Who We Are

Generation Unlimited brings together partners from government, multilateral organizations, civil society, the private sector and young people from around the world.

Leaders

The most visible drivers of the partnership, leaders use their influence to open opportunities, advocate for Generation Unlimited and mobilize resources.

Mr. António Guterres (Co-Chair)
Secretary-General, United Nations

H.E. Mr. Paul Kagame (Co-Chair)
President, Republic of Rwanda

H.E. Paula Mae Weekes (Co-Chair)
President, Trinidad and Tobago

Sir Fazle Hasan Abed (In Memoriam)
Founder and Chair Emeritus, BRAC

Mr. Akinwumi Adesina
President, African Development Bank

Mr. Gordon Brown
UN Special Envoy for Education, United Nations

Ms. Julia Gillard
Chair, Global Partnership for Education

H.E. Ms. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović
Former President, Republic of Croatia

H.E. Mr. Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta
President, Republic of Kenya

Ms. Graça Machel
Founder, Graça Machel Trust

Mr. Paul Polman
Co-Founder & Chair, Imagine

Members of the Global Board provide expertise, strategic direction, resources and leadership, and oversee the partnership. Learn more about them here.

Dr. Tariq Al Gurg
CEO, Dubai Cares

Ms. Shamma bint Suhail bin Faris Al Mazrui
Minister of Youth, United Arab Emirates

Ms. Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen
Chief Executive Officer, Plan International

Ms. Alice Albright
Chief Executive Officer, Global Partnership for Education

Mr. Ahmad Alhendawi
Secretary-General, World Organization of the Scout Movement

Ms. Kanchan Amatya
Founder and Chief Executive Director, Sustainable Fish Farming Initiative

Ms. Audrey Azoulay
Director-General, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

Ms. Kate Behncken
Vice President and Lead, Microsoft Philanthropies 

Ms. Jennifer Blanke
Vice President of Agriculture, Human and Social Development, African Development Bank

Mr. Steffen Braasch 
Interim Chief Executive Officer, SOS Children’s Villages International

Mr. Sigve Brekke
Chief Executive Officer, Telenor Group

Ms. Sarah Brown
Executive Chair, Global Business Coalition for Education

Mr. Tijani Christian
Chairperson, Commonwealth Youth Council

Mr. John W.H. Denton AO
Secretary-General, International Chamber of Commerce

Ms. Annette Dixon
Vice President for Human Development, World Bank

Ms. Ilwad Elman
Director, Elman Peace Centre

Mr. Tony Elumelu
Founder, The Tony Elumelu Foundation

Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat
Chairperson, African Union Commission

Mr. John Fallon
Chief Executive Officer, Pearson Education

Ms. Henrietta Fore
Executive Director, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

Mr. Michael Froman
Vice Chairman and President of Strategic Growth, Mastercard

Ms. Mariya Gabriel
Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, European Commission

Mr. Napoleón García
Youth Director, Nuestro Tiempo and Censura Cero

Mr. José Ángel Gurría
Secretary General, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

Mr. Ralph Hamers
Chief Executive Officer, ING Group

Ms. Kate Hampton
Chief Executive Officer, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation

Mr. Per Heggenes
Chief Executive Officer, IKEA Foundation

Ms. Sri Mulyani Indrawati
Minister of Finance, Republic of Indonesia

Mr. Alan Jope
Chief Executive Officer, Unilever

Mr. Mohammad Nouri Jouini
Vice President, Partnership Development, Islamic Development Bank

Ms. Sigrid Kaag
Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, The Netherlands

Ms. Natalia Kanem
Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

Ms. Lise Kingo
CEO and Executive Director, United Nations Global Compact

Mr. Christian Klein
Co-Chief Executive Officer, SAP

Mr. Michael Kocher
General Manager, Aga Khan Foundation

Ms. Tsitsi Masiyiwa
Co-Founder & Co-Chair, Higher Life Foundation

Ms. Rosemary Mbabazi
Minister of Youth, Republic of Rwanda

Mr. Joseph Mucheru
Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs, Republic of Kenya

Ms. Chaeli Mycroft
Co-Founder & Global Ambassador, The Chaeli Campaign & Chaeli Foundation USA

Mr. Sobel Aziz Ngom
Founder and Executive Director, Social Change Factory

Mr. Ellis Rubinstein
President, The New York Academy of Sciences

Mr. Guy Ryder
Director-General, International Labour Organization (ILO)

Mr. Asif Saleh
Executive Director, BRAC Bangladesh

Mr. Saddam Sayyaleh
Founder & Director, I Learn Jordan Initiative

Ms. Vibhu Sharma
Co-Chair, Global Partnership for Disabilities Youth Council

Mr. Feike Sijbesma
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Managing Board, DSM

Ms. Liesbet Steer
Director, The Education Commission

Mr. Achim Steiner
Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Baroness Sugg
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for International Development and Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Girl’s Education, United Kingdom

Mr. Justin W. van Fleet
President, Theirworld

Mr. Anko van der Werff
Chief Executive Officer, Avianca Holdings

Ms. Jayathma Wickramanayake
Secretary General's Envoy on Youth, United Nations

Ms. Saadia Zahidi
Managing Director, Centre for the New Economy and Society, World Economic Forum

Mr. Liu Zhenmin
Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations Department of Economics and Social Affairs (UN DESA)

*Representative to be confirmed:

• Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Republic of Germany

• PwC

In addition to the governance bodies, high-profile individuals support Generation Unlimited by lending their voices as Champions.

Mr. Nikolai Astrup
Minister of Digitalization, Kingdom of Norway

Ms. Doreen Bogdan-Martin
Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau, International Telecommunication Union 

Ms. Epsy Campbell Barr
First Vice President of the Republic of Costa Rica

Mr. Ciarán Cannon
Minister of State for the Diaspora and International Development at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Republic of Ireland

Mr. Alexander De Croo
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Development Cooperation, Kingdom of Belgium

H.E. Ms. Sheikh Hasina
Prime Minister, People’s Republic of Bangladesh

Her Royal Highness Princess Lamia Bint Majed Al Saud
Secretary General, Alwaleed Philanthropies

Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Meryem
Kingdom of Morocco

Ms. Lucy Meyer
Official Spokesperson for the Special Olympics – UNICEF USA Partnership and Special Olympics athlete

Mr. Simon Segars 
Chief Executive Officer, ARM

Mr. Wang Shi,
Chairman, Vanke Foundation

Ms. Vera Songwe
Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa

Mr. Adebola Williams
Co-founder and Group CEO, RED | For Africa

Ms. Ekaterina Zaharieva
Deputy Prime Minister for Judicial Reform to Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister, Republic of Bulgaria

The Executive Committee approves annual strategic priorities and budget, and oversees the GenU Trust Fund, among other functions. Learn more about its members here.

Ms. Annette Dixon
Vice President for Human Development, World Bank

Dr. Tariq Al Gurg
Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Cares

Mr. Per Heggenes
Chief Executive Officer, IKEA Foundation

Mr. Alan Jope
Chief Executive Officer, Unilever

Mr. Robert E. Moritz
Chairman, PwC

Mr. Joseph Mucheru
Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Information and Communications of the Republic of Kenya

Mr. Ravi Venkatesan
Special Representative for Young People, UNICEF

The ambitious goals set for Generation Unlimited require a lean and flexible team that can harness and coordinate the expertise of multiple partners from around the world. The GenU Global Team – led by Director Roberto Benes – brings together professionals with decades of experience in field work in all regions of the world, including in multilateral development agencies, civil society and private sector. The team includes capabilities in education, skills development, youth engagement, innovation, partnerships, communication and advocacy, including experience from senior management roles.

The team is responsible for the overall coordination of the partnership’s activities, its relations with governance groups – including the Global Board – as well as the support and coordination of the partnership’s work in countries to develop Country Investment Agendas. The Global Team is also responsible for making young people’s engagement and participation a concrete reality.