Jesper Brodin
C.E.O. of Ingka Group, IKEA
Jesper Brodin leads one of the world’s largest home furnishing retailers, the Ingka Group (formerly known as IKEA Group), which owns and operates more than 500 IKEA stores in 30 markets.Brodin started his IKEA career in 1995 as the purchase manager in Pakistan of IKEA Group. During the years he has held different roles, including assistant to Ingvar Kamprad and Anders Dahlvig, the C.E.O. at the time. He has also served as the business area manager of kitchen and dining, as well as managing director for range and supply of the Inter IKEA Group.He is the co-chair of WEF Alliance of C.E.O. Climate Leaders as well as the chair of The B Team and a member of the World Resource Institute’s board.
Brodin was named one of the 100 most influential people of 2024 by TIME. He has a master of science in industrial engineering from Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Brodin is married with three kids. His passion is music and the sea.
Ryan Gellert
C.E.O. of Patagonia
Ryan Gellert has been at the helm of the California-based outdoor apparel company since 2020. He oversaw the transfer of the company’s ownership to two entities in September 2022: The Patagonia Purpose Trust and the Holdfast Collective. This legal structure allows for every dollar that’s not reinvested back into the company to be distributed as an annual dividend to help protect nature.Prior to his appointment to this global role, Gellert spent six years as Patagonia’s general manager of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. During that time, he oversaw all sales, marketing, environmental and operational activities for the brand.Gellert has lived and worked in the United States, Asia and Europe. Before joining Patagonia, he spent 15 years at Black Diamond Equipment, where he held a number of roles, including brand president, vice president of supply chain management and managing director of Black Diamond Asia.An avid climber and backcountry snowboarder, Gellert has climbed and ridden all over the world. He has extensive experience working with direct action environmental groups, having served on the boards of The Access Fund, Protect Our Winters, the European Outdoor Group and the Soil Heroes Foundation. In addition, he was a founding individual member of 1% for the Planet.Gellert holds a J.D. from the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah; an M.B.A. from the Florida Institute of Technology; and a B.S.B.A. in finance from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Vicki Hollub
President and C.E.O. of Occidental
Over more than 40 years with Occidental, Vicki Hollub has held a variety of management and technical positions with responsibilities on three continents, including roles in the United States, Russia, Venezuela and Ecuador. Most recently, she served as Occidental’s president and C.O.O., overseeing the company’s oil and gas, chemical and midstream operations. She has been a member of Occidental’s board of directors since 2015.Hollub previously was senior executive vice president of Occidental, and the president of Occidental Oil and Gas, where she was responsible for operations in the U.S., the Middle East region and Latin America.
Prior to that, she held a variety of leadership positions, including executive vice president of Occidental and the president of Occidental Oil and Gas, Americas; vice president of Occidental and executive vice president of U.S. operations for Occidental Oil and Gas; executive vice president of California operations; and the president and general manager of the company’s Permian Basin operations. Hollub started her career at Cities Service, which was acquired by Occidental.Hollub serves on the boards of Lockheed Martin and the American Petroleum Institute. She is chair of the World Economic Forum’s Oil and Gas Community and a member of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative. A graduate of the University of Alabama, Hollub holds a Bachelor of Science in mineral engineering. She was inducted into the University of Alabama College of Engineering 2016 class of Distinguished Engineering Fellows.
Al Roker
Weather and feature anchor of “TODAY” and co-host of third hour of “TODAY”
Al Roker joined NBC News’ “TODAY” in January of 1996. Throughout the years, Roker has reported live for “TODAY” from some of history’s worst storms and natural disasters including Hurricane Wilma, Hurricane Isaac, Superstorm Sandy and the earthquake in Haiti.
From July 2009 to September 2015, he served as co-host of the morning show “Wake Up with Al” on the Weather Channel.Until January 2000, he also served as the weekday weather forecaster for News Channel 4’s early evening newscast “Live at 5” on WNBC-TV, NBC’s flagship owned and operated station in New York City.Roker came to WNBC-TV as a weekend weathercaster in December 1983 from WKYC-TV, the NBC television station in Cleveland. Roker began his broadcasting career while still in college by landing a job as a weekend weatherman at WTVH-TV in Syracuse, N.Y., in 1974. After graduation he moved on to weathercasting jobs in Washington, D.C., (1976–1978) and Cleveland (1978–1983).Roker has been named Best Weatherman twice by New York magazine. He is a recipient of the American Meteorological Society’s Seal of Approval and has been a pioneer in the use of computer graphics for weathercasting. Roker has won three Daytime Emmy Awards as part of “TODAY’s” recognition as the best morning newscast (2007, 2009, 2010).Roker also co-hosts Sirius XM’s “Off the Rails” with Dylan Dreyer and Sheinelle Jones. He made his Broadway stage debut in “Waitress” in October 2018 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in New York City. Since 1985, Roker has co-hosted the annual Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting, co-hosted the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Rose Bowl Parade. In 1994, Roker founded Al Roker Entertainment, Inc. (ARE), a multimedia company.He is a best-selling author with 13 books to his credit.
Roker’s “Lend a Hand Today” initiative has raised millions to help small charities work toward improving conditions in their communities.
Raised in Queens, N.Y., Roker received his B.A. in communications from the State University at Oswego in 1976, and he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the school in 1998. He resides in Manhattan with his wife, ABC News correspondent Deborah Roberts. Roker has two daughters and one son.
