As we re-emerge from COVID lockdowns around the world, there is an opportunity for businesses of all sizes to reimagine the global economy and center it around equality. Facebook is committed to championing progress for the 180M+ businesses it serves to achieve SDG 8 ‘Decent Work and Economic Growth’ by 2030. We celebrate partners and businesses who have meaningfully progressed economic productivity and business equality, and discuss what businesses can do to rebuild the global economy.
Arielle Gross Samuels is the Head of Global Business Strategy and Engagement at Facebook. She leads a team on Global Business Marketing that builds initiatives and strategic partnerships focused on social good and business equality, in service of 180M+ businesses around the world. At Facebook since 2013, she has held a number of roles at the company, including most recently serving as the Business Lead for Global Business Marketing and Creative, running the business of the global organization, and serving as strategic advisor to the VP of Global Business Marketing and Chief Creative Officer of Facebook.
Prior to Facebook, Samuels did Engineering and Construction Consulting at Deloitte. Accolades include being named a Forbes 30 Under 30 in Marketing and Advertising, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Goalkeeper, Board Member of the Geena Davis Institute of Gender in Media, Adweek Executive Mentor, Representative on the United Nations Women Global Innovation Coalition for Change, Lead of Facebook Women New York, Founding Member of Chief, and Advisor for #BuiltByGirls.
Samuels holds a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she founded the Arielle Gross Engineering Visionary Scholarship Fund to accelerate the diversity of engineering students.
Marc Morial, who has been described as one of the few national leaders to possess “street smarts”, and “boardroom savvy”, is the current President and CEO of the National Urban League, the nation’s largest historic civil rights and urban advocacy organization.
He served as the highly successful and popular Mayor of New Orleans as well as the President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. He previously was a Louisiana State Senator, and was a lawyer in New Orleans with an active, high profile practice.
He is a leading voice on the national stage in the battle for jobs, education, housing and voting rights equity.
A graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, and the University of Pennsylvania, he has been recognized as one of the 100 most influential Black Americans by Ebony Magazine, one of the top 50 Non Profit Leaders by the Non Profit Times, one of the 100 Most Influential Black Lawyers in America and he has also been inducted into the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame in Atlanta, GA.
Nidhi Chadda is a seasoned generalist growth investor across the public and private markets and board advisor to early stage companies. She is the Founder and CEO of Enzo Advisors, a boutique global advisory firm focused on early stage growth companies. Nidhi serves on several advisory boards and investment committees at angel associations and venture funds (Wharton Alumni Angels, Chestnut Street Ventures). She is also a sector lead at Harvard Business School Alumni Angels of Greater NY for cybersecurity, digital health and e-commerce and a mentor at various accelerators (ERA, XRC Labs, NY Fashion Tech Lab, Columbia Ventures, Mt Sinai Innovation Partners, Endless Frontier Labs).
She was previously a portfolio manager at RBC Global Asset Management focused on US small and mid-cap growth equities where she spearheaded the initiative to drive ESG integration across investment processes. She has 20+ years of experience as an investment banker, strategic consultant, and investor. Nidhi is also actively involved with a number of diversity initiatives, including co-hosting a Women in Tech series through Harvard Business School Women’s Association of Greater New York where she is currently a Board member and a Board member of Keen Chicago, a non-profit organization focused on providing resources to youth with disabilities.
She earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BS in Economics from Wharton, University of Pennsylvania.