Jeffrey D. Sachs is a world-renowned economist, bestselling author, innovative educator, and global leader in sustainable development. He is widely recognized for bold and effective strategies to address complex challenges including the escape from extreme poverty, the global battle against human-induced climate change, international debt and financial crises, national economic reforms, and the control of pandemic and epidemic diseases. Sachs serves as the Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, where he holds the rank of University Professor, the university’s highest academic rank.

Sachs was Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University from 2002 to 2016. He is President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Chair of the Lancet COVID-19 Commission, Co-Chair of the Council of Engineers for the Energy Transition, academician of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences at the Vatican, Commissioner of the UN Broadband Commission for Development, Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah Honorary Distinguished Professor at Sunway University, and SDG Advocate for UN Secretary General António Guterres. From 2001- 18, Sachs served as Special Advisor to UN Secretaries-General Kofi Annan (2001-7), Ban Kimoon (2008-16), and António Guterres (2017-18).

Sachs has authored and edited numerous books, including three New York Times bestsellers: The End of Poverty (2005), Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet (2008), and The Price of Civilization (2011). Other books include To Move the World: JFK’s Quest for Peace (2013), The Age of Sustainable Development (2015), Building the New American Economy: Smart, Fair & Sustainable (2017), A New Foreign Policy: Beyond American Exceptionalism (2018), and most recently, The Ages of Globalization: Geography, Technology, and Institutions (2020).

Sachs is the 2022 recipient of the Tang Prize in Sustainable Development and was the corecipient of the 2015 Blue Planet Prize, the leading global prize for environmental leadership. He was twice named among Time magazine’s 100 most influential world leaders. Sachs has received 41 honorary doctorates, and his recent awards include the 2022 Tang Prize in Sustainable Development, the Legion of Honor by decree of the President of the Republic of France, and the Order of the Cross from the President of Estonia.

Prior to joining Columbia, Sachs spent over twenty years as a professor at Harvard University, most recently as the Galen L. Stone Professor of International Trade. A native of Detroit, Michigan, Sachs received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees at Harvard.

Jean Chia is responsible for Bank of Singapore’s CIO Views, Macroeconomics, Investment Strategy, FX, Equity & Fixed Income Research, as well as Discretionary Portfolio Management (DPM), Advisory Portfolio Management (APM) and Funds Selection teams at Bank of Singapore. She is a member of the board of directors for BOS International Funds, Luxembourg and a member of the OCBC Wealth Panel.

Jean has over 20 years of experience in Private Banking and Asset Management. Prior to her current role, she was previously Head, Equities Advisory & Sales, responsible for the equities and derivatives business at Bank of Singapore, and Head of Client Advisory Services for Equities, Investment Products & Services at UBS Wealth Management, Singapore. Prior to UBS, she was Vice President, Head of Grassroots Research at Allianz Dresdner Asset Management (now known as Allianz Global Investors).

Jean graduated with an MA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from University of Oxford, UK. She recently completed a Sustainable Finance certification from Cambridge Institute of Sustainable Leadership (CISL). Jean is currently a Financial Women’s Association of Singapore (FWA) Female Champion and an Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF) Fellow for Private Banking and Wealth Management.