Power of Action: Nobody Left Behind

Peter T. Grauer joined Bloomberg, the global financial technology company that was founded in 1981, full time as chairman, president and CEO in March 2002.  He was a member of the Bloomberg Board of Directors since October 1996 and was named chairman of the board in March 2001, succeeding Michael R. Bloomberg.

Prior to joining Bloomberg, Grauer was a managing director of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette from 1992 to 2000 when DLJ was acquired by Credit Suisse First Boston. He is a founder of DLJ Merchant Banking Partners and DLJ Investment Partners and also served as a managing director and senior partner of CSFB Private Equity. Grauer graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Harvard University Graduate School of Business, Program for Management Development.

He serves on the World Economic Forum’s Media, Entertainment and Information, Financial Services and Gender Parity Board of Governors. He is founding Chairman of the Community of Chairmen at the World Economic Forum. Grauer is also a member of the British American Business International Advisory Board.

Grauer is the President of the Board of Trustees of the Inner City Scholarship Fund in New York City and a member of the Partnership for Inner City Education Board of Directors. He serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Wildlife Conservation Society and the The WNET Group.

He is founding Chairman of the U.S. 30% Club. Grauer is a member of the Board of the Prostate Cancer Foundation and is Chairman of the College Advising Corps. He is a trustee of The Economic Club of New York and Rockefeller University.

Grauer served as lead director of DaVita, Inc. (NYSE: DVA), a healthcare services company based in Colorado.  Grauer was the Senior Independent Director and Chairman of the Nominations and Audit Committees of Glencore. He is former Independent Director and member of the Audit Committee of Blackstone (NYSE:BX). He is a former member of the Business Council, McKinsey Advisory Council, International Business Council of the World Economic Forum, the Asia Business Council and Out Leadership’s Global Advisory Board. Grauer is Emeritus board member of Room to Read and the Board of the USA Cycling Development Foundation. He is a former member of the Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and several UNC entities.  He is the Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Directors of The Big Apple Circus, former member of Jazz at Lincoln Center and a former President of the Pomfret School Board of Trustees.

He is a recipient of the Peterson Business Award, the William Richardson Davie Award, the Dean’s Award for Distinguished Service to the College of Arts and Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Papal Order of Merit. Grauer was also inducted into the North Carolina Media & Journalism Hall of Fame.

Liz brings over a decade of experience in human rights, international development, and philanthropy across nonprofit and private sectors.

Before joining Open for Business, they served as Head of Middle East Programmes and LGBTQI+ Lead at Choose Love, overseeing £1.4 million in grants to 48 partners and developing the organisation’s first global LGBTQIA+ strategy. Liz has also held roles at Goldman Sachs, managing philanthropic initiatives on racial equity and mental health, and at Stonewall UK, leading its international LBT+ programme. Their work has taken them across the US, South Africa, Thailand, and the Netherlands, before settling in the UK nearly ten years ago.

Liz holds an MSc in International Development Studies from the University of Amsterdam, where they focused on the impacts of globalization on LGBTQ+ communities in Myanmar.

Leila Zadeh is Executive Director of Rainbow Migration, a charity which supports LGBTQI+ people through the immigration and asylum system. A speaker of five languages, she’s worked for international charities including Frontline AIDS, ActionAid and Oxfam.

In the eight years she’s fronted Rainbow Migration she has significantly expanded both the charity’s service delivery and its influencing capacities.

Multi-award winning queer, person of colour, first generation Jaffna Tamil immigrant, living with disability, and self-identified Activist Lawyer Dr S Chelvan, Head of Immigration and Public Law at 33 Bedford Row Chambers, and Adjunct Professor at Southampton Law School,  is a globally recognised legal expert on refugee and human rights claims based on sexual or gender identity, and expression, ranked in Tier 1 in Immigration at the London Bar by Legal 500 UK since 2017, profiled as “a leading authority in the area of immigration and asylum claims”.

Having practised in the field of Queer Refugee law since 2001, he has spearheaded strategic litigation in cases in the UK, up to and including the Supreme Court, and the European Court of Human Rights. Chelvan is specifically renowned to adopt a symbiotic approach to spearhead litigation, academic research, and policy development in refugee and migration law.  The past six months have included the judgment of the Strasbourg Court in MI v Switzerland, an Honorary Doctorate by the Open University, and profiled as the Times Lawyer of the Week.

Recipient of Legal Aid Barrister of the Year (2014), Highest ranking lawyer in the Independent of Sunday Rainbow List (2015), Attitude magazine Pride Award winner (2018), Attitude magazine LGBTQ+ Trailblazer (2022) and the Lifetime Achievement award (Inaugural Vice-Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumni awards Southampton University (2022), Chelvan adheres to, “being the mouthpiece for those who know the words, but have no voice” knowing as an activist lawyer, you will be driven by seeking justice for others, not yourself.

Emily Hamilton transitioned at work in 2019 at the age of 43, following 37 years of hiding her true identity. She is Vice President of Strategic Change at a FTSE100 company and Deputy Chief Executive of Trans in the City, speaking out on trans and LGBT inclusion at work, as part of an intersectional approach, and through this inclusion, promotes a healthier bottom line and improved resilience as the workforce goes through generational change.

Emily is an award winning globally recognised mental health speaker, with a focus on the LGBT community and is the founder and chair of the world’s first LGBT supporter’s association in world professional rugby, QuinsPride.

She was named a top 10 inspirational role model at the 2022 British LGBT awards, named 4 years consecutively in the top 10 in the Yahoo Finance OUTstanding Involve global executive LGBT role models list, named on the Diva Power List 2023 and was shortlisted at the British Diversity Awards 2023.  She was the winner of the Corporate LGBTQIA Champion at the 2023 Rainbow Honours and was a finalist at the 2024 Rainbow Honours in the category of LGBTQIA Role Model.

Tate Smith is an award-winning activist, speaker and consultant dedicated to trans rights, gender equality, social mobility and redefining masculinity. Recognised as one of Attitude Magazine’s ’10 LGBTQ+ Trailblazers’ and a LinkedIn Top Voice, Tate also features on the 2023 Diversity Power List as one of the ’50 Champions of Inclusion.’ Celebrated by Glamour for tackling male violence against women and girls, his work has been featured across platforms like Forbes, The Atlantic, Metro, Huffington Post and ITV News.

In 2023, Tate founded Tate Smith Consulting, collaborating with clients such as Deloitte, McCann, JP Morgan and the Science Museum to create more inclusive workplaces. Through his dynamic Fireside Chats, Tate candidly shares his journey as a “working-class Essex boy who just happens to be trans,” while addressing key topics like toxic masculinity, men’s mental health, male privilege and menopause.

Known for his intersectional approach and relatable style, Tate is a sought-after voice both online and in boardrooms. Whether inspiring business leaders or connecting with his generation, he challenges stereotypes and sparks meaningful change across communities and organisations.