‍Nashville. The 2021 Global Action Summit is the world’s premier leadership event advancing solutions for food, health, and prosperity. The virtual 2021 program will consolidate major findings and lessons learned from the social and economic disruptions of COVID and lay the foundations for a new action agenda to launch in March 2022.

The Summit is a unique opportunity to  engage with the world's most influential thinkers from business, academia, capital markets, government, and international nonprofits working on adaptive solutions to reimagine food, health, and economics. 

Summit participants haveaccess to:

INFORMATION: The most up-to-date synthesis of findings on major social and economic trends and drivers

INSIGHTS: Knowledge from the world’s top leaders and experts on solutions and strategies for action for food, health, and prosperity 

NETWORKS: Access to a global network of corporate, university, investment, international agency, and NGO leaders

PUBLICATIONS: to specialized publications

PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS: Opportunities for strategic partnerships/collaborations with partner organizations and experts.

FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE:  High focus, 20-minute segments available in all time zones.

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2021 Summit Program Overview

Session details are subject to change.

Food

Over the past year, seismic shifts in food production, distribution, climate, costs and consumption have created waves of upheaval across the food value chain.

The Summit program, in collaboration with Ernst and Young, CIFAR, and other major institutions, engages top experts in forecasting how the food system is being reimagined to address these seismic shifts.  Some key issues addressed include,

The largest investment in innovation that the food sector has ever seen has been sparked by the global pandemic. Experts examine how the food system is fundamentally changing from a commodity-driven supply chain focused on scale to a personalized and value-added food ecosystem.

Disruption in the food system is coming in multiple forms, shaped by world events, innovative policy frameworks, consumer dynamics, technology, dynamic data and investments from traditional and nontraditional sources. Experts will examine the interplay of these forces and propose innovative responses to disruption.

To create long-term value in a reimagined food system, the world must look beyond vertical siloes and understand the forces reshaping the food sector.  Experts will forecast how the food system can create long-term value in the face of forces affecting ingredients, data, food processing and products, behaviors, product customization and digital experiences, and predictive analytics. 

The 2021 food program presents five pillars toguide policies, investments, and business strategies in a reimagined food system that protects the planet and attains the SDG2 goal of No Hunger.

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Sessions, Topics, and Speakers

Opening Food Keynote:  Food Systems Reimagined:  5 Pillars

Rob Dongoski, Partner, Food and Agribusiness Leader, Ernst and Young (EY)

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Session 1

Trusted Food  

·        Moderator: Lee Addams, Principal, EY-Parthenon

·        Panelists

o  Seana Day, Partner, Culterra Capital and Venture Partner

o  Michael Dimock, President, Roots of Change

·        Second moderator:  Natia Mgeladze, Global Lead,  Food Safety Advisory, International Finance Corporation, World Bank

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Session 2

Connected Systems

·        Moderator: Shefali Mehta, Deputy Undersecretary of REE, USDA

·        Panelists

o  Christine Daugherty, Deputy Director, Business Development & Licensing, Gates Foundation

o  Paul Maass, CEO, Scoular

·        Second moderator:  Rob Dongoski, Partner, Food and Agribusiness Leader, Ernst and Young (EY)

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Session 3

Innovation-Led Experience

·        Moderator: Rob Trice, Founding Partner, Better Food Ventures and The Mixing Bowl

·        Panelists

o  Walt Duflock, VP of Innovation, Western Growers

o  Nanda Puthucode, Chief Investment Officer, Global Head of Ventures, Bunge

·        Second Moderator: Eyal Shimoni, CTO, VP Technology, Strauss Group

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Session 4

Reimagined Growth

·        Moderator: Andrew Selck, Partner, Ernst and Young (EY)

·        Panelists

o  Marc Oshima, Chief Marketing Officer | Co-Founder, Aerofarms

* Arama Kukutai, Co-founder and Partner, Finistere Ventures

· Second Moderator:  A.G. Kawamura, Former Secretary of Agriculture, California

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Session 5

Efficient Enterprise

·        Moderator: Nathan Ramsey, Partner, Food and Agriculture, EY-Parthenon

·        Panelist

o  Ruth Kimmelshue, Animal Nutrition and Health Business Leader, Cargill

·        Second Moderator: Michael Dimock, President, Roots of Change

Health

2020 was a devastating year for global health. All combined, the COVID pandemic threatens to undermine hard-won reductions in poverty, malnutrition, and improvements in fighting the spread of disease and maternal/infant care.  In addition to exposing weaknesses and triggering setbacks, the pandemic is rapidly accelerating changes already underway in healthcare. 

The Summit health program, in collaboration with FINN Partners, Sentara Healthcare, and other major institutions, will examine global health conditions, the forces driving change, and proposals for solutions. Some key issues addressed include,

The pandemic has exposed interconnections of human health with the health of the environment and the interconnections among biological ecosystems.  Experts will examine how anew model of eco-health can create more sustainable health solutions for people and the planet.

The pandemic has exposed the limitations for educating and expanding the healthcare workforce. Experts will explore how to create a nimble global education model and propose the creation of a new Global Medical University.

COVID has placed tremendous strain on the global healthcare workforce, infrastructure, and supply chain, exposing vulnerabilities and social inequities in health and care.  Experts will examine how new approaches to investment, gender, and innovation can provide solutions to workforce, equity, and supply chain problems.

The Summit health sessions will explore the rapid changes accelerated by COVID and the implications for restructuring healthcare, including consumers’ increasing involvement in health care decision-making in developed societies; the rapid adoption of virtual health and other digital innovations; the push for interoperable data and data analytics use; and unprecedented public-private collaborations in vaccine and therapeutics development.

The 2021health program will summarize challenges and propose solutions and actions for governments, health care providers, schools of medicine, foundations, businesses, and other stakeholders for more resilient health for all (SDG3).

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Sessions,Topics, and Speakers

Opening Health Keynote:  Advancing Health and Wellbeing for All:  A Systems Approach to Health

Bob Martineau, Senior Partner, FINN Partners

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Session 1

Reimagining a World for Human and Environmental Health for Sustainable Well-being

Moderator:  Bob Martineau, Senior Partner, FINN Partners

Panelists:

·        James E.K. Hildreth, President and CEO, Meharry Medical College

·        Rachel Hodgdon, President & CEO, International Well Building Institute
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Second Moderator: Gil Bashe, Chair Global Health, FINN Partners

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Session 2

Scaling Health Solutions:  Lessons Learned from the Global Vaccination Challenges

Moderator:  Abby Maxman, President, Oxfam America

Panelists:

·        Maaza Seyoum, African Coordinator, People’s Vaccine Alliance; Partnership Lead, African Alliance  

·        Priti Krishtel, Co-Founder, I-MAK

Second Moderator:  Paul O’Brien, Executive Director, Amnesty USA

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Session 3

Advancing Women’s Health:  Hologic Global Women's Health Index

Moderator: Susan Harvey, Vice President of Global Medical Affairs, Hologic

Panelists:

Bénédicte Clouet, Public Sector and Enterprise Leader, GALLUP

Robin Sanders, CEO, FEEDS and former US Ambassador and White House Director for Africa

Second Moderator: Courtney Hesselbacher, Co-Lead, Hologic Global Women's Health Index, GALLUP

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Session 4

Creating a Global Health Workforce to Improve Health Equity:  Design for a Global Medical University

Moderator: Joxel Garcia, Admiral (ret.) USPHS, Chief Medical Officer, Ambitna, 14th US Assistant Secretary for Health, former US representative to WHO, former Deputy Director, PAHO/Regional Office of the Western Hemisphere, Moderator

Panelists:

·        Julio Frenk, President, University of Miami

·        Pat Sargent, Retired U.S. Army Major General; SVP DOD, OptumServe 

Second Moderator: Stephen Shaya, Managing Director, Akkad Holdings

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Session 5

Solutions for More Resilient Global Health for All: Major Findings, Initiatives and Recommendations for Action

Moderator:  Mary Lou Valdez, Deputy Director, PAHO; US Representative to WHO

Panelists:

·        Bruce Gellin, Chief of Public Health Strategy, Rockefeller Foundation

·        Leon Federer, Vice Chancellor, University of Maimonides Argentina

Second Moderator:  Anand Parekh, Chief Medical Advisor, Bipartisan Policy Center

Prosperity

Despite massive disruptions caused by the global economic shutdown prompted by COVID, the global economy has continued to grow, with stock markets and large corporations reporting significant gains.  At the same time, COVID-disruptions underscored economic disparities, gaps in opportunity, and weaknesses in supply chains and global market strategies.

The Summit prosperity program, in collaboration with the Social Progress Index, World Bank, UN, and other major institutions, will address the most salient impacts of COVID on social and economic conditions around the world and propose new strategies and solutions.

Some key issues addressed include—

Prosperity sessions will explore how the private sector, as the engine of economic growth, can lead the world through ESG and shared value strategies to a more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive global economy to achieve SDG1—No Poverty.  

Economic experts will examine how global capital markets can be restructured to deploy more capital productively in expanding prosperity, and what market incentives and strategies could motivate such shifts in capital deployment.

Experts will propose new measurements of human development and poverty that help guide public policies and business strategies along more sustainable lines.

Rotary International will announce and describe a new global program to empower girls for greater economic participation. 

Experts will propose strategies for how to eliminate poverty sustainably based on the latest research, real world experience, and technology.

Sessions will also examine how to create nature-smart development and address those whose businesses and livelihoods have depended on technologies and resources being phased out, e.g., what do we do for workers in the fossil fuel sectors?  Are these businesses and workers to be left to themselves to fend with the “creative destruction” of capital, or are there business and policy strategies that can provide transitions to a win-win economic scenario for everyone?

The 2021 prosperity program will present the latest comprehensive findings on the social and economic  impacts of COVID around the world and present strategies for private-sector leadership to end poverty (SDG1), incentivize a restructure of capital markets, launch new ways to measure human development, propose a global initiative to empower girls, and address nature-smart development and the needs of those left behind as economic and social forces drive a change to sustainability.

Sessions,Topics, and Speakers

Opening Prosperity Keynote: What the Data Say about Climate, COVID, and Country Progress

Michael Green, CEO, Social Progress Imperative

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Session 1

A Post-COVID Economy:  Harnessing Financial Markets as a Force for an Inclusive, Sustainable, and Equitable Rebuild

Moderator:  Rina Kupferschmid-Rojas, Chief Sustainability Officer for Fidelity Investments

Panelists:

·  Timothy Coffin, Director, Sustainability, Breckinridge Capital Advisors
* Jackie VanderBrug, Managing Director, Head of Sustainable and Impact Investment Strategy, Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank

Second Moderator:

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Session 2

Empowering Girls: Global Perspectives on Access and Equality

Moderator:  Elizabeth Usovicz, Rotary International Director, Chair, Empowering Girls Initiative Task Force

Panelists:

*Stephanie Sinclair, Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist and documentary film maker, Founding Executive Director, Too Young to Wed

*Geoff Aldide, Senior Director of Advocacy and Communications, Global Partnership for Education

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Session 3

Unlocking Nature-Smart Development

Moderator:  Paola Agostini, Lead Natural Resources Management Specialist, World Bank

Panelists:

Brenden Jongman, Senior Disaster Risk Management Specialist, World Bank

Deborah Bossio, Lead Soil Scientist, The Nature Conservancy and the main lead of the Foodscapes Report.

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Session 4

The Prosperity Paradox:  Can We Eliminate Poverty Sustainably?

Moderator:  Efosa Ojomo, Global Prosperity Lead, Christensen Institute, Moderator

Panelists:

·        Scott Miller, President and CEO, Circles USA

·        Richard Taylor, Social Impact Officer, Wellbeing Care Community, eTransX

Second Moderator: Karen Dillon, Former Editor, Harvard Business Review

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Session 5

Rethinking Human Development and Measurements of Poverty

Moderator: Selim Jahan, Former Director, UNDP HDRO

Panelists:

·        Maria Hitti, Economic Research Assistant, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia

·        Khalid Abu-ismail, Senior Economist, UN-ESCWA

Second Moderator:  Natasha Lindstaedt, Professor and author on democracy, University of Essex

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