About us

David Aikman
Head of the Global Shapers Community

David is a Senior Director of the World Economic Forum and Heads the Global Shapers, the Forum of Young Global Leaders, and the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. David has held a number of positions at the Forum since joining in 2003, including the Partnership Team (responsible for the Forum?s highest-level relationships with corporate partners) and leading the Professional Services industry practice (leading law firms, accounting firms, management consultancies and executive search firms) to shape industry agendas. Prior to the Forum, he worked for the International Olympic Committee in Business Development, Marketing and Licensing for seven years. A Canadian citizen, David holds an MBA from IMD (Switzerland) and a BA (with Honours) in English and German Literature from Dalhousie University (Canada), where he was a member of the President?s Leadership Class (an innovative programme to develop youth leaders for service that took him on volunteer development and education projects in Guyana and India). He earned his International Baccalaureate at Lester B. Pearson UWC of the Pacific and David now serves as a Council Member of the United World Colleges. Besides his passion for developing young leaders, David has a passion for the vineyards of southern France. He and his wife Anne live in Geneva with their two children, Juliette (10) and Owen (6) who also aspire to help people in lots of different places when they grow up too.

Adeyemi Babington-Ashaye
Deputy Head of the Global Shapers Community

Yemi is the Deputy Head of the Global Shapers Community. He joined the World Economic Forum as a Global Leadership Fellow to strengthen the Forum’s community of African leaders. He designed processes for consultation with stakeholders across the continent, led the inaugural Global Agenda Council for the Future of Africa and designed the programme development process that sets the agenda for the Forum’s Africa Meeting. Prior to the Forum, he started his career as a Chartered Accountant (ACCA) and was a member of the Financial Management Programme at GE Capital. While completing his masters in development economics at Harvard University Yemi was a teaching assistant for two courses: Financial Management of Public Institutions and International Capital Markets.  He completed his MBA at MIT Sloan School of Management .Yemi also served as Technical Advisor for Economic Growth to the Nigerian Minister of Finance with responsibility (among others) for ensuring the integration of economic data and information into the decision-making process, this culminated in the development of State of the Nation reports that guided policy priorities. In addition to overseeing fiscal policy matters, he also designed stakeholder outreach sessions. He was invited by Professor Klaus Schwab onto the core team that established the Global Shapers Community in 2011.

Matthew Carpenter-Arevalo
Senior Community Manager, Latin America

Originally from Saint John, New Brunswick, Matthew studied literature and philosophy first at St. Thomas University in Fredericton and later at the University of Oxford. His academic work focused on how national identities are constructed and specifically the role of literature in creating and promoting national mythologies. After concluding his studies at Oxford, Matthew relocated to Quito, Ecuador where he worked as a High School teacher and a political consultant. In addition Matthew founded Carpenter-Arevalo & Associates (later Integras Design), a web-design company located in the global south and serving the global north. In 2008 Matthew joined Google's California headquarters initially as a Senior Strategist and later as a Manager in the Online Partnerships Group. His team was responsible for managing relationships with the largest North American online publishers. Matthew joined the World Economic Forum in 2011 as a Senior Manager for the Global Shapers Community. Outside of work Matthew blogs on the intersection of technology, culture and leadership at www.carpenterarevalo.com. Matthew also enjoys photography, sound documentary, and running. He loves his wife and his little dog. 

Weiyuan Cui
Senior Community Manager, Asia

Weiyuan is the Senior Community Manager for Global Shapers Community Manager responsible for Asia. She graduated from Xiamen University in 2001, receiving a BA in English literature. In 2003, Weiyuan completed her LL.B in International Communication at Peking University. In 2009, Weiyuan received her Masters in Public Administration from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. From 2003-2007, Weiyuan spent four years as a journalist with the South China Morning Post and Washington Post Beijing Bureau. She received the Hong Kong News Award 2005 for Best Young Reporter, 1st runner-up. She also worked as a consultant with the World Health Organisation from 2009-2010. From 2010-2011, Weiyuan was an accredited journalist with the United Nations Office in Geneva. She has extensive experience in investigative reporting and public policy analysis. Her interests include reading, hiking, travel and tango.

Spring Fu
Community Manager, China

Spring Chunxiao Fu is the Community Manager for the Global Shapers Community in China. She works closely with local partners in China, in Shapers nomination and community building. Spring is taking care of the Young Global Leaders Community in Greater China as well. Prior to the World Economic Forum, Spring was a Customer Relations Manager at Hewlett-Packard (HP) China between 2005 and 2009, and Client Management Associate at Ogilvy Public Relations Shanghai in the Summer of 2010. At HP, she worked closely with the Executive Council overseeing service management process, formulating customer strategies and serving as company ambassador for Top 100 Strategic Clients. She is also a certified Quality Management Consultant on business process control. Spring received her BA in Renmin University of China, and an MPA at Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs.

Noa Gafni
Senior Knowledge Manager

Noa Gafni is responsible for Communications on the Global Shapers team. In late 2005, Noa founded Queen Bees, a social network for women. Noa then worked at Hearst Magazines as the Head of Social Media, where she launched communities for Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, and Country Living, as well as interactive components on the rest of Hearst’s properties. From 2008 to 2011, Noa was an independent digital strategist, with a client roster that included Real Madrid and Lloyd's of London as well as start-ups. In September 2011, Noa joined the World Economic Forum, which is a thrilling opportunity to work in her area of expertise and give back in a meaningful way. Noa holds a Bachelor's Degree from Dartmouth College, an MBA from London Business School and is a World Economic Forum Global Leadership Fellow. She loves to dance, travel, read and practice yoga.

Anastasia Kalinina
Senior Community Manager, Russia and CIS

Born and raised in St. Petersburg, Russia, Anastasia has graduated from St. Petersburg State University with a degree in Literature and simultaneously received a degree in Humanitarian Sciences and Arts from Bard College in New York. She has authored a published book of short stories along with various online publications. After pursuing a Master’s degree in Public Relations in the University of Northern Iowa, she worked in St. Petersburg-based organization Doctors to Children as a PR Manager, and later on as a project manager helping women and children in difficult life situations. She launched and developed multiple human rights and youth-oriented projects, like the first all-Russian website for HIV+ women and “Coaching for Development” project in Nepal . After having received Master’s in Human Rights from London School of Economics, Anastasia worked for Amnesty International in London and ran several projects of her own. Since leaving London, she has lived in France supporting projects for young entrepreneurs. Currently, Anastasia is the Senior Community Manager for Global Shapers in Russia and CIS. She is also a Global Leadership Fellow. She likes to spend her spare time traveling with her husband, writing prose and poetry, and taking part in youth initiatives all over the globe (Sandbox, Palomar5, and the like).

Olympia Mantzourou
Senior Partnerships Activation Manager

Olympia was born and raised in Athens, Greece. Speaking four languages and holding an MBA from the University of Piraeus, she started her career in finance soon to realise that what she really wanted to do was marketing. In the years that followed, she worked in marketing positions for Unilever, L’Oreal and most recently for Nokia as a Marketing Manager located in Greece. Olympia joined the World Economic Forum as a Senior Partnerships Activation Manager in the Global Shapers Community and a Global Leadership Fellow. In her spare time, she loves to dance, swim, travel in different countries but also spend time with her loved ones.

Melih Nurluel
Senior Community Manager, Europe

Melih is a member of the Global Shapers Community team at the World Economic Forum. He acts as the Community Manager for Europe and Central Asia. Prior to joining the Forum, Melih ran his own consulting company specialized on the European Union. At the height of Turkey?s efforts to join the EU, Melih started up INSIDE consulting to serve non-profit organizations such as municipalities, governorships and chambers of commerce and industry. Later on, he became partners in Novicor Technology Partners, a consulting company specialized in R&D. After selling one of the companies and closing down the other, Melih moved to Geneva to be a part of the exciting initiative of setting up a global network of young and enthusiastic people.

Vera Schneider
Senior Knowledge Manager

Vera Schneider is a Knowledge Manager in the Global Shapers Community and a Global Leadership Fellow at the World Economic Forum. She is a Research Psychologist with international experience in monitoring and evaluation, and has worked on large-scale qualitative and quantitative social studies in the areas of gender-based violence, crime and justice, and families and children. In her spare time, she is an intrepid traveller, art enthusiast and enjoys winter sports and running.

Manuel Wachter
Senior Community Manager, North America

Manuel Wachter is a transcultural facilitator specializing in international project development. Born and raised in Guadeloupe (French Caribbean), Manuel completed his undergraduate studies of Philosophy and Comparative Literature in Paris in 2003. Manuel went on to earn a double Master’s in International Management from ESCP Europe and the City University of London in 2006. The three-year program conducted in Oxford, Madrid and Paris allowed for work placements in each country and each of the respective languages. Having specialized in International Project Development, Manuel honed his skills as a transcultural facilitator in such varied contexts as the media industry in Turkey, diplomatic service in Brazil or microfinance consulting in Morocco. Manuel completed J.P. Morgan’s Management Training program in 2009 and joined ICAP in Frankfurt, Germany as International Sales Associate, expanding the company’s business into French-, Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking markets. In 2012, Manuel joined the World Economic Forum in Geneva, Switzerland as a Senior Manager for the Global Shapers Community focusing on North America & the Caribbean. Manuel is also a Global Leadership Fellow. 

Photo credit : Enrique Pardo