In 2017, the Young Leaders Conference, sponsored by UBS and Swiss International Air Lines, was held in two locations: Zurich and Ermatingen. This was the seventh time the conference was held in Zurich, and the fourth time it was held in Ermatingen. Previous Zurich-based conferences include the classes of 1997, 2000, 2002, 2012, 2013, and 2015. Previous Ermatingen-based conferences included the classes of 1990, 1993, and 2005. This was the second Young Leaders Conference to be split between two main locations; the class of 1991 was the other group with a “dual location,” in both Thun and Vevey.
Follow this link to see all members of the class of 2017
The class of 2017 included The Honorable Caroline Simmons, a state representative in Connecticut representing the 144th District; Eboni Williams, co-host of “State of the Culture” on REVOLT TV; Alexis Favre, TV presenter at Radio Télévision Suisse; Samuel Vonrueti, chief marketing officer for Franke Kitchen Systems; The Honorable Cory McCray, representing Maryland’s 45th legislative district in the Maryland General Assembly; Kent Lassman, president and CEO of the Competitive Enterprise Institute; Will Rahn, managing editor for politics, and political correspondent, with CBS News Digital; Ronald Abegglen, senior manager of political and environmental affairs for Swiss International Air Lines; The Honorable Chad Barefoot, vice president for institutional advancement at Louisburg College and former state senator serving in the North Carolina General Assembly; Ryan Gensler, director of external affairs for CareerWise Colorado, Colorado’s Youth Apprenticeship System; and Gian Reto à Porta, co-founder and CEO of Contovista.
The class also included Luisa del Rosal, executive director of the Tower Center and founding executive director of the Mission Foods Texas-Mexico Center, both at Southern Methodist University; Emmanuelle Bays, operations manager at Novartis; Aisha Bowe, founder and CEO of STEMBoard; Robert Hartmann, a China business development expert; Philip Wegmann, White House reporter at RealClearPolitics; Matthew Denhart, president of the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation and Coolidge Scholars Program; Levi Bachmeier, policy director for North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum; RaShelle Davis, policy advisor for Washington State Governor Jay Inslee; Brett Gibson, managing partner at, and co-founder of, NextGen Venture Partners; Bettina Kallenbach, Head of Margin and Price Management at LafargeHolcim; Josiah Ryan, senior producer at CNN; Lauren Jones, Massachusetts state director for Apprenti; Jim Irwin, president of New City; Dominique Bollinger, vice president at HV Technologies; Mike DeVanney, partner at ColdSpark; Jordan Vaughn, interim deputy to the chief growth officer at The Future Project; Niccole Larsen, Senior Medical Science Liaison at ACADIA Pharmaceuticals; and Alison Centofante, director of external relations at Live Action.
Follow news from the class of 2017 on Twitter here, and the YouTube channels of all alumni here.