Till Alexander Leopold is a Project Lead of the World Economic Forum’s System Initiative on Shaping the Future of Education, Gender and Work. His responsibilities include co-leadership of the System Initiative’s insights and analysis workstream; co-authorship of the Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report, Global Human Capital Report, Future of Jobs Report and Industry Gender Gap Report; and management of the Forum’s Global Future Council on Education, Gender and Work. He has presented the System Initiative’s insights work at a number of high-level events and in the media and has co-organized activities at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting and regional summits. Leopold previously served as an economist and project manager at the United Nations and International Labour Organization, where his work focused on policy analysis, research and technical cooperation in the fields of entrepreneurship, labour economics, and innovation ecosystems, and as a consultant and analyst in the fields of impact investing and social entrepreneurship, with first-hand research and consulting experience in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. He has co-authored several research reports on inclusive business and private sector development in emerging and frontier markets. He holds Masters degrees in Social Anthropology and Finance and Development Economics from the University of Cambridge and SOAS (University of London) and is currently pursuing a PhD at the United Nations University – Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT).

Vesselina Ratcheva is Data Lead of the World Economic Forum’s System Initiative on Shaping the Future of Education, Gender and Work, with a remit spanning data analysis and visualization, and a particular focus on innovation within that domain. Ratcheva is a co-author of the Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report, Global Human Capital Report, Future of Jobs Report and Industry Gender Gap Report and in the past has led and collaborated on research projects spanning topics such as skills, identity (gender, ethnic), organizational culture, political mobilization and international migration. Ratcheva has consistently employed quantitative and qualitative research methods in endeavours aimed at finding the best ways to ensure more just social and political systems. Ratcheva previously led on research and evaluation in skills and has specialized on the Balkan region. She holds a PhD in Social Anthropology and an MSc in Comparative and Cross Cultural Research Methods from Sussex University, and a BA in Social Anthropology and Mathematics from the University of Cambridge.

Saadia Zahidi is a Member of the Executive Committee and Head of the System Initiative on Shaping the Future of Education, Gender and Work at the World Economic Forum. Under her leadership, the Forum’s team in this area produces insights, fosters dialogue and works with leaders to close skills gaps, prepare for the future of work and foster gender equality. Zahidi founded and co-authors the Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report, Global Human Capital Report, Future of Jobs Report and several other publications. She is a frequent speaker at international conferences and in the media on the future of work, the impact of technology on employment, education and skills, and gender parity. Her previous responsibilities at the World Economic Forum have included serving as an Economist with the Forum’s Global Competitiveness Programme and leading a variety of teams across the organization. She was selected as one of BBC’s 100 Women in 2013 and 2014 and won the inaugural FT/McKinsey Bracken Bower Prize for prospective authors under 35. Her book, Fifty Million Rising, on the female workforce in the Muslim world, will be released in January, 2018. She holds an MPA from Harvard University, an MPhil in International Economics from the Graduate Institute and a BA in Economics from Smith College.