Global Innovation Index 2014: PRESS CONFERENCE

Speaker Biographies

The Hon Ian Macfarlane MP Minister for Industry Federal Member for Groom

Ian Macfarlane was first elected to federal Parliament in 1998.

Ian brings a wealth of experience to the Industry portfolio. He previously served as a Minister in the Howard Government holding the portfolio of Small Business (2001) before being promoted to the Cabinet role of Industry, Tourism and Resources (2001-2007). As Shadow Minister he was responsible for Energy and Resources.

He has also previously been the Coalition’s spokesperson for Trade and for Infrastructure and Water.

Before entering federal politics Ian farmed peanuts, sorghum and wheat and ran cattle in Queensland's Burnett region before becoming one of the country's most active agripoliticians.

He was President of the Queensland Graingrowers Association for seven years, President of the Grains Council of Australia for two years and simultaneously held executive positions on the Queensland and National Farmers Federations.

The practical farming tendencies still run deep. Ian takes a pragmatic and direct approach to policy, cutting through red tape, and getting things done for Australian business and industry on a political level.

Ian is married to Karen with two daughters. He lives in Toowoomba, Australia's largest provincial inland city.

Francis Gurry, WIPO Director General

Francis Gurry is an Australian lawyer who has served as Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) since October 1, 2008.

He holds law degrees from the University of Melbourne, a Ph.D from the University of Cambridge and is an honorary professor of, and holds honorary doctorates from, universities in a wide range of countries.

Mr. Gurry is currently chair of the UN High-Level Committee on Management, which reports to the UN Chief Executives Board (CEB) and is responsible for ensuring coordination in administrative and management areas across the UN System.

He is the author of a number of publications, one of which has become a standard legal text in the UK and is published by Oxford University Press as Gurry on Breach of Confidence.

Francis Gurry speaks English and French.

Bruno Lanvin, INSEAD

Executive Director for Global Indices

Bruno Lanvin is INSEAD’s Executive Director for Global Indices. From 2007 to 2012, he has been the Executive Director of INSEAD’s eLab, managing INSEAD’s teams in , and Abu Dhabi. From 2000 to 2007, Bruno Lanvin worked for the World Bank, where he was inter alia Senior Advisor for E-strategies, and Regional Coordinator (Europe and Central Asia) for ICT and e-government issues. He was also heading the Capacity Building Practice of the World Bank’s Global ICT Department, and Chairman of the Bank’s e- Thematic Group.

From June 2001 to December 2003, he was the Manager of the Information for Development Program (infoDev) at the World Bank. In 2000, Mr. Lanvin was appointed Executive Secretary of the G-DOT Force. Until then, he was Head of Electronic Commerce in the Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva, and occupied various senior positions including Chief of Cabinet of the Director General of the United Nations in New- York, Head of Strategic Planning and later Chief of the SME Trade Competitiveness Unit of UNCTAD/SITE. He was the main drafter, team leader and editor of ‘Building Confidence: electronic commerce and development', published in January 2000.

Since 2002, he has been co-authoring the Global Information Technology Report, (INSEAD-World Economic Forum); he is currently the co-editor of the Global Innovation Index Report (INSEAD-WIPO-Cornell University) and of the Global Talent Competitiveness Index (INSEAD-HCLI-Adecco). He holds a BA in Mathematics and Physics from the University of Valenciennes (France), an MBA from Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (HEC) in Paris, and a PhD in Economics from the University of Paris I (La Sorbonne) in France. A frequent speaker in high-level meetings, he advises a number of global companies and governments, and is a member of numerous boards, including those of ICANN, IDA-Infocomm (Singapore), and the Tallinn e-government Academy.