10 Impact speakers making a difference at Web Summit 2022

Web Summit’s Impact program gives entrepreneurs and social leaders the opportunity to further the cause of global equality and a high standard of living. Dozens of Impact-focused speakers attend our event.

This year marks the first time we have a dedicated Impact area on the ground at Web Summit. The space will host Impact masterclasses on how to maximise the impact of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals in our business lives. You can find the relevant masterclasses on this list and register for Impact masterclasses right now.

Impact-focused speakers — from global CEOs to cultural icons — can use our event as a platform to highlight their work towards building a more equitable and sustainable future. Meet the top Impact speakers attending Web Summit this year.

Kevin Pietersen, cricketer and Conservationist with SORAI

After a storied cricket career which saw him play for the England national team from 2005-2014 (including a tenure as captain), Kevin has now taken to a conservationist cause.

SORAI is his initiative for the preservation and protection of endangered species, as well as related education and public awareness campaigns. SORAI does this by supporting on-the-ground conservation organisations such as Care for Wild and the Centre for Wildlife Studies.

Sophia Kianni, founder and climate activist at Climate Cardinals

Sophia is an US-climate activist. At just 20 years’ old, she is the executive director of nonprofit Climate Cardinals and the youngest member of the UN Secretary-General’s youth advisory group on climate change.

At Web Summit, Sophia will discuss the types of leadership, resolve and ingenuity required to tackle the single greatest threat facing humanity today – climate change.

Seth Bannon, founding partner at Fifty Years

Seth is an entrepreneur and investor in early stage impact startups. To this end, he helped to found Fifty Years, a seed fund supporting entrepreneurs using technology to solve the world’s problems. Seth also co-founded impact.tech, a community organisation supporting impact companies, and Amicus, a startup that helps nonprofits find fundraisers and advocates.

A graduate of the Y Combinator accelerator, Seth was named on Forbes’ ‘30 Under 30’ list for Social Entrepreneurship in both 2013 and 2014.

Lubomila Jordanova, founder and CEO of Plan A

Lubomila founded Plan A to offer an AI-driven SaaS platform to help businesses track ESG reporting and support decarbonisation efforts. She also is a founding member of the Greentech Alliance, an organisation connecting more than 1,000 members to 500+ VCs and experts.

Her recent work has been recognised with numerous awards. This includes being added to the Forbes’ ‘30 Under 30’ list in 2020, receiving the Obama Foundation’s Leader Europe 2022 award, and now serving as a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer from 2022-2025.

Tilen Travnik, co-founder and CEO of Juicy Marbles

Tilen is a digital transformation entrepreneur turned full-on food tech geek. Together with two co-founders, Juicy Marbles was launched to develop a process and machine capable of turning any plant protein into a delicious steak. The company has now achieved that goal and are trying to take the plant-substitute to the wider market.

Juicy Marbles previously appeared at Web Summit 2021 with a live cooking demonstration of their plant-based steak – and Tilen is cooking up another experience for this year’s attendees!

Grace Francis, global chief creative & design officer at Wongdoody

Grace is a strong advocate for intersectional inclusivity in the creative industry, as well as an advocate for more decisive action on reversing the effects of climate change. Grace has previously worked in roles at Accenture Interactive, Droga5 London and Karmarama.

At Web Summit 2022, Grace will explain how ‘The Climate Game’ — Wongdoody’s collaboration with The Financial Times newspaper — came to be, how they went about ‘gamifying’ climate change action, and why behavioural change must start at the top.

Jane Geraghty, global CEO of Landor & Fitch

Jane switched from EMEA president for Landor & Fitch to global CEO in January 2020. What followed was an unforeseen and unprecedented time for global business markets, one which she helped to steer the company through. Prior to her current role at Landor, Jane spent 20+ years in advertising agencies such as Saatchi & Saatchi, McCann Erickson, Ogilvy and ITV.

At Web Summit, Janer will join a panel of experienced professionals in the world of marketing and media to discuss the power of a purpose-driven brand in the modern marketplace.

Stephanie Crespin, CEO at Reflaunt

On top of her role as CEO of Reflaunt, Stephanie also founded StyleTribute.com, a lifestyle enterprise promoting circular fashion and sustainable retail practices.

Reflaunt was recently the focus of a Forbes article and selected for was LVMH ‘Maison des startups’ and ‘Fashion For Good’ accelerator program. At Web Summit, Stephanie will sit down with Alison Loehnis, president of Net-a-Porter, to discuss how we can accelerate resale culture and services.

Christiana Bukalo, co-founder of Statefree

Up to 15 million people all over the world are currently stateless. Christiana became the co-founder of civil rights group Statefree to address this challenge head on.

Growing up as a stateless person in Germany, Christiana was passionate from early in her professional career about tackling statelessness. After a number of years in roles spanning skills such as communication, change management, organisational design and diversity, she was recently appointed as a Trustee of the European Network on Statelessness.

Hamish Grierson, co-founder and CEO of Thriva

Hamish has been involved with Thriva since 2015 with a mission to empower each of us to better look after our own health. A background in fintech innovation, brand building and global growth and his entrepreneurial experience saw him join the New Entrepreneurs Foundation.

At Web Summit, Hamish will go in-depth on why we’re thinking about healthcare wrong and about the importance of moving from ‘sick care’ to prevention through personalised care.

To find more talks that align with the UN SDGs check out the Web Summit impact guide.

These amazing speakers just scratch the surface of who’s attending Web Summit 2022 – meet the other innovative talents and experts joining us in Lisbon.