About

Arezo Kohistany
Managing Director, Afghan Future Fund

Arezo is currently on an external assignment from her role as an Investment Officer at the World Bank Group to support the humanitarian response efforts related to the crisis in Afghanistan. Arezo serves as the Director of Yalda Hakim Foundation (YHF) and Afghan Future Fund (AFF). Arezo leads initiatives at AFF including the development of education of programs for Afghan refugees in Albania as well as the group of AUAF students in Sulaimani, Iraq.

Eric Braverman
CEO, Schmidt Futures

Eric Braverman is the chief executive of Schmidt Futures. Prior to creating Schmidt Futures, Eric oversaw all philanthropic and non-investment efforts for the Schmidts and directed the family office.

Named by Fortune magazine in 2010 as one of the “40 Most Influential Leaders in Business” worldwide under 40 years old, Eric previously served as CEO of Rex Group from 2015-2017, CEO of the Clinton Foundation from 2013-2015, and a partner and co-founder of McKinsey & Company’s government practice – as part of a career at the firm from 1997 to 2013.

At the Clinton Foundation, Eric led an effort to secure an endowment, develop infrastructure to support best-in-class operating practices, improve strategic planning and financial management, strengthen Board governance and internal controls, and use data effectively. During his tenure, Charity Navigator awarded the Foundation a perfect score (and four stars) for transparency and accountability.

At McKinsey, Eric was the global leader of McKinsey’s work on government innovation and an expert on the transformation of complex institutions. He counseled heads of state and former presidents, cabinet secretaries, civil service officials, and business leaders in media, entertainment, and technology. Eric also served as an advisor on performance management for President Obama’s transition team in 2008.

Eric is a senior fellow at Yale, teaching about ethics in public leadership and innovation at the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, Yale School of Management, and Yale Law School. He holds a B.A. summa cum laude from Yale and a J.D. from the Yale Law School. He is a member of YPO and the New York State Bar, and serves as co-chair of the Families and Workers Fund as well as a member of the boards of Ready, Arena Stage, and other organizations.

Yalda Hakim
Anchor and Correspondent, BBC

Yalda Hakim is an award-winning foreign correspondent and currently anchors the flagship program ‘Impact with Yalda Hakim’ on BBC World News. In addition to her presenting duties, Yalda continues to deliver hard-hitting journalism not only for the Our World strand, but also across BBC News in both television and radio.

Her interview with President Trump’s National Security Advisor HR McMaster made global headlines when he accepted that Russia had interfered in the 2016 US elections. Yalda has reported extensively on the rise and fall of the so called Islamic State in Iraq. She has travelled to the world’s youngest nation South Sudan which has been embroiled in a brutal civil war. She reported that more than 4 million people were on the brink of famine in the devastated country. She has also highlighted the plight of people in the secretive state of Eritrea, covered US elections in 2008, 2012 and 2020, reported from Turkey following the failed coup attempt, covered the aftermath of the earthquake in Nepal, kidnappings by drug cartel’s in Mexico and jihadism in Sweden. She has investigated and reported on people-trafficking and torture of Ethiopian migrants in Yemen and following the Bangladesh garment factory collapse uncovered workers still being put at risk in unsafe premises.

Yalda also conducts high profile interviews with global leaders and public figures including Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo, Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Hollywood actor and director Angelina Jolie, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan De Mistura and Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to name a few.

In 2018, Yalda launched the “Yalda Hakim Foundation for Young Women” in partnership with the American University of Afghanistan. The Foundation aims to support the professional advancement of exceptionally talented in Afghanistan.

Most recently Yalda covered the fall of Kabul, traveling to Afghanistan to report on the impact that the Taliban regime is having on the the Afghan people, in particular the women and girls of the country. She has also been reporting on the ground from Ukraine on the ongoing Russian invasion.

Andrew Moore
Chief of Staff, Schmidt Futures

Andrew Moore is Chief of Staff to Eric Schmidt. He was previously Special Counselor at Schmidt Futures where he worked with Fareed Zakaria on international programming and led the team orchestrating the International Strategy Forum.

Prior to Schmidt Futures, Andrew spent a decade as a political officer in the U.S. Foreign Service, representing the United States abroad on postings in Islamabad, Melbourne, and Jerusalem. Among other roles, Andrew served as a Special Assistant in the office of Secretary of State John Kerry, facilitating his global engagements, including negotiations on climate change and Iran’s nuclear program.

Outside of government, Andrew worked as a fellow at Google X, an attorney at Debevoise & Plimpton, and a consultant at McKinsey & Company. He serves on the board of the Latin American Leadership Foundation and FP21, a non-profit dedicated to advancing evidence-based foreign policy.

Andrew earned an A.B. from Harvard College, a J.D. from Stanford Law School, and an M.B.A. from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.

Vance Serchuk
Executive Director and Managing Director, 
KKR Global Institute and Private Equity

Vance Serchuk is the Executive Director of the KKR Global Institute, responsible for geopolitical analysis, and a member of the KKR Industrials industry team, focused on defense, aerospace, and industrial technology. Prior to joining KKR, Vance served as the senior national security advisor to Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-Connecticut). A former monthly columnist for the Washington Post, Vance's writings have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Foreign Affairs, The Atlantic, and Politico. He is a summa cum laude graduate of Princeton University, holds a JD from Yale Law School, and was a Fulbright scholar in the Russian Federation. A native of New York State, Vance is an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security in Washington, DC. He is a trustee of the American University of Iraq Suleimani in Iraqi Kurdistan and on the board of the Orianne Society. Vance is a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve.

Wilson Shirley
Manager, Schmidt Futures

Wilson Shirley is a manager at Schmidt Futures, where he supports the organization’s geopolitical initiatives. Prior to joining Schmidt Futures, Wilson was a speechwriter for Secretary Michael R. Pompeo at the U.S. Department of State, where he was based in the Office of Policy Planning. Previously, he was the speechwriter for U.S. Senator Roger Wicker and held multiple positions at the American Enterprise Institute.

Wilson is also a media fellow at Hudson Institute’s China Center, and he is a member of the American Enterprise Institute’s Enterprise Club. He is a graduate of Northwestern University from Lexington, Kentucky.