Sean de Cleene
Senior Advisor
Sean de Cleene is a global executive with a successful track record as a systems leader in brokering transformative change and mobilising capital to drive investment and action into addressing complex problems, inclusive business solutions and innovation – especially in frontier markets.
He was the driving force behind a regional business strategy turnaround for a major global entity and has revitalised underperforming organisations in the profit and not for profit sectors. He has significant experience in emerging market corporate governance and risk framing.
In 2020 he was asked by the UN Deputy Secretary General to Chair the Innovation Lever of Change of the 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit. He has held a range of board and advisory positions across the private and not for profit sectors. He is an Adjunct Professor at the Singapore Institute of Technology on Sustainability and Future Foods, a Director of Grow Asia, a senior advisor for Consumers International and recently for UNEP. A Vice Chair of Nigeria BusinessDay Media Foundation, a UPL OpenAg Foundation board member. His core strengths lie in driving forward impact investing initiatives, fostering innovation growth and resiliency in frontier markets, and strengthening leadership capacity to manage risk in complex situations.
As a former member of the Executive Committee of the World Economic Forum, he had executive oversight and responsibility for Food Systems, and at different times, of the Sustainable Financing (SDIP) team, the Tech for SDGs portfolio, the Nature portfolio, the Climate Governance Initiative, the Hoffman Fellows, and Civil Society Engagement.
As the inaugural business chair of Grow Africa which at the time catalysed in over $3.5 Bn of private sector investment into African agriculture. He played an instrumental role in catalysing the UN Food Systems Summit and was made a UN Food System Summit Champion. He played a key role in catalysing leading initiatives such as the New Vision for Agriculture, Food Action Alliance, Food Innovation Hubs Global Initiative and SAGCOT. He was an official member of the G20 (France) B20 working group. As the Co-Chair ad interim, together with the OECD, of the Sustainable Development Investment Partnership (SDIP) he oversaw several blended financing sprints and Country Financing Roadmaps.
Previously he held positions as – Senior Vice President Global Initiatives, Strategy and Business Development at Yara International, Vice President of Business Development, Inclusive Finance and Strategy at AGRA and spent over a decade as a social entrepreneur. Sean has a strong background in strategic communications including as a designated spokesperson for the World Economic Forum on key issues.