• Gregoire Kwende

Born and raised in what was then French West Africa, Mr. Kwende went on to receive his B.S. and M.S. in Physics from University of Bordeaux, France, where he also studied Math and Chemistry. In 1964, he also obtained a Teaching Certificate for Secondary Education and returned to his homeland not only to teach but also to play a key role in building up educational systems and institutions in Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo, often in conjunction with UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). Publications by Mr. Kwende under UNESCO included “Integrated Science Teaching in Africa”, “Development of Technical and Vocational Education in Africa”, and “Toward a Science and Technology Education for All of Africa”. He was also a founding member and Chairman of the Foundation “Les Bureaux des Artisans”, established in 2000 to promote Burkinabe craftsmen and fight against poverty. He has been honored as a Knight in the Order of French Academic Palmes and a Knight in the Order of Rural Development Merit.

• Nicholas Allen

Born in the United Kingdom, Mr. Allen has over 25 years of international project development experience in over 30 countries worldwide. He is the Founder and President of an international project development company, which specializes in water, transportation, energy and environmental projects in developing countries. Mr. Allen has extensive experience working with investors, governments, donor agencies, communities and the private sector in formulating highly sustainable infrastructure solutions.

• Jun Cruz

A native of the Philippines and Mechanical Engineer by training, Mr. Cruz has over 25 years experience designing, engineering and managing oil mills and has also engaged in the manufacturing and trading of vegetable oil-derived products. In the Philippines, he designed and built 11 refineries with capacities ranging from 20 to 200 Tons Per Day. He has also engineered plants around the world from Singapore to the United States to Benin. His latest project just completed in early 2009 is a 300 TPD plant in northern Spain. He has also had experience designing biomass fed power plants of 1MW to 2MW. Aside from producing biodiesel in his own plant in the Philippines, Mr. Cruz has refined glycerine to USP grade and formulated omega 3-6 milk fat, ice cream fat, cocoa butter substitutes, milk fat substitutes, confectionary fats and frying fats, as well as pharmaceutical grade methyl salicylate from salicylic acid and methanol.

• Cyrille ANTIGNAC

He advises and invests into several emerging countries corporations in agro-business, energy and biomaterials in South East Asia and West Africa.  Cyrille has 15 years experience in helping companies structuring corporate and project financing. In the last six years he has advised large investment funds and corporations conduct direct investments into emerging and frontier markets.