The Chicago Forum on Global Cities, hosted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and the Financial Times, is a three-day international conference that raises provocative questions about the influence of global cities and how they can solve pressing global challenges. Participating thought leaders and decision makers create new connections and develop innovative solutions to advance in their own cities.
Global cities are on the front lines of the world’s most pressing challenges: they are targets of terrorism, vulnerable to natural disasters, fraught with inequality, and plagued by urban violence. They are also at the center of the most innovative solutions.
Through in-depth panels moderated by Financial Times journalists, intimate discussions, innovative flash talks, intensive workshops, and informal networking – Forum participants will garner new ideas and understanding to improve the efficacy of urban networks, management, and design.
EVP of Human Resources and Labor Relations, United Airlines
CHICAGO
Founder and CEO, Architecture 2030
SANTA FE
Senior Advisor for Public-Private Partnerships, The World Bank
WASHINGTON, DC
Former Mayor, City of Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA
New to Chicago? Take a tour through the streets with an original video created for Forum attendees by local student, Tomás Linquist.
Watch»
Did you know that zero waste also means carbon reduction? Forum sponsor UL shares how in a new commentary.
Learn more»
The new economy requires cities and companies to come together to create a workforce that includes all and thrives. Forum sponsor Grant Thornton explains how.
Meet the Global Student Delegation from the 2018 Chicago Forum on Global Cities.
Meet the next generation of global city thinkers – our 2018 Global Student Delegation.
The Next Generation of global cities leaders and stakeholders have a stake in the game. Learn how young leaders can engage at the Forum.
Global leaders will explore solutions to complex policy issues confronting global cities at workshops during the Chicago Forum. View the 2017 Reports
Cities are where action, change, and innovation come together to solve some of humanities biggest challenges.
The Forum brings together leading experts from urban life. Meet the past speakers and watch videos of previous forums here.
View photos from the 2018 Chicago Forum on Global Cities.
Kate Gebo is executive vice president of human resources and labor relations for United Airlines. Kate is responsible for leading a global team of more than 500 professionals in the transformation of United’s culture. Kate previously served as senior vice president of customer service delivery and chief customer officer at United. Kate also previously served as United’s vice president for the office of the CEO, where she worked with United’s CEO Oscar Munoz and the executive team to coordinate strategic company initiatives. Kate joined United in 1998 and also held roles leading the corporate real estate organization and in procurement. Prior to joining United, Kate worked at Continental Airlines. Kate received her bachelor’s degree in finance from Chicago’s DePaul University. She earned a master’s degree from the Graduate School of Business at Loyola University of Chicago.
Edward Mazria is an internationally recognized architect, author, researcher, and educator. He is the founder and CEO of Architecture 2030, a think tank developing real-world solutions for 21st century problems, and host of the AIA+2030 Professional Education Series, China Accord, the 2030 Districts movement in North American cities, the Zero Tool, and Achieving Zero – a framework of incremental building sector actions to ensure a carbon neutral built environment by the year 2050. In 2017, Mazria delivered the Roadmap to Zero Emissions report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – a flexible approach to achieve zero CO2 emissions in the built environment by mid-century. He is a senior fellow of the Design Futures Council, fellow of the American Institute of Architects, honorary fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, and received an honorary DArch from the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Abha Joshi-Ghani is the senior adviser for Public-Private Partnerships at The World Bank, cochair of the Global Future Council on the Future of Cities and Urbanization for the World Economic Forum, and coeditor of The Urban Imperative: Towards Competitive Cities, with Professor Edward Glaeser (Oxford University Press, 2014). She is the former head of Global Urban Development Practice at the World Bank and has worked primarily on infrastructure finance and urban development in South and East Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Before joining the World Bank, she worked for the Reserve Bank of India. Joshi-Ghani holds a MA in philosophy from Oxford University, a MA from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and a BA from Lady Sri Rama College, Delhi University.
Michael A. Nutter was elected Mayor of Philadelphia in 2007 and served two terms. Esquire magazine named him to its “Americans of the Year” list in 2011, and he was named a “Public Official of the Year” by Governing magazine in 2014. Nutter has accepted numerous appointments including political commentator for CNN, distinguished fellow for the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, executive fellow at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Social Policy and Practice, senior fellow and adviser to the Dean at the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy, nonresident senior executive fellow at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Social Policy and Practice, and David N. Dinkins Professor of Professional Practice in Urban and Public Affairs at Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs. He also serves on President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Advisory Committee.
Wednesday, June 6, 2018 - Friday, June 8, 2018 6:00 PM - 2:00 PMCentral Time
Revel Fulton Market1215 W Fulton MarketChicago, Illinois 60607
2018 Chicago Forum on Global Cities