Niall is one of the world's leading historians and an influential commentator on contemporary politics and economics. He has published sixteen books, including The Ascent of Money, Kissinger: 1923-1968: The Idealist, The Square and the Tower: Networks and Power, from the Freemasons to Facebook, and most recently DOOM: The Politics of Catastrophe. His many prizes and awards include the Benjamin Franklin Prize for Public Service (2010), the Hayek Prize for Lifetime Achievement (2012) and the Ludwig Erhard Prize for Economic Journalism (2013).

A retired four-star general, Stan is the former commander of US and International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) Afghanistan and the former commander of the nation’s premier military counter-terrorism force, Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). He is best known for developing and implementing a comprehensive counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan, and for creating a cohesive counter-terrorism organization that revolutionized the interagency operating culture.

Throughout his military career, Stan commanded a number of elite organizations, including the 75th Ranger Regiment. After 9/11 until his retirement in 2010, he spent more than 6 years deployed to combat in a variety of leadership positions. In June 2009, the President of the United States and the Secretary General of NATO appointed him to be the Commander of US Forces Afghanistan and NATO ISAF. His command included more than 150,000 troops from 45 allied countries. On August 1, 2010 he retired from the US Army.

Stan is a senior fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, where he teaches a course on Leadership. He also sits on the boards of Navistar International Corporation, Siemens Government Technology, and JetBlue Airways. He is a sought-after speaker, giving speeches on leadership to organizations around the country. In 2013, Stan published his memoir, My Share of the Task, which was a New York Times bestseller; and is an author of Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World, which was a New York Times bestseller in 2015. Stan also co-authored Leaders: Myth and Reality, a Wall Street Journal Bestseller based on the epochal Parallel Lives by Plutarch.

A passionate advocate for national service and veterans’ issues, Stan is the Chair of the Board of Service Year Alliance. In this capacity, he advocates for a future in which a year of full-time service—a service year—is a common expectation and opportunity for all young Americans.

Stan is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and the Naval War College. He also completed year-long fellowships at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and the Council on Foreign Relations.

Luca Paolini joined Pictet Asset Management in 2012 as Chief Strategist.

Before joining Pictet, Luca worked as an Equity Strategist at Credit Suisse Securities, responsible for asset, regional and sector allocation. From 2005 to 2007, he was Investment Strategist at Union Investment. Luca started his career in 2001 at Allianz Dresdner Asset Management as a assistant vice president, covering asset allocation and investment strategy.

Luca holds a Master degree in International Economics and Management from SDA Bocconi School of Management in Milan, and a Laurea Magistrale in Political Sciences from the University of Bologna.

Hans Peter Portner joined Pictet Asset Management in 1997 and is Head of the Thematic Equities team and also a Senior Investment Manager.

He began his investment career in 1992 with UBS Brinson in Basel as Portfolio Manager for international equities, where he managed single country funds and capital preservation funds. In 1997 he joined Pictet Asset Management in Geneva as Senior Investment Manager for international equities, role he pursued in London from 1999 to 2001.

Hans Peter is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder and holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Bern.