet Governance Forum. He worked for nearly a decade in the government, where he initiated innovative e-governance projects and, in 2001, he co-authored the book, “Government@Net: E-governance opportunities for India”. Mr. Singh was invited to do a research study at the INSEAD Business School in France on “New ICTs for community and governance institutions”. Subsequently, he has worked with many ICTD field projects, as well as in policy research and advocacy related to information society issues.

Mr. Rafael Rangel Sostmann
President, Tecnológico de Monterrey

Mr. Rafael Rangel Sostmann is President of Tecnológico de Monterrey, a private and independent institution with 33 campuses, 92.446 students and 8,178 faculty members. During his administration he created the Virtual University, which offers programs to students in 17 countries; and TecMilenio, a university with 30 campuses and 17,050 students, which offers undergraduate programs to young students who are eager to enter the work force and to working adults who want to develop professional competencies. Mr. Rangel has promoted research at Tecnológico de Monterrey in biotechnology, health sciences, mechatronics, and information and electronic technologies, all considered strategic for moving the country into a new knowledge economy. Additionally, he has created a broad network of 32 incubators on Tecnológico de Monterrey campuses to generate high- and intermediate-tech companies to help satisfy the demand for new jobs that the country faces. He also founded the Institute for Sustainable Development and a network of 1,200 Community Learning Center offering educational and entrepreneurship programs to both the general community and rural sector. Mr. Rangel holds Board memberships at the World Bank Institute, Academic and Professional Programs for the Americas (LASPAU), and Overseers’ Visitation Committee at the Harvard Business School, among others. Most recently, he was honored with the Gold Medallion Award from Instituto de Empresa, Madrid in 2006, an Honorary Doctoral Degree of Human Letters from Arizona State University in 2004, and an Honorary Doctoral Degree of Law from the University of British Columbia in 2003. Mr. Rangel has a Ph.D. and Master of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin.

Mr. Guillermo Sunkel
Project Coordinator (Education Component), @LIS2, “Political and Regulatory Dialogue and Inter-Exchange of Experiences,” Information Society Program

Mr. Guillermo Sunkel is Coordinator for the education component of the @LIS2 project. He was a professor and consultant for both national government and public organizations. Mr. Sunkel has published articles and books in the field of communication and education and since 2004, he has worked in the Division of Social Development at ECLAC, where he works in the themes of youth, family, social capital, education, new technologies of communication, and social politics. He has a Ph.D. in Sociology from the Centre for Contemporary and Cultural Studies of the University of Birmingham, England.

Mr. Vijay Thadani
CEO, NIIT Technologies Limited

Mr. Vijay Thadani is CEO and co-founder of NIIT, Asia’s No. 1 trainer and leading Global Talent Development Corporation. Mr. Thadani also serves on the Board of NIIT Technologies Limited, a leading SEI-CMMi Level 5 assessed IT Solutions organization, servicing customers in the USA, Europe, Japan, Asia Pacific, and India. Mr. Thadani has led the Group’s globalization efforts since 1991, taking the NIIT flag to over 40 countries. As the Chairman of NIIT USA, based out of Atlanta (1999-2003), he mentored NIIT's Strategic Alliance Programme that resulted in successful acquisitions of leading technology companies to fill in critical technology gaps in NIIT's Software Solutions and Knowledge Solutions offerings and to gain customer access. Mr. Thadani has headed many Industry Associations and Societies including the Indian IT Industry Association (MAIT) and has chaired the Indian Government’s Committee on National Information Infrastructure Policy. He has also served as the Chairman of the IT Committee of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in the USA and has led delegations to Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China and the United States to promote India’s IT capability. Mr. Thadani is currently the Chairman of CII National Committee on Education. A ‘distinguished alumnus’ of the premier IIT Delhi, he has lectured at prestigious institutions including the University of Michigan Business School, the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs).

Mr. Todd Thibodeaux
President & CEO, Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA)

Mr. Todd Thibodeaux is President and CEO of CompTIA, the leading trade association representing the business interests of the global information technology (IT) industry. He is responsible for leading strategy, development and growth efforts for the association. Before joining CompTIA in July 2008, Mr. Thibodeaux spent more than 17 years with the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), where he served in a wide range of roles culminating as its Senior Vice President of Industry Relations. During Mr. Thibodeaux’s tenure with CEA, the organization grew from having just a small handful of member companies to become a thriving, diverse and widely respected trade group with over 2,200 member companies and 150 employees. CEA is perhaps best known for producing one of the world’s largest technology trade events, the International Consumer Electronics Show. As Senior Vice President, he was intimately involved in the day-to-day operations and growth of the organization. He played key leadership roles in short- and long-term strategic planning, partnership and investment opportunity development, standards and technology innovation, market analysis, member relations and was a prominent spokesperson for the industry in many different capacities. Prior to joining the CEA, Mr. Thibodeaux was with the Office of Regulatory Analysis, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, in Washington, D.C. In 1988, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington and a Master’s degree in Economics from George Mason University in 1997.

Mr. Ignacio Jara Valdivia
Deputy Director, Center for Policy Studies and Practices in Education, Chile

Mr. Ignacio Jara Valdivia is Deputy Director of the Center for Policy Studies and Practices in Education in Chile. His field of specialization is IT for education and politics to promote the use of educational technologies in the school system. For more than 10 years, Mr. Valdivia worked for the Ministry of Education of Chile, where he was Director of Network Links, the Chilean policy for disseminating technologies to primary schools and universities throughout the country. He is an advisor to the Center of Education and Technology of the Ministry of Education and has been a consultant to different institutions of higher education and for various Latin American governments. Mr. Valdivia is a professor of Education IT at the Universidad Católica de Chile and at the Universidad Alberto Hurtado. He is an Industrial Civil Engineer with a specialization in Computer Science from the Universidad Católica de Chile, and holds a Master of Science in Education, Technology and Society from the University of Bristol, England.

Mr. Sha Zukang
Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA)

Mr. Sha Zukang heads the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, which is responsible for the follow-up to the major United Nations Summits and Conferences, and services the Economic and Social Council as well as the Second and Third Committees of the General Assembly. He also chairs the United Nations Executive Committee on Economic and Social Affairs. Prior to assuming his present position in the United Nations, Mr. Sha Zukang held a number of posts in the diplomatic service of the People’s Republic of China. His postings in diplomatic missions abroad included London, Colombo, New Delhi, New York and Geneva. In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he served variously as Counselor of the Chinese Mission to the United Nations, Deputy Director-General of the Department of International Organizations and Conferences, Ambassador for Disarmament Affairs, Director-General of the Department of Arms Control, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Chinese Mission to the United Nations Office in Geneva. In addition, Mr. Sha Zukang has served as president, vice president, chairperson, coordinator and expert in many international conferences in the field of arms control, trade, intellectual property, social affairs, and telecommunications.