Gaia Van Der Esch

GAIA VAN DER ESCH is an Italian-Dutch executive in the non-profit and public sectors, a policy expert and an author.

She is currently leading a large international foundation working across the world to end poverty and exclusion and halt climate change. Gaia previously led the work of G20 EMPOWER, defining and advancing the gender equality agenda across G20 countries.

Gaia is the author of "Leading Our Way" (Wiley, 2023) and "Volti d'Italia" (Il Saggiatore, 2021). She is a speaker at international level on topics related to politics and international relations, equity, sustainability, and leadership. Gaia is also a contributor to numerous newspapers, in Italy and internationally, on the topics that drive her.

She holds master’s degrees from Sciences Po Paris and the Harvard Kennedy School. Among others, she was nominated by Forbes in its Europe 30under30 list.