People

In her role, Holly conceptualizes and strategizes NewCities’ initiatives, manages projects, and builds strong relationships that support NewCities’ initiative work and business development goals. Holly has worked cross functionally on the NewCities and CoMotion teams over her tenure, managing NewCities’ Masterclasses, the Global Urban Innovators program, and leading the event curation and coordination of Leading…

Cécile Maisonneuve is President of La Fabrique de la Cité, which she joined in 2015, and a member of the scientific committee of the AMS Institute (Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions). She previously headed the Energy Center of l’Institut français des Relations Internationales (IFRI), where she is now a consultant. From 2007 to 2012,…

Ben Hawes is an independent consultant on smart cities, AI and public policy, and an Associate Director at the Connected Places Catapult, the UK’s innovation body for smarter places. He previously led UK Government policy on smart cities, and worked on the 2017 UK Review of Artificial Intelligence and the IoTUK internet of things development…

Chrsitian is a General Interest Entrepreneur with the Ministry of the Interior in France. He implements image recognition algorithms using deep learning for the french national automatic image processing agency. He is a Paris ambassador for City.AI and helps associations like Global SWAI. Prior to, he was a data scientist with Kernx.

Trent McConaghy has 20 years of deep technology experience with a focus on machine learning, data visualization, and user experience. In 2017, Trent founded Ocean Protocol, a decentralized substrate for AI data and services. He is an ambassador to AI XPRIZE, and advises Estonia, Germany, and other countries about blockchain & AI strategies. Trent was…

Stephen Muzira is a Senior Transport Specialist with the World Bank and is based in Washington, DC. He possesses more than seventeen years of experience working in the transport sector in different regions of the world. In 2007, he joined the World Bank in the Europe and Central Asia region, and since 2009, has been…

Valeria is the founder of All Things Urban, a unique career platform for urban professionals worldwide aimed at connecting thousands of passionate urbanists to real-world projects. She lived in London, Moscow, Tel-Aviv, and other major cities working on various projects ranging from urban regeneration and street design to mobility and urban innovation. This experience has…

Jonah Bliss joined NewCities in 2019 as the Media and Mobility Fellow. He brings a wealth of industry-focused experience in launching and growing new mobility providers & media analysis tools, including the world’s first peer-to-peer carsharing company Turo, D2C e-bike leader EVELO, the content analysis platform ContentIntent, and many more.

Caterina Sarfatti serves as Head of C40’s Inclusive Climate Action programme, which provides cities with a clear roadmap and support to plan, build consensus and deliver bold climate action that is equitable and beneficial for all. Formerly, Caterina coordinated a series of key strategic events that formed the “Road from COP21 to the 2016 C40…

Ede Ijjasz-Vasquez is the Senior Director for the World Bank Group’s Social, Urban, Rural and Resilience Global Practice. In this position, Mr. Ijjasz-Vasquez leads a team of over 600 technical experts deployed across the world, leveraging global knowledge and collaborating with partners to help tackle the world’s most complex development challenges in: social inclusion and…

An international figure in architecture and urban design, the architect Daniel Libeskind is renowned for his ability to evoke cultural memory in buildings of equilibrium-defying contemporaneity. Informed by a deep commitment to music, philosophy, and literature, Mr. Libeskind aims to create architecture that is resonant, original, and sustainable. Born in Lód’z, Poland, in 1946, Mr.…

Arianna Huffington is among the most influential players shaping the national conversation on politics, the economy, the media and public policy. An entrepreneur and business leader, Arianna provides an informed view on the state of the current business landscape and the impact of our financial policy on the future of the economy. Her access to…