Chief Guest Profile
Research Brief
Dr. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim is one of the most consequential women leaders of the 21st century — a scientist who became a head of state, and a head of state who never stopped being a scientist. Born in Mauritius in 1959, she holds a BSc in Chemistry from the University of Surrey and a PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Exeter. She served as the 6th and first female President of Mauritius (2015–2018), making history for the African continent and the Global South.
Before her presidency, she was Managing Director of CIDP Research & Innovation and Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Mauritius, where she also served as Dean of the Faculty of Science and Pro-Vice Chancellor (2004–2010). Her pioneering research on the medicinal and aromatic plants of the Indian Ocean has produced 30+ books and hundreds of peer-reviewed articles. She co-authored the first-ever African Herbal Pharmacopoeia and founded the Pan African Association of African Medicinal Plants.
In 2024, she was appointed Chair of the Board of the Global Center on Adaptation — an institution that has mobilised over $20 billion for climate-resilient projects across 40+ countries. She also serves as ICESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Girls in STEM, co-chaired the UN High-Level Panel on Water, and received the International Woman of the Year Award at the UK House of Commons (2024). She is a member of the Club of Rome and the Council of Women World Leaders.
Opening Introduction Script
To be delivered by the host
| # | Beat | Script |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Welcome |
▸ Pause. Make eye contact with the room.
Good evening, everyone. Welcome. Look around this room for a moment. You'll find founders who have built from nothing, leaders who have governed through uncertainty, scientists who have turned soil into solutions, and thinkers who refuse to accept the world as it is. That is exactly the energy this evening deserves. |
| 2 | Context |
▸ Measured, deliberate pace.
We are gathered here in Pune — the intellectual and industrial heartbeat of Maharashtra — at what I believe is a genuine inflection point. India is accelerating. Maharashtra is leading. But the question we must ask ourselves is not how fast we grow — it is how responsibly we lead. The world is watching the Global South. And the Global South is watching India. Tonight, we create the kind of conversation that shapes what comes next — across policy, science, enterprise, and society. |
| 3 | Event Theme |
▸ Introduce the theme with intention.
We have titled this evening "From Soil to Statecraft: Building India's Next Decade of Conscious Growth." It is a theme that speaks to the convergence happening in this room — between science and governance, between local roots and global ambition, between the urgency of climate and the imperative of inclusion. This is not a conference. This is not a panel. This is a curated leadership exchange — invite-only, high-trust, and designed to produce not just ideas, but action. |
| 4 | Introduce Chief Guest |
▸ Slow down. Let each credential land.
At the centre of our evening is a woman who has lived this convergence — not as a concept, but as a life. She began her journey in the laboratories of Mauritius, studying the medicinal plants of the Indian Ocean — plants that had been overlooked by the world but held centuries of healing wisdom. She built research institutions, authored over thirty books, and co-created the first-ever African Herbal Pharmacopoeia. Then, in 2015, she made history — becoming the sixth and first female President of the Republic of Mauritius. A scientist who became a head of state. A researcher who became a reformer. A woman from a small island nation who became one of the most powerful voices for the Global South on the world stage. Forbes named her among the 100 Most Powerful Women in the World. Foreign Policy called her a Global Thinker. The L'Oréal-UNESCO Foundation honoured her for Women in Science. France awarded her the Légion d'Honneur. And just this year, she was appointed Chair of the Global Center on Adaptation — leading a $20 billion effort to build climate resilience across the developing world. She is a scientist, a statesperson, a strategist, and a storyteller. And tonight, she is our chief guest. Ladies and gentlemen — please join me in welcoming Dr. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim. |
Q&A Question Bank
10 Questions for the Fireside Conversation
| # | Theme | Question & Context Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Origin & Identity
|
Leadership in Transition
You went from studying plants in a laboratory to leading a nation from the State House. What was the moment — or the realisation — that made you believe science and statecraft were not two separate worlds, but one?
Opens the conversation personally. Invites her to connect her scientific identity to her political journey — directly relevant to the event's Science × Statecraft theme.
|
| 2 |
Responsible Growth
|
India's Next Growth Model
India is at a crossroads — accelerating economically while facing enormous pressure on biodiversity, water, and climate. From your vantage point as both a scientist and a former head of state, what does "responsible growth" actually look like in practice — and where is India getting it right, or missing the mark?
Directly mirrors the event's core theme. Invites her to speak to India specifically — which will resonate deeply with the Maharashtra CXO audience.
|
| 3 |
Science as Strategy
|
Science as a Strategic Lever
You've argued that biodiversity is not just an environmental issue — it is an economic and strategic one. For the business leaders in this room, how should they be thinking about natural capital, medicinal plants, and biodiversity as assets on their balance sheet — not just as CSR?
Bridges her scientific expertise to the business audience. Practical and provocative — likely to generate strong engagement from founders and CXOs.
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| 4 |
Women in Power
|
Women in Leadership
You were the first female president of Mauritius — and you arrived there not through politics, but through science. What does that path teach us about how we define leadership, and what needs to fundamentally change for women to move from representation to real power in boardrooms and governments?
Connects to the event's Women in Leadership theme and to co-guest Sunetra Pawar's governance context. Expect a candid, powerful answer.
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| 5 |
Climate & Adaptation
|
Global South & Climate
As the new Chair of the Global Center on Adaptation — which has mobilised over $20 billion for climate resilience — what is the single most urgent adaptation investment that India and Maharashtra should be making right now, and who in this room should be leading it?
Timely and specific to her newest role. Directly challenges the audience to act — ideal for triggering the collaboration the event is designed to spark.
|
| 6 |
Africa & India
|
South-South Collaboration
Africa and India share deep historical, cultural, and now economic ties. You've spent your career refusing to let Africa be left behind by the global knowledge economy. What is the most underexplored opportunity for India-Africa collaboration — in science, enterprise, or governance — that this room could actually act on?
Opens a geopolitical and commercial dimension. Relevant to the Global South framing and likely to surface concrete partnership ideas.
|
| 7 |
STEM & Girls
|
Education & Future Leadership
As ICESCO's Goodwill Ambassador for Girls in STEM, you've said that when girls are educated, families are healthier and nations are stronger. For a state like Maharashtra — with world-class engineering colleges but persistent gender gaps in leadership — what is the one intervention that would move the needle fastest?
Grounds the conversation in Maharashtra's specific context. Practical and policy-relevant — good for the governance stakeholders in the room.
|
| 8 |
Resilience
|
Leadership in Transition & Resilience
Your presidency ended under difficult circumstances — and yet you returned, rebuilt, and are now leading one of the world's most important climate institutions. What did that period teach you about resilience, and what do you say to leaders in this room who are navigating their own moments of transition or adversity?
Humanises the conversation. Requires sensitivity in delivery — but if asked with care, will produce one of the most memorable moments of the evening.
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| 9 |
Legacy & Stewardship
|
From Growth to Impact
The event theme speaks of moving from authority to stewardship, from scale to impact. You've lived that shift — from academic to entrepreneur to president to global institution builder. How do you define legacy now, and what is the question you most want the next generation of leaders to be asking?
Philosophical and forward-looking. A strong penultimate question that elevates the conversation before the close.
|
| 10 |
Call to Action
|
Closing Challenge to the Room
You are in a room of some of Maharashtra's and India's most influential leaders — in business, policy, and enterprise. If you could leave them with one commitment to make before they walk out tonight, what would it be?
Perfect closing question. Puts the audience in the frame, invites a direct challenge from her, and ends the Q&A on an action-oriented, memorable note.
|
Closing Thank You Note
To be delivered by the host at the end of the evening
| # | Beat | Script |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thank Chief Guest |
▸ Warm, unhurried. Let the room settle after the Q&A.
Dr. Ameenah — thank you. Not just for being here tonight, but for the way you showed up. You gave this room your honesty, your experience, and your conviction. That is a rare gift, and we are deeply grateful. You reminded us that science is not separate from leadership — it is the foundation of it. That the Global South is not waiting to be saved — it is ready to lead. And that the most powerful thing any of us can do is refuse to accept the world as it is, and insist on building the world as it should be. |
| 2 | Thank the Guests |
▸ Acknowledge the room with genuine warmth.
To every person in this room — thank you for choosing to be here. You did not have to come. You chose to. And that choice says something about who you are and what you believe is possible. You are the founders who build when others wait. The leaders who govern when others retreat. The thinkers who ask the harder question. Maharashtra's strength has always been its people — and tonight, that was on full display. The conversations that began here tonight — across dinner tables, in the margins of this room, in the messages you'll send tomorrow morning — those are the seeds of what comes next. Do not let them go cold. |
| 3 | Close |
▸ Slow, deliberate. End on the theme.
We came here tonight to talk about conscious growth. About leading responsibly. About building something that lasts beyond the next quarter, the next election, the next funding round. I hope you leave tonight not just inspired — but accountable. Accountable to the ideas you heard. Accountable to the people in this room. And accountable to the India — and the world — that the next decade demands. Thank you. Drive safe. And let's build something worth building. |