Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Berlingske Confused About Mary: Downplayed Royal Brown-Nosing Trumps Usual 'Yay, Mary!' Chorus


Soulaima Gourani


Never mind that little Christmas Seals Home Fail. Mary's a Young Global Leader, y'all! But, what's this? Even conservative, pro-monarchy Berlingske in its front page article on the Danish contingency to the World Economic Forum completely downplays Crown Princess Mary's admission into this partly symbolic, but mostly elite club of people who are either titled correctly, or those who are actually working full time for the betterment of society. The latter would be the case for a young Danish woman named Soulaima Gourani. Note the deserved ravings about Ms. Gourani in the article and try to remember when anyone said anything similar about Ms. Donaldson, before or after the ruby ring.

Article: Berlingske

Young Danes at the World Economic Forum

Today, 36-year-old Soulaima Gourani from Nørrebro in Copenhagen joined one of the world's most influential forums.

She is currently nominated to be a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum, where the world's political and business leaders meet to discuss global economic development.

Soulaima Gourani is a lecturer, independent contractor and career counselor, and has previously worked for Hewlett-Packard and AP Møller-Mærsk and sits today on a number of boards. She is looking forward to taking part in the debate:

"I can not wait to be part of this community. For me it is not just a title for my resume, I will actually make a difference. I am confident that we can create some amazing results together," says Soulaima Gourani .

It is the former CEO of Copenhagen Airports A/S, Niels Boserup, who nominated Soulaima Gourani for Young Global Leader, precisely because he thinks she will get much out of being part of a discussion platform of the caliber:

"Soulaima Gourani has a unique ability to interact and have a dialogue with people. Many people are terribly good at talking, but she's a great listener," says Niels Boserup, who therefore is not in any doubt that Soulaima Gourani could well use the World Economic Forum as a platform and forum for debate and bring useful knowledge back to Denmark:

"I hope she can pass on the new trends and views, as we mature business people are not able to perceive," he says.

Soulaima and Mary as Young Global Leaders

Soulaima Gourani is one of 192 Young Global Leaders, which this year has been selected to take part in the debate on global economic development at the World Economic Forum. The Young Global Leaders Forum was created in 2005 as part of the World Economic Forum, to young leaders under 40 years can be heard in the debate.

The youngsters were chosen because they all have made a difference around the world. The young leaders to follow in the next five years and be a part of various discussions and task force groups.

Soulaima Gourani along with Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, were appointed as representatives to the Forum. Soulaima Gourani therefore becomes the first Danish woman active in the discussion forum, which houses Kofi Annan, Nelson Mandela, Christine Lagarde and the heaviest names in the financial industry:

"I am looking forward to dealing with a lot of critical issues. For example, I would like to ask representatives of Deutsche Bank and World Bank, what they intend to do to resolve the financial crisis," says Soulaima Gourani.

Soulaima Gourani has an MBA from Copenhagen Business School, where she now teaches Supply Chain Management at HD studio. She has lived many years abroad, half Danish, half-Moroccan and has studied at Stanford, Berkeley and Beijing University.


Photo: Liselotte Sabroe

4 comments:

  1. It's a forum for those under 40. How did Mares get in?

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  2. Just under the wire, with surely lots of DRF-sponsored, high level lobbying on her behalf. According to the rules, you have to be no older than 40 at the time of nomination.
    http://www.weforum.org/community/forum-young-global-leaders
    Mary must be in the Class of 2012, because this link specifically states that you had to have been born on or after 1 January 1973 to be in the class of 2013.

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  3. Seems like Mary is really trying hard to secure her role as CP. I hope this doesn't mean we're stuck with her. Run Fred!

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  4. Stuck like glue, is my analysis. Undskyld! But lawyers can be crafty. Let's see what sort of loopholes Daisy's attorney Henrik Wedell-Wedellsborg comes up with. He seemed to do quite a job on Mary's nerves with the Post-Nuptial Agreement!

    ReplyDelete