One Young World Entrepreneur of the Year 2020 - Judges Announced

The One Young World Entrepreneur Award highlights the work of the world's most revolutionary entrepreneurs under the age of 35 whose enterprises are shaping the world around them and who are inspiring with their leadership.

The expert judging panel has been invited by One Young World to choose five winners who are having a meaningful impact through their business ventures. Through exceptional leadership these young entrepreneurs take on the world’s major challenges.

The shortlisted nominees are currently under review by One Young World’s expert judging panel, who will decide the five winners. The judges are:

• Blake Mycoskie - Founder and CEO of TOMS
• Elio Leoni Sceti - Co-founder and Chief Crafter of The Craftory
• Jean Liu - President of DiDi Chuxing
• Joyeeta Gupta - Professor of the University of Amsterdam and IHE Institute for Water Education in Delft. 
• Leena Nair - Chief Human Resource Officer, Unilever & Member, Unilever Executive Leadership
• Luis Javier Castro - Founding Partner at Mesoamerica Investments

Blake Mycoskie is a serial entrepreneur best known for founding TOMS and the person behind the One for One®, a business model that helps a person in need with every product purchased. 

The idea has grown into a global movement: TOMS Shoes has provided over 96.5 million pairs of shoes to children since 2006. 

TOMS humble beginnings happened unintentionally. While traveling in Argentina in 2006, Blake witnessed the hardships faced by children growing up without shoes. His solution to the problem was simple, yet revolutionary: to create a for-profit business that was sustainable and not reliant on donations. Blake’s vision soon turned into the simple business idea that provided the powerful foundation for TOMS.

In fall 2011, Blake released his first book, Start Something That Matters, offering his own amazing story of inspiration, and the power of incorporating giving in business. The book became a New York Times best-seller. More importantly, it is Blake’s hope that Start Something That Matters inspires others to turn their passion and dreams into a reality.

In 2014 Blake stepped down as CEO of TOMS. He realized for the first time in 18 years he wasn’t actively starting or growing a company. During this transition period a new mission was born. In spring 2020 co-founded his newest company, Madefor. A program that applies the principles of modern neuroscience, psychology, and physiology to make your brain and body better. Created alongside some of the best minds in science and health, Madefor provides a simple set of steps to develop the habits and mindset necessary to live your best life.

Blake resides in Jackson, WY with his family, dogs, and cats. In his free time, you can expect to find him outside enjoying nature whether it is rock climbing, surfing or snowboarding.

Elio Leoni Sceti is co-founder & chief crafter of thecraftory.io, the first investment house for purpose-driven CPG challenger brands. Elio is OYW Trustee & Counsellor and he is an independent Board Director of ABInbev , of Kraft Heinz and of Barry Callebaut. He is Chairman of LSG holdings, an early stage consumer tech investor and a board advisor to education charity Room to Read. Elio was previously Ceo of Iglo Group, Ceo of EMI Music, after an international career at Reckitt Benckiser and P&G.

Jean Liu is the President of Didi Chuxing. Working with Cheng Wei, founder and CEO of DiDi, Jean led DiDi to become the world’s largest multi-modal mobile transportation platform delivering over 10 billion trips a year to 550 million users across Asia, Latin America and Australia. Jean champions for a more collaborative approach for the new tech sector to work with policymakers, public transit bodies and the automotive industry to address the world’s mobility, environmental and employment challenges.

Jean is also an advocate for women’s empowerment in the tech and sharing economy sectors, in part through DiDi Women’s Network, the first women’s development program in the Chinese internet sector.

Jean was featured on Fortune’s Most Powerful Women International List from 2016 to 2019, and Finance Asia’s The Region’s Top Entrepreneurs list in 2019. She was recognized as one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People and was honored by Asia Society as an Asia Game Changer in 2017. In 2016, she was named on Fast Company’s World’s Most Creative People in Business List.

Jean received a bachelor's degree from Peking University and a master's degree at Harvard University, both in Computer Science, and earned an honorary doctorate in Commercial Science at New York University. Jean is a founding member of the advisory board of the Bloomberg New Economy Forum and a member of the Asia Society’s Board of Trustees.

Joyeeta Gupta is co-chair of UNEP’s Global Environment Outlook-6 (2016-2019), published by Cambridge University Press, which was presented to governments participating in the United Nations Environment Assembly in 2019, and was covered in newspapers worldwide. It has just won the Association of American Publishers PROSE award for Environmental Science. She has also just been named as co-chair of the Earth Commission (2019-2021), set up by Future Earth, together with Johan Rockström and Dahe Qin.

She is full professor of environment and development in the global south at the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research of the University of Amsterdam and IHE Institute for Water Education in Delft. She is also the Faculty Professor on Sustainability (2019-2024). She leads the programme group on Governance and Inclusive Development. Prior to this she was professor on Climate Change Policy and Law at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. She is editor-in-chief of International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics (IF 2.312) and is on the editorial board of several journals. She was lead author in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore and of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment which won the Zaved Second Prize.

She is the first female, first Asian, youngest ever CHRO of Unilever and member of the Unilever Leadership Executive (ULE), which is responsible for delivering Unilever’s business & financial performance.

Leena bears overall responsibility for the 160,000-strong human capital of Unilever, which operates across multiple regulatory and labour environments spread over 190 countries. She ensures the company has the right people, in the right roles, with the right capabilities and mindset to deliver high business performance that enables Unilever to meet its ambitious business growth with environmental and positive social impact. She also heads the Diversity and Inclusion agenda for the organisation ensuring that its workforce is truly diverse and inclusive.

In her time in Hindustan Unilever, Leena became the first woman in the Management Committee in 90 years heading HR. She was also appointed the first woman on the Unilever South Asia Leadership Team, responsible for Unilever's growth in five markets with business size around 6 billion Euros. Throughout her career, Leena has gained a strong reputation, not only for optimising costs and driving margins – but also for igniting outstanding business growth. Calculated risk and experimentation, together with an outside-in view of her customer ensures that her people and business stay three clicks ahead.

Luis Javier Castro has been the President of Mesoamerica since 1996. Luis Javier devotes a significant amount of time and resources to social impact initiatives through several foundations, education institutions and associations. He instituted the Mesoamerica Foundation, which invests in four areas quality education, through a social enterprise that works to develop teachers’ full potential through collaborative leadership skills, advocacy of Sustainability and Conscious Capitalism through Asociación Empresarial para el Desarrollo, a business coalition in Costa Ricaand Raj Sisodia’s Conscious Capitalism Movement, entrepreneurship, through Yo Emprendedor, a NGO that promotes an entrepreneurial ecosystem in Central America, and regional leadership and institutionalism, through the Central America Leadership Initiative (CALI) and the Aspen Institute.

He began his career as an Associate in Bain and Company; working on strategic cases for several of the region’s largest companies. His experience in Bain and Mesoamerica include a large variety of sectors, such as financial services, retail, beverages, airlines, hotels, tourism, and agribusiness.

Luis Javier Castro is a member of the Board of Directors, United Way Worldwide, the largest non-profit organization of the world whose aim is to mobilize communities to effect positive change. He is also a member of the G-50, a select group of business leaders of the Americas, and the Young Presidents Organization among others.