Excellence Awards

Dr. Otto is an assistant professor at the University of Augsburg, where his research and teaching sit at the intersection of international relations, globalisation, higher education and economic development. He also leads internationalisation and incoming exchange for his faculty.

Before moving to Germany, he worked for the U.S. Department of State in Edinburgh and served as assistant director of international programs at Indiana University. He holds a Master of Public Affairs from Indiana University.

Alberto Cominetti is a partner at ZWEI Wealth, where he advises families, foundations and pension plans on ESG, and a partner at Consulta, advising SMEs on ESG and sustainability. He has worked in wealth management for 25 years, in both leadership and consulting roles across domestic and international markets.

His approach is grounded in the ESG principles and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, with ethics and social responsibility at its centre. He holds a Master’s degree in Banking and Finance from the University of Zurich and serves on the board of the Synapsis Foundation, which funds research into Alzheimer’s and related neurodegenerative diseases.

Kaddu Kiwe Sebunya is a prominent figure in the realm of conservation, celebrated for his visionary leadership and steadfast dedication to protecting Africa’s wildlife and wilderness areas. Since assuming the CEO role at the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) in 2019, he has played a pivotal role in steering the organization towards a new era of conservation excellence, shaping its strategic direction and fostering multi-sectoral collaborations.

With a career spanning over three decades across the USA, Africa, and Europe, Kaddu has held various positions at grassroots, national, and regional levels. Before becoming CEO, he served as AWF’s President, showcasing exceptional leadership and a profound passion for conservation. At the heart of his mission lies a vision for a modern Africa where wildlife and wilderness flourish as essential components of human development, cultural heritage, and economic prosperity.

Under Kaddu’s guidance, AWF has emerged as a leading advocate for African conservation, advocating for the continent’s natural heritage on both local and global platforms. He led the unveiling of a groundbreaking 10-year strategic vision in 2020, emphasizing the coexistence of wildlife conservation with sustainable progress. Kaddu’s leadership extends beyond AWF, as he actively engages with diverse stakeholders and prestigious networks to elevate African voices in the global conservation discourse and foster collaboration for regional conservation efforts.

Dr. Villhauer has been Managing Director of the Global Ethic Institute since 2015. He studied philosophy, ancient history and art history at the universities of Freiburg, Jena and Hull, and worked in publishing and media before moving into his current role, most recently as head of editing at the Narr Francke Attempto publishing group.

He heads the Lab for Good Leadership at the European School of Governance and the research group on Finance and Economics at the Global Ethic Institute, and co-founded the Institut für Praxis der Philosophie in Darmstadt. His work focuses on sustainable finance, monetary theory and financial ethics, and he is the author of several books on the subject.

Dr. McDermott is an economist with nearly fifteen years of experience in environmental and natural resource economics. Her research has been recognised internationally and honoured with five awards for scientific contribution, and she has collaborated with global institutions including the UN on resource management policy.

She teaches undergraduate and graduate economics, serves as a reviewer and editor for academic journals, and has sat on several nonprofit boards. Making nature accessible to all is a commitment that runs through her work.

Prof. Dr. Kalluci is Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the University of Tirana. She has published more than 20 academic articles and belongs to several international associations in the field of mathematics.

Her doctoral work addressed the numerical solution of polynomial equations, including cases with multiple roots, and its implementation across a cluster of processors. Her recent research applies supervised and unsupervised machine learning to the study of the human microbiome.

As the CFO at CER, a leading non-profit organization that represents over 700 European rabbis, I oversee the financial management and strategic planning of the organization, ensuring compliance with regulatory and ethical standards. I also lead the development division, which is responsible for fundraising, donor relations, and estate planning for the organization’s foundation.

With a Master of Science in Leadership and Strategic Management from UCM and a certification as a Crypto Finance Expert (SAQ), I bring a unique combination of skills and expertise to the CFO role. I have over two years of experience as the COO and CPO of a blockchain banking startup, where I managed the operations and product development of a digital asset platform that was licensed as an outsourced banking service under § 25c KWG. I also have extensive knowledge and experience in estate planning and foundation management, having completed several courses and certifications in this field.

Collins Busuru is a wildlife conservationist and environmental advocate with more than five years of experience in community engagement, reforestation and biodiversity research. He previously served as CEO of CHD Conservation Kenya, leading community-led programmes to restore the Amboseli ecosystem.

As founder of Kang4Nature, he leads a youth-led organisation with 1,800 members across eleven Kenyan universities, which has grown more than 80,000 trees in Nairobi National Park and Karura Forest. His work centres on nature-based solutions to climate change, conservation education and the protection of vulnerable species such as the Maasai giraffe.

Hannah Oh spent more than 15 years in commercial and sustainability leadership roles at Bayer across Asia, Europe and the USA, including Head of Marketing Excellence in Asia, Global Sales and Operations Lead, and Head of International Engagements for Water, where she built global partnerships around water conservation.

She now leads Article 6, a farm to fork and carbon market advisory and investment company, and is co-founder and investor at IXO, which uses blockchain and causal AI to deliver real-time measurement, reporting and verification for carbon and social impact credits. She holds a BA in Economics and Asian Studies from Macalester College and studied sustainability at the University of Cambridge. In 2023 she was named among Singapore’s top 30 Women of Power.

Olivier P. Müller works as an independent investment advisor, following a role in fund structuring and development. He spent nearly two decades at Credit Suisse in senior positions across investment solutions and equity research, as well as portfolio management, trading and sales, product management and investment strategy.

His expertise covers the full investment value chain, with a particular focus on equities and multi-asset portfolios. He holds an MSc in Business and Economics and is a CFA Charterholder, with CAIA, CIPM and FRM designations.

Zeljko Drincic is Chairman of the Capital Market Authority of Montenegro, the independent regulatory body responsible for supervising the issuance and trading of securities. The Authority operates in line with the principles of the International Organization of Securities Commissions, the EU legal framework and the rules of the European Securities and Markets Authority.

Under its mandate, the Authority is a signatory to the ESMA Memorandum of Cooperation for alternative investment funds, which governs supervisory cooperation and the exchange of information with EU competent authorities. It is autonomous in its work and accountable to the Assembly of Montenegro, which appoints its five members.

Dr. Bell is a faculty member at the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. He earned his PhD in public and international affairs from the University of Pittsburgh, where he also completed an MPA focused on nonprofit and NGO management, and studied public affairs management at Michigan State University.

His research covers leadership and accountability in public organisations, entrepreneurship and capital flow in developing countries, programme evaluation, nonprofit management and cross-sector collaboration. He brings extensive management and executive experience from civil society organisations working in human services and banking.

Dr. Bailey is an Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategic Change at the University of Wyoming, bringing more than twelve years of industry experience across the government, healthcare, communication, retail and energy sectors.

A certified Project Management Professional and one of the first 500 practitioners worldwide to become a Certified Change Management Professional, he has consulted on corporate and social entrepreneurship initiatives for NGOs and Fortune 500 companies. His research looks at how firms and entrepreneurs create positive change, with a focus on social and commercial entrepreneurship and civic wealth creation.