Organization: Storm Group
Bio: Iara Cardoso is a leading figure in environmental cinema. She holds degrees in cinema from NYFA/Universal Studios, documentaries and scientific narrative from MIT, and science journalism from Unicamp. For the past 15 years, she has dedicated herself to directing, writing, and producing series and films focused on environmental issues. In 2023, she released the award-winning documentary "The Age of Humans," presented by Marcos Palmeira, which aired on Cinemark, Globoplay, and TV Cultura in Brazil, and was distributed internationally by Amazon Prime Video. In 2025, she launched the series "Storm Chasers," presented by Ernesto Paglia, on Fantástico, which will soon air on the History Channel. Iara is a speaker at international events such as Rio2C and Rio Innovation Week.
Organization: WITOTO INSTITUTE
Bio: Vanda belongs to the Saúva clan, the Ant people. She has been a leader of her Witoto people since 2016. She graduated in pedagogy from the State University of Amazonas (UEA). She created the Jofo Nimairama ancestral knowledge house and her own educational school, where she provides indigenous education to 88 children from 16 ethnic groups. She founded the indigenous clothing brand Derequine, which promotes the generation of a dignified income for indigenous women on the outskirts of Manaus and is strengthening community-based tourism in Manaus' first indigenous neighborhood. She is also building the first Witoto ancestral maloca on the outskirts of Manaus.
Organization: Porto Seguro
Bio: She began her career at Porto Seguro in December 2023, leading initiatives focused on innovation, technology, process efficiency, and transforming the customer experience in the insurance industry. With over a decade of experience at Liberty Seguros, where she held various leadership positions before becoming CEO, Patrícia has built a solid career based on business model innovation, promoting diversity and inclusion, and strengthening female leadership. With a degree in Business and Technology from The Wharton School and Economics from Vassar College, Patrícia also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, combining strategic knowledge and innovative vision to advance the industry. In 2024, she assumed the presidency of SindSeg SP (Union of Insurance and Reinsurance Companies of the State of São Paulo), becoming the first woman to hold this position in 80 years, which reinforces her commitment to diversity and representation in the sector.
Organization: Ecomunica
Bio: Ellen Bileski Founding Partner of Ecomunica & Co-Founder of South of the Future Ellen Bileski is one of the leading voices in Brazilian communications and marketing, bringing socio-environmental issues to the market in an integrated manner. A journalist, entrepreneur, and founding partner of Ecomunica, a certified B agency recognized among the 50 largest in the country, Ellen has over two decades of experience leading communication strategies for global brands, governments, and nonprofit organizations. Under her leadership, Ecomunica launched pioneering initiatives such as the Evolutionary Manual of Inclusive Communication¹, a market benchmark that has been transformed into a free Artificial Intelligence² tool for the marketing and communications sector.
Winner of the Jatobá Prize, she is the co-founder of South of the Future³, a platform that connects and expands the visibility of impactful organizations in the Global South. As co-leader of Coletivo Marketing B4, she coordinated the creation of the Anti-allwashing Guide5, in partnership with the UN Global Compact. Ellen, a mother of two, believes that responsible communication is an essential tool for accelerating a just and inclusive transition.
Organization: Globo
Bio: Cristovam Ferrara is director of Social Value at Globo. Administrator, specialist in social responsibility and global citizenship, with around 20 years of experience in leadership in commercial areas, marketing and social value. His professional experience includes notable stints at Vivo, Coca Cola and, mainly, 13 years of experience in education, having held positions leading teams in Brazil and Central America in the Laureate and Ânima Educação groups. He is part of the Advisory Board of the Educa2030 Movement of the UN Global Compact and the Board of Trustees of the Roberto Marinho Foundation.
At Globo, he is one of those responsible for the LED Movement – Light in Education, the main project in the segment at Globo, in addition to leading the team responsible for all Social Responsibility actions that Globo is involved in. He is also the leader of the #6 commitment of the company's ESG Agenda, which talks about the company's belief in having education as a vector for transforming the country.
Organization: Schneider Electric
Bio: Mathieu leads a team of energy and sustainability experts in Latin America.
With 15 years of experience in corporate energy and sustainability consultancy, Mathieu has developed his expertise working with commercial and industrial organizations in more than 15 countries in Europe and Latin America.
Its scope includes understanding local market trends and co-creating and implementing solutions that contribute to its clients' commercial and environmental objectives.
He joined Schneider Electric in 2010 and opened the local offices of the company's Sustainable Business division in Latin America from 2012. He has a master's degree in aerospace engineering from Supaero - Toulouse (France) and is French, but has lived in South America since 2012. He speaks French, English, Portuguese and Spanish fluently.
Organization: Águas do Pará
Bio: André Facó is the CEO of Águas do Pará. A civil engineer by training, he chose this field due to his interest in studying solutions to practical life problems. He holds a Master's degree in Environmental Sanitation from UFC and an MBA in Business Management from FGV. He was the CEO of Ambiental Ceará, a company that signed the largest public-private partnership (PPP) for sanitation in Brazil to universalize sanitation in 24 cities in Ceará. An executive in the Infrastructure sector, he has worked in Sanitation, Logistics, and Energy. He accumulated practical experience working at Transnordestina Logística, Copasa, Cearaportos, Cegás, and the Ceará State Infrastructure Secretariat. At the Ceará Water and Sewage Company (Cagece), he went from trainee to president (2004-2014), subsequently joining the company's Board of Directors.
Organization: Climate and Society Institute
Bio: Maria NETTO is the Executive Director of the Institute for Climate and Society. She worked at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) as a Principal Specialist in Capital Markets and Financial Institutions, and at the New Development Bank (NDB) as Head of the Division of Financial Institutions and Markets.
In both organizations, she was responsible for supervising programs of Innovative Financing Strategies with local financial institutions and capital markets to promote the financial inclusion and investments of the private sector in low carbon projects and resilience in the region of Latin America and the Caribbean, including in sectors of land use, low carbon agriculture, renewable energy and energy efficiency, resilient and sustainable infrastructure and urban mobility, among others.
Maria Netto also worked previously at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), where she was responsible for supervising global projects to support the capacity building of countries and civil society to assess investments and financial flows and policy options to integrate green business in different sectors and economic activities. Finally, Maria Netto worked for more than 10 years at the secretariat of the Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), where, among others, she was responsible for leading the work of the institution in bilateral and multilateral financial cooperation, for the evaluation and monitoring of investments and financial flows to address climate change and the development of carbon market mechanisms under the Kyoto protocol. She has a master’s degree in economics from the Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva.
Organization: CEERT
Bio: Executive Director of CEERT. Lawyer, specializing in Diffuse and Collective Rights from the Faculty of Law of the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC/SP). He was a visiting researcher at the Faculty of Law of Columbia University, in New York; and Associate of the Institute of Public Interest Law – Budapest. Member of the Commission for the Defense of the Rights of Children and Adolescents of the OAB-SP (Brazilian Bar Association, São Paulo chapter).
Books: - Informality: Realities and Possibilities for the Brazilian Labor Market. São Paulo: Perseu Abramo Foundation, 2018 (Co-author); - Diversity in Companies & Racial Equity, 1st ed., São Paulo, CEERT, 2017 (Co-author); - Racial Discrimination is Synonymous with Mistreatment: The Importance of the ECA (Statute of the Child and Adolescent) for the Protection of Black Children, 1st ed. São Paulo, CEERT, 2016 (Co-author); - Affirmative Action: The Question of Quotas – 2011 (Co-author).
Organization: IBGC
Bio: Director of Knowledge and Impact at IBGC. Holds a degree in Business Administration from FEA/USP, an MBA in Investor Relations from FIPECAFI, and a certificate in Corporate Law from CEU Law School. Responsible for content production (research and publications), socio-environmental impact, institutional and governmental relations, collaborative spaces, and content curation processes at IBGC.
Organization: Climate High-Level Champions team
Bio: Daniel Costa is a sustainable finance specialist working to mobilize climate-focused capital to places that need it the most. He is a Finance Associate for the Climate High-Level Champions team and a Sustainable Debt Senior Specialist at the Climate Bonds Initiative. An Erasmus Mundus Scholar, Daniel holds an international Master's degree in Global Markets and Sustainability, and has worked with international cooperation, research & innovation, and sustainability for almost 10 years.
Organization: Suzano
Bio: Marcela Porto is the Director of Communication and Brand at Suzano, and also a member of the Board of the Ecofuturo Institute and Aberje (Brazilian Association of Business Communication). Throughout her career, Marcela has worked in government agencies and consulting firms focusing on Government Relations, public policy, and Sustainability. For the past 16 years, she has worked in various areas at Suzano, including Corporate Relations, Sustainability, Institutional Communication and Marketing, Family Governance, and the Superintendency of the Ecofuturo Institute, an NGO founded and maintained by Suzano with the aim of promoting conservation and environmental education.
Marcela holds a degree in International Relations, an MBA and specialization in Sustainability Management from Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV), as well as a post-MBA from Saint Paul Business School. She has participated in international executive programs, including Syracuse, Duke, Wharton, and Harvard Universities. Marcela is certified in Family Business Advisory by the Family Firm Institute's Global Education Network.
Organization: PADF - Pan American Development Foundation
Bio: Irina Bacci is a human rights and environmental specialist with extensive experience in international cooperation, public policy, and the management of international cooperation projects. Holding a Master's degree in Human Rights from the University of Brasília (UnB), she has over 25 years of experience, having served as National Ombudsman for Human Rights at the then Secretariat of Human Rights of the Presidency of the Republic, program officer at UNFPA, and currently as Technical Director of PADF.
She has expertise in intergovernmental coordination, conflict mediation, and the coordination of multi-sectoral actions. Originally from São Paulo, Irina has lived in the Amazon for 5 years, working on international cooperation projects in a humanitarian and protection context based in vulnerable communities in Pará.
Organization: Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation
Bio: She is the Secretary of Policy and Strategic Programs (SEPPE) at the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI). She holds a degree in Physics and a PhD in Physics from the Federal Fluminense University (UFF), where she is a full professor. She is a CNPq 1A researcher and was elected a full member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences in December 2023. She was Pro-Rector of Research, Postgraduate Studies and Innovation at UFF between 2018 and 2022.
She was also Research Coordinator, Postgraduate Studies Coordinator, and Academic Coordinator of International Relations at UFF. She served as Deputy Coordinator of the Physics and Astronomy Area at CAPES for 8 years.
She conducts research in the area of Physics, with an emphasis on Electronic Properties of Condensed Matter, mainly focusing on the following topics: carbon nanomaterials, graphene, electronic transport, spintronics, straintronics, and valleytronics.
He has published around 150 scientific papers in high-impact international journals, has supervised numerous master's and doctoral students, and currently supervises postdoctoral researchers.