People

Evangelene Paul holds a law degree from Osgoode Hall, York University, Canada, and a Master of Laws degree from the University of Copenhagen. A Canadian of Sri Lankan origin, she has lived and worked in Sri Lanka, India and Canada, and is currently living in Denmark. Evangelene has over 15 years’ experience in Securities Law with specific focus on compliance and corporate governance within Securities & Capital markets in North America, the Caribbean, and Poland. As a former director and officer of a group of Canada-wide financial corporations, Evangelene has extensive experience in the corporate governance and compliance aspects of start-ups, non-profit foundations, and the on-going regulatory management of financial corporations. Her specialties include managing prospectus offerings processes, mergers and acquisitions due diligence, and product development. Evangelene has also worked with a leading law firm in Toronto in the areas of Health Law and Aboriginal Rights. Her areas of academic focus in Denmark include CSR and its relationship with the theories and practices of corporate governance, and green procurement.

Michael Thyge Poulsen holds a master’s degree in political science and a bachelor’s degree in east asia areas study. He has more than 20 years of experience in supporting public sector reforms in Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia. In addition to many short-term missions Thyge has been based in Thailand, Egypt and Afghanistan. He is an experienced project manager with experience from a range of sectors encompassing public administrative reforms in general, private sector support, education, health, infrastructure and environment. During his career Thyge Poulsen has worked for The World Bank, UN, EU, Danida and Sida. He has in close cooperation with civil servants in ministries and local administrations strengthened strategic planning and good governance through enhanced capacity of the staff, civil society participation and increased transparency. Thyge has conducted numerous organizational analysis, capacity assessments and prepared plans and interventions for strengthening public organizations. In addition to this he has extensive experience designing Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) systems, and has in this regard also developed indicators addressing a number of the human rights. Furthermore, he has a solid knowledge of the UN Guiding Principles and their requirements to both states and the corporate sector.

Roxanne Batty holds masters degree in communication and cultural encounters from Roskilde University, Denmark. Originally from the UK, she has lived and worked in Denmark for several years, after gaining an international bachelor in Sociology from the University of Leeds with one year at KU. She spent six months teaching in South Korea, and also works for the scholarly network Globelics at Aalborg University in Sydhavn. Here at GLOBAL CSR Roxanne works predominantly with graphic and web design, writing and editing, blogging about CSR and the UNGPs and general communication challenges. Her areas of academic focus include cultural and racial representation in literature and film, new media as a force for global political mobilisation, and the psychology of climate change denial.

Professor David Kinley holds the Chair in Human Rights Law at The University of Sydney. He has previously held positions at, i.a., Cambridge University and The Australian National University, and most recently was the founding Director of the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law at Monash University (2000-2005). He is author and editor of eight books and more than 60 articles, book chapters, reports and papers on, i.a., human rights and business. He has also worked for 15 years as a consultant and adviser on international and domestic human rights law in Vietnam, Indonesia, South Africa, Thailand, Iraq, Nepal, Laos, China, and Myanmar/Burma, and for a number of organisations including the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the World Bank, the Ford Foundation, AusAID, and the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions, and a number of transnational corporations, and NGOs. He has also previously worked for three years with the Australian Law Reform Commission and two years with the Australian Human Rights Commission.

Kirsten Mols is a business consultant based in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Professor Errol P. Mendes is currently a Professor of Law at the University of Ottawa. He was Director of the Human Rights Research and Education Centre at the University of Ottawa from 1993-2001. As Director of the Centre, he was the Project leader for human rights, conflict resolution, governance and justice projects in China, Thailand, Indonesia, Brazil, El Salvador, Sri Lanka and India. He is a frequent speaker and media commentator on international business ethics, constitutional and human rights topics across the world and has lectured on these topics in the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America. He has been invited to present numerous briefs to the Parliament of Canada, been Senior Adviser to the government of Canada in the areas of diversity, human rights, national security, corporate social responsibility and international policy and visiting professional in the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Björn Edlund is an experienced public affairs practitioner and former foreign correspondent, with a special focus on the societal role of business and the practical implementation of CSR policies. Over the past 20 years, he has provided guidance, support and challenge to 11 CEOs in the three corporations where he has served as head of corporate communications, as well as to dozens of other executives and project leaders in his years as a consultant. Edlund teaches as a senior visiting fellow at the MBA and advanced management programmes at Henley Business School in the UK, and is a senior adviser to Burson Marsteller, a leading public relations firm, in Europe, Middle East and Africa. He is a member of the board of the Institute for Human Rights and Business and serves on the advisory board of the Asia Society’s council on US-China relations.

Aleksandar Nikolov is an economist with 10 years of working experience in fostering a business sector that is orientated towards the triple bottom line. On a micro level, he has provided tailor made support to companies in devising and developing CSR practices in challenging environments, including on strategy formulation, ethical governance systems, CSR performance management and communication. On a macro level, he complemented efforts in conducting CSR research with leading advocacy and policy making activities. Aleksandar was part of pioneer initiatives to develop and establish long-term public policies that support the uptake of CSR in Eastern Europe, and continues to facilitate dialogue among stakeholders with divergent and even conflicting interests. He has prepared and delivered a number of workshops and trainings on CSR for companies, government agencies, civil society organizations, as well as undergraduate and graduate students. He has experience in managing large projects, and has worked on initiatives of the World Bank, UNDP, the European Commission, and USAID.

Line Bechmann holds a Master degree in International Development Studies and Global Studies and a Bachelor’s degree in International Development Studies and Communication. She has more than five years of experience working with civil society and has a widespread knowledge within the international development field. Line has been based in Liberia, Nicaragua and Spain. In addition, she has been responsible for projects in Bolivia and conducted consultancies in Guaemala. During her career Line has worked for Oxfam UK, Oxfam IBIS and Red Cross among others. She has extensive experience with institutional fundraising, donor and partner relations, project development and communication. Furthermore, she has a solid knowledge the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and believes that the standards are of a great asset for all stakeholders including governments, business, civil society, affected individuals and communities and international organizations. Line speaks Danish, English and Spanish.

Nicol Foulkes Savinetti completed her PhD in Social Policy from the University of Tampere Finland in 2015. Her research focused on Danish and Finnish corporate expatriates in India and she carried out her fieldwork in Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai. Nicol completed the rest of her education in the UK and Denmark. The Founder and Director of an arts organisation that works to empower foreign artists in Denmark, Immart, and Project Manager at the anti-trafficking NGO HopeNow, Nicole engages strongly with human rights in all aspects of her working life. She is also the Founder and Owner of Global Europeans, which provides various language, research and relocation services to international people, businesses, organisations and institutions in Denmark and abroad. Nicol has been resident in Denmark for eighteen years and has also lived in Germany, Spain, Australia, and Finland for different periods.

Maya Nirula holds a Bachelors in Law from Durham University, UK, and a Masters in Law from Columbia University, USA. She is a licensed member of the Indian Bar and has qualified as a Solicitor in England under the training of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Maya has multi-jurisdictional experience working on cross-border legal issues relating to international human rights, sustainability, business and human rights, and environmental law. Her experience includes working in both domestic courts as well as in quasi-judicial settings, including National Contact Points. She has previously worked closely on influencing policy in the UK alongside the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, especially with a focus on the rights of children and women. Maya has focused her recent academic research on CSR, corporate accountability, and corporate complicity. Her expertise in this area has enabled her to provide legal advice and training to leading corporations in relation to the UNGPs and the integration of the due diligence framework across their value chains.