Spring Meetings

Mukhtar Babayev has been serving as the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan since April 23, 2018. He graduated from Moscow State University in 1991 with a degree in political science and later earned degrees in Foreign Economic Relations from Azerbaijan State University of Economics and World Economy from the Pan-Russian Academy of Foreign Trade. Mr. Babayev’s career began at the State Committee for Economy and Planning of Azerbaijan in 1991-1992, followed by roles at the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations and SOCAR, where he held various positions from 1994 to 2010, including Vice President for Ecology. He also served as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of SOCAR “Azerkimya” Production Association from 2010 to 2018. A member of the New Azerbaijan Party, Mr. Babayev was elected to the Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources, Energy, and Ecology in 2010. He was appointed COP29 President-Designate on January 4, 2024.

Simon Stiell was appointed Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in August 2022. From 2013 to June 2022, he served in a number of ministerial roles in the Government of Grenada, including as Minister for Climate Resilience and the Environment for five years. He also served as a member of Grenada’s Upper House of Parliament, the Senate, where he was Leader of Government’s Business throughout this period. Prior to his return to Grenada, Simon had a successful career spanning fourteen years within the technology sector, holding senior executive positions in several industry leading companies.

Mr. Bo Li assumed the role of Deputy Managing Director at the IMF on August 23, 2021. He is responsible for the IMF’s work on about 90 countries as well as on a wide range of policy issues. Before joining the IMF, Mr. Li worked for many years at the People’s Bank of China, most recently as Deputy Governor. He earlier headed the Monetary Policy, Monetary Policy II, and Legal and Regulation Departments, where he played an important role in the reform of state-owned banks, the drafting of China’s anti-money-laundering law, the internationalization of the renminbi, and the establishment of China’s macroprudential policy framework. Outside of the PBoC, Mr. Li served as Vice Mayor of Chongqing—China’s largest municipality, with a population of over 30 million—where he oversaw the city’s financial-sector development, international trade, and foreign direct investment. Mr. Li was also Vice Chairman of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese. He started his career at the New York law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell, where he was a practicing attorney for five years. Mr. Li holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University and an M.A. from Boston University, both in economics, as well as a J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School. He received his undergraduate education from Renmin University of China in Beijing.

Karen Tso Co-Anchors CNBC’s flagship show ‘Squawk Box’ in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The three-hour program, which broadcasts worldwide five days a week. Tso often reports live on location from major international events, while moderating conversations and firesides with world leaders and CEOs at the World Economic Forum in Davos, IMF conferences, Asian Development Bank, Mobile World Congress, Web Summit, Women’s Forum, Cannes Lions and the Frankfurt Motor Show. In 2017 she covered both rounds of the French Presidential Election live from Paris. Tso has anchored across CNBC International, from London, New York, Singapore and Australia.  Prior to the European edition of ‘Squawk Box’, Tso was based in Singapore and co-anchored the Asian edition of ‘Squawk Box’. Tso was recognized as ‘Highly Commended’ in the ‘Best News Anchor’ category at 15th Asian Television Awards. Before joining CNBC during the height of the financial crisis in 2008, Tso was a household name in business news in Australia, anchoring for Nine Network, Sky News and ABC.