Caroline’s passion and drive are rooted in a very unique personal story of trying to fit in with a secret. Born with ocular albinism, she spent years concealing her visual impairment (she is legally blind). Now a globally recognised entrepreneur, she has turned bold ideas into movements that shift how business values people and drives market advantage through inclusion. She has repeatedly launched ventures that transform business practice and champion diversity and adversity as a strength.
President of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) and a board member at L’Oréal and Sky, Caroline launched her principal venture, The Valuable 500, at the World Economic Forum’s Davos Summit. Since then, she has secured commitments from 500 multinational companies, collectively generated $8 trillion in revenue and employed 20 million people. Her efforts have earned her an honorary doctorate and numerous awards including the Eisenhower Fellowship, the Ashoka Fellowship and the Young Global Leader award.
Caroline will share her own journey — from hiding her legal blindness to founding multiple enterprises that influence global business systems — which embodies resilience, creative risk-taking and entrepreneurial spirit as a pathway. She will offer powerful insights and inspiration for would-be founders navigating adversity (in whichever form it takes), proving that purpose-driven innovation can create both meaningful impact as well as commercial and personal success.
