Matthew Bishop
is a world-renowned speaker, moderator, convener and author of several influential books, an award-winning journalist and founder of two high-impact social innovations. An Oxford-educated economist, executive and advisor, he brings deep expertise in social innovation, impact investing, purpose-driven business and philanthropy, as well as international media and technology.
Matthew was a writer and editor at The Economist for over 25 years, including a decade as the magazine’s New York Bureau Chief, where he helped launch and host some of the magazine’s first podcasts and curated several conferences. He joined Rockefeller Foundation in 2018 to lead the Bellagio Center on Lake Como, Italy, focused on convening people around tackling some of the world’s biggest challenges.
He has interviewed many well-known leaders, from Elon Musk, Bill and Melinda Gates, Muhammad Yunus, Richard Branson and Shakira to George Soros, Warren Buffett, Bill Clinton, Sheryl Sandberg, Bono and Angelina Jolie. He is interviewed frequently on NPR, BBC, PBS and other media outlets.
Matthew has several influential books to his name, including (with Michael Green) Philanthrocapitalism: How Giving Can Save the World, described as the “definitive guide to a new generation of philanthropists” by Mike Bloomberg and featuring a foreword by Bill Clinton.
He co-founded the Social Progress Index, an increasingly influential new measure of how well a society serves its citizens. He also co-founded the #GivingTuesday movement, which harnesses social media to celebrate giving and drive more effective charity.
Matthew was honored by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader. He was on the faculty of London Business School.
Michael Green
is an economist and writer, based in London. He is an adviser to the Big Society Network and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Michael has worked in aid and development for nearly twenty years. He was a senior official in the British Government where he worked on international finance, managed UK aid to Russia and Ukraine, served three Secretaries of State as head of the communications department at the Department for International Development, and oversaw £100 million annual funding to nonprofits. It was through his role in government that he saw the rising influence of the philanthrocapitalists in the fight against poverty.
An economist by training, as a graduate of the University of Oxford, Michael taught economics at Warsaw University in the early 1990s under a Soros-funded programme. During his time in Poland, Michael was also a freelance journalist working for, among others, Polish Radio and The Economist.