Our panel discussion will explore why leading companies are increasingly engaging with informal workers, highlighting the strategic value across sectors. It will spotlight effective organisational and systemic interventions driving impact, and conclude with key takeaways and a call to action on why worker resilience must be a core business priority today.
CEO, People’s Courage International
CEO of The Global Fund to End Modern Slavery
Dr. Jean Baderschneider is the CEO of the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery. She brings over 35 years of private sector experience, having retired from ExxonMobil as Vice President, Global Procurement, where she led global operations across supply chain, sourcing, and procurement in regions including Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. With over a decade of leadership in global anti-trafficking efforts, Dr. Baderschneider has served on the boards of Polaris, Verité, and Made in a Free World, and is an Advisory Board Member and Operating Partner at Tau Investment Management. She holds a Master’s from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. from Cornell University, where she received the 2013 Jerome Alpern Award. She is also a recipient of the Nomi Network’s Corporate Social Responsibility Award.
Director of Industry Programs, Laudes Foundation
Amol Mehra is a global leader in business and human rights, just transitions, and people-centred climate action. He is currently Director of Industry Programmes at Laudes Foundation, where he oversees global funding strategies across sectors such as fashion, food, finance, and labour to advance a green, fair, and inclusive economy. He has played a key role in shaping major philanthropic collaboratives including the Just Transitions Donor Alliance, FORGE, and the Adaptation and Resilience Funder Collaborative. Amol serves on the board of EarthRights International and the advisory council of NYU Stern’s Center for Business and Human Rights. He was formerly Managing Director at the Freedom Fund and the founding Executive Director of the International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR).
Insights on good business practice in support of informal workers, internal migrants and other groups, from global research and businesses operating and sourcing from South and Southeast Asia.
Founder and Executive Director of Embode
Aarti Kapoor is the Founder and Executive Director of Embode, an independent human rights agency providing technical and strategic consultancy to some of the largest corporate businesses and supply chains in the world.
CEO of the Institute for Human Rights and Business
John advises a number of governments, intergovernmental organisations, and businesses on human rights and wider issues of sustainability, development, and international affairs.
Director of Operations, Walkfree
Katharine is an anti-slavery advocate with over 15 years’ experience in the sector. She is Director of Operations at Walk Free, an international human rights organisation committed to the eradication of modern slavery
Director, Collaboration
As Director, Collaborations, Charlene develops and implements strategies to engage BSR member companies and other stakeholders in high-impact collaborations for sustainable development.
CEO of Kite Insights
Director of Immigration Strategy, Emerson Collective
Shana Tabak is a human rights lawyer and scholar with expertise in migration, refugee law, climate justice, and gender equity. She is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown Law and an Affiliated Scholar at the Institute for the Study of International Migration. As the founding Executive Director of Tahirih Justice Center Atlanta, she led litigation and advocacy on immigrant and gender-based violence issues, co-chaired the Atlanta Mayor’s Council on Immigration, and monitored child detention centers on the U.S.–Mexico border. Shana has extensive experience before U.S. courts, UN mechanisms, and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and has taught at institutions including American University, Emory, and universities in Colombia. A Fulbright Scholar and former clerk at the International Court of Justice, she holds degrees from Georgetown, George Washington University, and Macalester College.
Partner, Bridgespan
Sonali Patel is a partner at The Bridgespan Group’s New York office, where she co-leads the environmental practice and global sourcing and diligence. With over two decades of experience across nonprofit and for-profit consulting, she advises philanthropists, INGOs, and equity-focused organizations on climate, global development, and strategy. Since joining Bridgespan in 2014, Sonali has led global engagements across climate philanthropy, organizational design, and funding strategy. Her work includes supporting the launch of the Carbon to Sea Initiative, advising ClimateWorks on global strategy, and partnering with equity-driven groups like WE ACT and the Rockefeller Foundation. She has also supported family philanthropies such as Tata Trusts and the largest U.S. family foundation on next-gen giving models and equity-focused grantmaking.
PhD, PAX Sapiens
David Bowen is a Senior Fellow with PAX sapiens, a foundation based in Colorado whose mission is to prevent predictable global catastrophes through the creation of new systems of collective coordination that build a more peaceful world.
Program Director, Quadrature Climate Foundation
Katherine is a Programme Director at Quadrature Climate Foundation (QCF), where she develops highimpact funding strategies to help vulnerable communities adapt to climate change.
CELSIUS PRO
Simant is a Principal Consultant for Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance at Global Parametrics. He works at the intersection of the humanitarian and public sectors to strengthen financial resilience against disasters.
Managing Director
Nitish Narain is the Managing Director for MRC. He provides strategic and operational leadership for scaling MRC’s impact across millions of vulnerable and marginalized workers.