Speakers

Francesco Arezzo is an orthodontist in private practice and owns an agricultural enterprise that produces extra virgin olive oil in Sicily. He is a graduate of the University of Padua and a member of the Italian, European, and American orthodontics associations, as well as the Italian and European lingual orthodontics associations. He has been vice president of the administrative council of the consortium controlling and regulating quality production of olive oil in that region. He owns two boutique hotel settlements there. He enjoys modern art and opera.

Jackson Hsieh has been the president of Sung Chiao Investment Corp. since 1979. He is a senior member of the Importers and Exporters Association of Taipei. He has also served as president of the Parent Teacher Association of the Taipei Municipal Cheng-Kung Senior High School, Life Line Association of Taipei, Taipei UNESCO Movement Association, Chairman of Taipei City Council Scouts of China, and executive board member of The Red Cross Society of The Republic of China. Hsieh has been a Rotary member since 1988.

Andreas von Möller was born in Hamburg, Germany, and went to schools in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Hamburg. He studied Business Administration at LMU Munich and received his diploma in 1975. He has held various marketing and management positions in foreign trade companies such as Continental Grain, Geneva and Hamburg, and Müller & Sohn AG, Hamburg. Since 1984, he has been managing director and a major shareholder in Jacob Jürgensen Forest products, Hamburg, an international marketing and distribution company. Von Möller has been a Rotary member since 2002.

Natalie Emery’s commitment to service began at an early age as she volunteered in orphanages in Calcutta, India. Her focus has been twofold: to protect basic human rights in the most urgent situations and to create sustainable opportunities that ensure no one is left behind — especially women and girls. She deepened her understanding of conflict resolution and global cooperation as a Rotary Peace Fellow at Duke University, paving the way for her work with the UN World Food Programme. At the World Food Programme headquarters in Rome, she specializes in programme management, resource mobilization, and partnership building — providing global guidance and strategic support to countries experiencing humanitarian emergencies.

John Hewko is the general secretary and chief executive officer of Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation. From 2004 to 2009, Hewko was vice president for operations and compact development for the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a U.S. government agency established in 2004 to deliver foreign assistance to the world’s poorest countries. At MCC, he was the principal negotiator for foreign assistance agreements to 26 countries in Africa, Asia, South America, the Middle East, and the former Soviet Union. During his tenure, he completed the negotiation of assistance agreements totaling US$6.3 billion to 18 countries for infrastructure, agriculture, water and sanitation, health, and education projects.

Holger Knaack served as president of Rotary International in 2020-21. He was the owner of Knaack KG, a real estate company, and Knaack Bakery Enterprises, a family business founded in 1868. He is a founding member of the Civic Foundation of the City of Ratzeburg and the founder and chair of the Karl Adam Foundation. Knaack has been a Rotary member since 1992.

Olayinka Hakeem Babalola received a degree in engineering in 1988. He worked for 25 years in the oil and gas industry, holding senior positions at Shell PLC. He is the founder of two companies: Riviera Technical Services Ltd., an oil and gas infrastructure delivery company, and Lead and Change Consulting, an executive coaching and organizational performance advisory group. Babalola has been a Rotary member since 1994.

Brad Howard is president of Howard Tours and managing director of Howard Properties. He had dedicated much of his time and talents to the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, as chair of the Alumni Association and the Fund Development Council, and as a Trustee of the Berkeley Foundation.

Larry Lunsford, a certified public accountant, is executive vice president and chief financial officer of Bernstein-Rein Advertising, Inc. in Kansas City, Missouri. A recipient of bachelor’s and master's degrees in accounting from Truman State University, he has served his alma mater on its National Alumni Association Board and its Foundation Board. Lunsford joined Rotary in 1991.