People

Our network of contributors

Dean Esserman

Jul 31, 2017

Dean M. Esserman is the Senior Counsellor of the Washington, D.C.-based Police Foundation. He is the immediate past chief of the New Haven (CT) Police Department. Prior to that, he served as Chief of Police in Providence, Rhode Island; Stamford, Connecticut; and the New York State MTA-Metro North Police Department. From 1987-1991, he served as…

Caspar Herzberg

Jul 06, 2017

Caspar Herzberg is the President of Schneider Electric Middle East & Africa. Caspar manages SE’s operations in 80+ countries, with 15,000 employees across Middle East & Africa including Central Asia and Turkey. Schneider Electric serves its customers with integrated efficiency solutions, combining energy, automation and software in Power Management and in Industrial Automation Systems. Prior…

Ann Aerts

Jun 21, 2017

As Head of the Novartis Foundation, Dr Ann Aerts has played a key role in devising policy recommendations and exploring innovative solutions to public health problems. Prior to joining Novartis, Dr Aerts served as Director of the Lung and Tuberculosis Association in Belgium, and as Head of the Health Services Department of the International Committee…

Ninna Thomsen

Jun 16, 2017

Mayor Ninna Thomsen has been Mayor of Health and Care in the City of Copenhagen since January 2010. She has been a member of the City Council since 2006 and the political leader of the Socialist People’s Party in Copenhagen since 2011. Prevention and public health have been key issues in Ninna Thomsen’s political career…

Alex Carruthers

Jun 14, 2017

Alex is Co-founder of Made in Montréal and now serves as Executive Director. As a trained paper maker and former employee at Papeterie Saint-Armand – a proud member of Montreal’s community of manufacturers – Alex developed an interest in manufacturing in contemporary urban contexts. Alex went on to pursue his enthusiasm for urban manufacturing and…

Claude Faribault

Jun 14, 2017

Claude Faribault is Research Director at Montréal Living Lab, an open innovation center that explores the interaction between technologies, the city and its people. The Center brings together citizens, researchers, entrepreneurs and policymakers to enable them to test mobile technologies on the ground that could be used for urban development.

Natalie Kim

Jun 09, 2017

Natalie Kim is the Chief Copywriter for the 2017 New Cities Summit. She is in her final term of study at McGill University, completing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography (Urban Systems) and Art History. She is passionate about joining the realms of art, architecture, and geography through culturally conscious place-making. She is particularly…

Josué Tanaka

Jun 08, 2017

Josué Tanaka is Managing Director for Energy efficiency ‎and Climate change and is responsible for the operational strategy and planning function of the EBRD and for leading the Bank’s energy efficiency and climate change activities. Josué Tanaka joined the EBRD at its creation in 1991 to start its municipal and environmental infrastructure financing activity. In…

Vicky Chan

Jun 02, 2017

Vicky Chan founded Avoid Obvious Architects in 2012 with offices in New York and Hong Kong. The firm has been pushing sustainable buildings and cities with focus on combining art with green technology. His projects have been exhibited in 37 cities.

Eyal Feder

May 30, 2017

Eyal Feder-Levy, 30, is the CEO and co-founder of ZenCity, urban startup from Tel Aviv measuring wide-scale citizen feedback in cities using advanced AI. ZenCity is currently working with major cities such as Paris, Tel Aviv, and others.Before founding ZenCity Eyal had been part of the founding team of “City Center”, Tel Aviv University’s Interdisciplinary…

Eve Picker

May 17, 2017

With a background as an architect, city planner, real estate developer, community development strategist, publisher, and instigator, Eve has a rich understanding of how cities and urban neighborhoods work – and how they can be revitalized. Amongst her many urban (ad)ventures, Eve has developed buildings in blighted neighborhoods, launched an e-zine called Pop City, and…

Dr. Kalpana Viswanath

May 15, 2017

Dr Kalpana Viswanath is a researcher and practitioner on gender inclusive urbanisation. She is the co-founder and CEO of Safetipin, a social enterprise that uses technology and data to advocate for safe urban spaces in more than 25 cities. She is part of Delhi government’s Women’s Safety Committee and has worked as a consultant with…