2015 Chicago Forum on Global Cities
At the inaugural Chicago Forum on Global Cities world leaders from all areas of urban life initiated an informative and inspiring dialogue on challenges and opportunities facing today's global cities.
About This Event
At the Chicago Forum, world leaders representing all areas of urban life will initiate an informative and inspiring dialogue on the various challenges and opportunities facing today’s global cities. Forum sessions will focus on the key pillars of urban life—commerce and the economy; education; civics and society; and arts, architecture, and culture—and the search for solutions to growing issues such as global warming, inequality, terrorism, immigration, infrastructure and cybercrime.
Featured event videos
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A panel of experts discusses how to best design environmentally sustainable cities.
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A conversation about The University of Chicago's Urban Labs, which has developed a unique model to improve urban life.
About the Speakers
Eilon Adar
Alain Poher Chair in Hydrogeology and Arid Zones; Director, Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research; Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Madeleine K. Albright
64th US Secretary of State and chair of Albright Stonebridge Group
Madeleine Albright is a professor, author, diplomat, businesswoman, seven-time New York Times bestselling author, and currently Chair of Albright Stonebridge Group and the Democratic Institute. She is also president of the Truman Scholarship Foundation. She previously served as the first female, 64th Secretary of State of the United States. In 2012, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Rolf Alter
Director for Public Governance and Territorial Development, OECD
Ajay Banga
President and CEO, MasterCard
Benjamin Barber
Senior Research Scholar, Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society at The Graduate Center, The City University of New York
Former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sweden
Carl Bildt is the former prime minister and former foreign minister of Sweden. Subsequently, he served in international functions with the European Union and the United Nations, primarily related to the Balkans conflicts. He was co-chairman of the Dayton peace talks on Bosnia and Herzegovina and later became the special envoy of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to the region.
Romero Britto
Pop Artist
Greg Brown
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Motorola Solutions, Inc.
Ricky Burdett
Professor, Urban Studies and Director of LSE Cities and the Urban Age Programme, London School of Economics
Salomón Chertorivski Woldenberg
Former Nonresident Senior Fellow, Global Cities
Salomón Chertorivski Woldenberg was Secretary of Economic Development of Mexico City from 2012 to 2017. While in this role, the city's economy grew twice as much as the national economy. He also served as Mexican minister of health, changing the ministry's approach to healthcare treatment to a preventative model and implementing a comprehensive pharmaceutical policy.
Henry Cisneros
Founder and Chairman, CityView
In addition to co-founding CityView, Henry Cisneros is also a principal in Siebert Cisneros Shank, a leading public finance firm. In 1981, Cisneros became the first Hispanic-American mayor of a major US city, San Antonio, Texas, and served for four terms. In 1992, President Clinton appointed Cisneros to be Secretary of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Helen Clark
Former Prime Minister of New Zealand
Helen Clark is the former Prime Minister of New Zealand and the former administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP). She was the first woman to lead the UNDP and simultaneously chaired the UN Development Group. She continues to be a strong voice for sustainable development, climate action, gender equality, women’s leadership, peace and justice, and action on pressing global health issues.
Jim Compton
Vice Chairman and Chief Revenue Officer, United Airlines
James Cuno
Former President and CEO, J. Paul Getty Trust
James "Jim" Cuno is an American art historian and curator. Cuno formally served as President and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust for over 10 years. Before that he headed the Art Institute of Chicago, among other leading museums through his career. Cuno is also coeditor of the book, "Cultural Heritage and Mass Atrocities", which looks at the destruction of cultural heritage in conflict around the world and what can be done.
CEO, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Ivo H. Daalder served as the US ambassador to NATO from 2009 to 2013. He joined the Council as president in 2013 and took on the new role of CEO in 2023. Previously, he was a senior fellow in foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution and served as director for European affairs on President Bill Clinton’s National Security Council. He is the author or editor of 10 books.
Edward F. Davis
President and CEO, Edward Davis, LLC
Evelyn J. Diaz
President, Heartland Alliance
As President of Heartland Alliance, Evelyn Diaz—a member of the Council's Emerging Leader Program class of 2011—is responsible for directing domestic and global strategy for Heartland Alliance's five nonprofit corporate entities. Previously, she was appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel to lead the City of Chicago’s Department of Family and Support Services.
Douglas Druick
President and Eloise W. Martin Director, Art Institute of Chicago
Arne Duncan
Secretary, US Department of Education
Rahm Emanuel
US Ambassador to Japan
Appointed US Ambassador to Japan in 2021, Rahm Emanuel has fostered strong relations during a time of increased complexity and challenge. He served as Mayor of Chicago from 2011 to 2019 and White House Chief of Staff under President Barack Obama.
Philip Enquist
Partner, Urban Design and Planning, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
Mark Filip
Partner, Kirkland & Ellis
Jeanne Gang
Founding Principal and Partner, Studio Gang Architects
Jeanne Gang, a 2011 MacArthur Fellow and member of the 2011 class of the Council's Emerging Leaders Program, is the principal architect of Studio Gang Architects, a Chicago-based firm that has been recognized internationally for its innovation in design. She also serves as an adjunct professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology and has been a visiting professor at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton.
Theaster Gates
Founder, Rebuild Foundation; Director, Arts and Public Life, University of Chicago
Theaster Gates makes work focused on racism and poverty in America, and works to make change in downtrodden communities. His practice is grounded in African-American history and culture, and in his own experience growing up on the South Side of Chicago. Slavery, industrial exploitation, and the Civil Rights Movement feature prominently in his sculptures, installations, and performances.
Francisco Gonzalez-Pulido
President, JAHN
In his 15 years at the international architectural firm JAHN, Francisco Gonzalez-Pulido has designed and built projects on four continents. He currently shares the design leadership of the firm's work with the internationally acclaimed architect Helmut Jahn. Gonzalez-Pulido is actively involved with numerous organizations worldwide in the fields of architecture, film, art, and design.
Mark S. Hoplamazian
President and CEO, Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Mark S. Hoplamazian was appointed to the board of directors in November 2006 and named president and chief executive officer of Hyatt Hotels Corporation in December 2006. Prior to being appointed to his present position, Hoplamazian served as president of The Pritzker Organization (TPO), the principal financial and investment adviser for Pritzker family business interests.
Khoo Boon Hui
Senior Advisor, Ministry of Home Affairs; Former President, INTERPOL
Timothy Knowles
Pritzker Director, University of Chicago Urban Labs
Harry L. Leider
Chief Medical Officer and Group Vice President, Walgreens Boots Alliance
Distinguished Fellow, Global Cities
Richard Longworth is a distinguished fellow on global cities at the Council and is the author of "Chicago and the World." For 20 years, Longworth was a foreign correspondent and served four years as the Chicago Tribune’s chief European correspondent. He was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, has won the Overseas Press Club award twice, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize twice.
Adam Lowry
Cofounder and Chief Greenskeeper, Method
Jens Ludwig
Director, University of Chicago Crime Lab; Codirector, Education Lab; McCormick Foundation Professor of Social Service Administration, Law, and Public Policy
George Martine
Technical Director, Dhemos Consulting; Former President, Brazilian Population Association
Boubker Mazoz
Founder and President, Sister Cities Africa
David Meltzer
Director, University of Chicago Health Lab; Chief, Section of Hospital Medicine; Director, Center for Health and the Social Sciences; Chair, Committee on Clinical and Translational Science, University of Chicago
David Miller
CEO, World Wildlife Fund–Canada; Former Mayor, Toronto
Pedro Pires de Miranda
Corporate Vice President, Head of Corporate Development Siemens One, Siemens AG
Dennis Muilenburg
Vice Chairman, President and Chief Operating Officer, The Boeing Company
Ory Okolloh
Director of Investments, Omidyar Network
Olufunmilayo (Funmi) Olopade
Walter L. Palmer Professor of Medicine and Human Genetics; Associate Dean, Global Health, University of Chicago
Dr. Olufunmilayo Olopade is the Walter L. Palmer Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine and Human Genetics, associate dean for Global Health, and director of the Center for Innovation in Global Health at the University of Chicago. She develops innovative strategies for comprehensive cancer risk assessment and prevention.
Ratna Omidvar
Senator for Ontario, The Senate of Canada
Ratna Omidvar is an internationally recognized voice on migration, diversity, and inclusion. In April 2016, she was appointed to the Senate of Canada as an independent senator representing Ontario. As a member of the Independent Senators Group, she holds a leadership position as the scroll manager. Senator Omidvar is also the founding executive director at the Global Diversity Exchange (GDX).
Henry M. Paulson, Jr.
Former US Secretary of the Treasury
In addition to serving as US Secretary of the Treasury from 2006 to 2009, Henry M. Paulson, Jr. is also the founder and chairman of The Paulson Institute, a non-partisan, independent "think and do tank."
Wim Pijbes
General Director, Rijksmuseum
Kasim Reed
Mayor, City of Atlanta
William K. Reilly
Senior Advisor, TPG Capital
Malcolm Rifkind
Former UK Foreign Secretary and Secretary of Defense
Malcolm Rifkind is the former UK Foreign Secretary and Secretary of Defense.
Judith Rodin
President, The Rockefeller Foundation
Robert E. Rubin
Co-chairman, Council on Foreign Relations; Former Secretary, US Department of the Treasury
Pasi Sahlberg
Visiting Professor of Practice in Education, Harvard University
Saskia Sassen
Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology, Columbia University
Saskia Sassen is the Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology and co-chairs the committee on global thought at Columbia University. Her 1991 book "The Global City: New York, London, Tokyo" is credited with coining the term "global cities"; she is the author or editor of 13 books that are translated into 21 languages. She contributes regularly to OpenDemocracy and The Huffington Post.
Kristi Savacool
CEO, Aon Hewitt
Abdulla Saeed Al Shamsi
Executive Director, Strategic Affairs, Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC)
Frederic Sicre
Managing Director, The Abraaj Group
Anne-Marie Slaughter
President and CEO, New America
Gary Slutkin
Founder and Executive Director, Cure Violence
Trung Le
Founding Partner, Wonder, by Design
Jozias Van Aartsen
Acting Mayor, Amsterdam
Shoshana Vernick
Managing Director, Sterling Partners, Education Opportunity Fund
Frederick H. Waddell
Council Board Member
Retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Northern Trust Corporation
Wang Shu
Partner, Amateur Architecture Studio
Keith E. Williams
President and CEO, UL LLC
Keith Williams is president and CEO of UL. Under his tenure, UL has reorganized and optimized its operating structure, expanded geographically, extended its services, and successfully managed the integration of more than thirty acquisitions. Williams has championed UL’s global expansion with a focus on Asia, a region in which he has broad expertise.
Wong Chun Kau (Jolly)
Adjunct Professor, Institute of Smart City, Shanghai University; CTO, Hong Kong Police Force
Yuan Ming
Professor of International Relations, Peking University
Robert J. Zimmer
Council Board Member
President and Trustee, The University of Chicago
Financial Times Moderators
Editor-in-Chief, POLITICO Europe
Jamil Anderlini is POLITICO Europe’s Editor-in-Chief. An award-winning journalist, editor, and published author, he joined POLITICO Europe from the Financial Times where he worked as Asia Editor, Assistant Editor, and member of the Editorial Board.
Lionel Barber
Editor, Financial Times
Tony Barber
Europe Editor
Caroline Daniel
Partner, Brunswick and Former Editor, FT Weekend
Caroline Daniel is a partner at Brunswick and former editor of FT Weekend, consulting editor of FT Live/FT Conferences, and FT assistant editor. Previously, Daniel was the FT White House correspondent, a features writer and reporter for the New Statesman, a reporter for the Economist, and a political researcher for Gordon Brown.
US Business Editor, Financial Times
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson is the US business editor of the Financial Times, leading its coverage of US business in an age of populism, policy upheavals, and shifting expectations of corporate America. He manages a team of reporters while writing news, analysis, and commentary and helping develop new offerings for the FT’s core audience such as Moral Money, its awards-winning ESG newsletter.
Edwin Heathcote
Architecture Critic, Financial Times
Simon Kuper
Columnist
US National Editor, Financial Times
Edward Luce is the Financial Times' chief US commentator and columnist based in Washington, D.C. Prior to that role, he was the Financial Times' Washington bureau chief and South Asia bureau chief based in New Delhi.
Megan Murphy
Washington Bureau Chief
Contributing Editor, Financial Times
Philip Stephens joined the Financial Times in 1983 as the economics, political, and UK edition editor, and currently serves as a contributing editor. He won the David Watt Prize for Outstanding Political Journalism, Political Journalist of the Year by the UK Political Studies Association, and Political Journalist of the Year in the British Press Awards.
Chair of the Editorial Board and Editor-at-Large, US, Financial Times
Gillian Tett is chair of the editorial board and editor-at-large, US of the Financial Times. She writes weekly columns covering a range of economic, financial, political, and social issues. In 2014 she was named Columnist of the Year in the British Press Awards. In addition, Tett’s past roles include US managing editor, assistant editor, and capital markets editor.