Moderated by:
Andrea Coleman – heads the Government Innovation grant programmes at Bloomberg Philanthropies, the charitable foundation of Michael R. Bloomberg. This year, Government Innovation initiatives will partner with over 200 cities around the world to equip city leaders with critical skill and support bold civic innovation. Previously Andrea served as CEO of the Office of Innovation at the New York City Department of Education, the largest school district in the United States, and prior to this led the International Practice at the Young Foundation in the UK. Andrea started her career as a classroom teacher with Teach for America.
On the panel:
Aziza Akhmouch – Head of the Cities, Urban Policies and Sustainable Development division within the Centre for entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities of the OECD. Her team provides governments with new data, evidence, analysis and guidance in a wide range of urban policies to foster smart, inclusive, competitive and sustainable cities. She oversees a broad range of thematic work related to housing, transport, cities and inclusive growth, cities and environment, metropolitan productivity and governance, and localising the Sustainable Development Goals. Aziza spearheaded the OECD Principles on Urban Policy and the OECD Water Governance Initiative. She also manages the OECD Champion Mayors Initiative for Inclusive Growth, the OECD Roundtable of Mayors and Ministers, and the OECD-UN Habitat-Cities Alliance National Urban Policy Platform.
Kulveer Ranger – is the former head of the Digital London Office, and also worked on the delivery of the London Oystercard. He spent four years working for the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, leading the transport and environment briefs. He is now the Global Head of Strategy & Communications for Financial Service & Insurance, and SVP Strategy & Communications for UK&I at Atos, a global leader in digital transformation. His time at City Hall included preparing London for the 2012 Olympics, making the case for Crossrail, leading on ground breaking initiatives such as the cycle hire scheme and Tech City. He has had various boards positions including Transport for London, Bristol 2015 European Green Capital City and is currently on the board of techUK.
Yael Selfin – Chief Economist at KPMG in the UK and Fellow at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research. She has been advising clients on the global economic outlook for over 20 years. Her experience spans private and public sector clients and bodies across a wide range of industries and geographies. Her research looks at the impact major shocks, as well as new technologies, could have on the economy and on individual businesses. Her work at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research looks at ways to lift growth across UK regions. Yael won City A.M. Analyst of the Year award in 2016 for the research she published on the outlook for interest rates, global trade and equity markets, and was named one of City’s 100 most influential women. She is a member of the Council of Management of SUERF and a member of the Bretton Woods Committee.