Amanda Ellis

Amanda Ellis leads global partnerships for the exciting new ASU Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory, serves as Executive Director Asia-Pacific for the Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation and Professor of Practice at Thunderbird Global School of Management. Former NZ Ambassador to the UN (Gva) and first woman to lead the NZ development agency, Amanda is co-chair of the WE (Women Entrepreneurs) Empower UN SDG Challenge launched by the UN Secretary General in 2018.

Former roles include Prime Minister’s Special Envoy, Deputy Secretary International Development in the NZ Foreign Ministry, Lead Specialist Poverty Reduction and Economic Management for the World Bank Group, Head of the Global Gender Group at the International Finance Corporation, and National Manager Women in Business at Westpac Banking Corporation.

Author of two best-selling Random House business books, five research titles in the World Bank Directions in Development series and the 2020 Global Gender Equality and Governance Index, Ms. Ellis is a founder of the Financial Alliance for Women and the recipient of the TIAW Lifetime Achievement Award for services to women’s economic empowerment. She is a Fellow of the World Academy of Arts and Sciences and serves on the advisory boards of the Global Governance Forum, Blue Planet Alliance, Bishop Museum and the Institute for Climate and Peace.