London‑listed PRTech firm Pathos Communications has developed its proprietary AI platform, PathosMind. Designed exclusively for use by Pathos employees and partners, it surfaces stories that genuinely resonate with readers. Continuously monitoring more than 50,000 news publishers worldwide each day and analysing conversations across a global network of hundreds of thousands of Pathos contacts, this agentic platform pinpoints individuals and ideas with true newsworthiness. Here are ten leaders whose thinking is helping to shape the agenda right now.
Alice Spiers
Alice Spiers is the founder of Inquisitas, an academic enrichment company focused on expanding how young people experience learning beyond exam-driven systems. With a particular emphasis on the humanities and social sciences, Inquisitas enables students to explore their intellectual interests through research projects, lecture series, and interdisciplinary conferences. Led by tutors from Oxford and Cambridge, its programs prioritize curiosity, analytical skill-building, and genuine academic inquiry over grades alone.
Holding a PhD in medieval history alongside published research experience in data science, Alice has built a career at the intersection of the humanities, social sciences, and emerging technologies. Her academic background includes postgraduate study and a lectureship at the University of Oxford, where she contributed to teaching, course design, and undergraduate admissions. Through this work, she identified a recurring gap: many high-achieving students arrive at university well prepared for exams, yet underdeveloped in independent learning, academic writing, and critical engagement. In response, she developed structured learning approaches centered on clarity, confidence, and sustained intellectual curiosity.
Alice also contributed to widening-access initiatives through her involvement in the design and establishment of Oxford's Astrophoria Foundation Year, supporting students from significantly disadvantaged backgrounds as they navigated elite academic environments. These experiences directly informed the creation of Inquisitas, which integrates AI literacy alongside rigorous humanities and social science education, equipping students with intellectual confidence, ethical awareness, and adaptability for a rapidly changing world.
Camille St. Onge
Camille St. Onge is the founder and CEO of Art, Body & Soul, a creative wellness company designed to help high-performing professionals move beyond burnout and build lives that feel balanced and intentional. Her work blends more than two decades of senior experience in communications, strategy, and public leadership with art, movement, and evidence-informed mindfulness practices.
Before launching her company, Camille served as a trusted communications strategist for government agencies, elected officials, and executive leaders. She oversaw complex initiatives, crisis responses, and large-scale public campaigns, earning national recognition for her contributions to philanthropy, digital strategy, and brand storytelling. Her ability to guide high-stakes messaging and lead multidisciplinary teams became a defining part of her career.
A period of personal burnout, coupled with a cancer journey alongside her partner, reshaped her professional path. Camille immersed herself in art therapy, chakra-informed creative practices, meditation, and holistic wellness disciplines, transforming her own healing into a scalable platform for others. Her approach is also informed by years of competitive athletics, including ranking 122nd globally in the World CrossFit Competition and coaching CrossFit for many years, experience that continues to shape her understanding of resilience, performance, and recovery.
Through Art, Body & Soul, she now offers guided journals, an on-demand app, and immersive virtual and in-person experiences that support nervous system regulation and personal renewal. She also hosts the Art, Body & Soul podcast and develops tools such as the Chasing Light guided journal, serving professionals seeking a more sustainable, purpose-driven approach to wellbeing and success.
Kimberly Richmond
Kimberly Richmond is the Vice President of Sales at Associated Luxury Hotels International (ALHI), where she leads initiatives that elevate independent luxury hotels within the global weddings and celebrations market. Born and raised in Mexico City, her early exposure to international travel sparked a lifelong passion for cultural connection and experiential hospitality. She later earned a degree in Hospitality & Tourism Management from UMass Amherst and began her career with Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, gaining a foundation in operations, sales, and guest experience.
Her path expanded into the luxury retail sector when she joined Saks Fifth Avenue's New York flagship as Director of Marketing & Corporate Events, producing high-impact fashion and philanthropic events and refining her expertise in creative, immersive brand programming. That blend of hospitality and luxury inspired her to launch Runaway Bride Destination Weddings, a boutique company that grew into a globally recognized brand specializing in elevated destination celebrations across multiple continents.
Kimberly eventually transitioned to ALHI, where she built Destination Weddings by ALHI and introduced The Ever After Collection, a curated portfolio of independent luxury properties. She also created and produced the ALHI Wedding Summits, now considered one of the industry's foremost platforms for collaboration between planners, hotels, and global partners. As her career continues to evolve, she remains focused on shaping meaningful travel experiences while seeking opportunities to collaborate with hotels and hospitality brands looking to expand their reach, refine their positioning, and create unforgettable guest experiences.
Mahdi Rahman
Mahdi Rahman is the Founder and CEO of Netronova™, a fintech infrastructure company focused on redefining how enterprises safeguard their financial operations. Through Netronova, Mahdi is building what he describes as the world's first AI-native Finance Defense Layer™, designed to prevent financial risk before it materializes rather than responding after damage has occurred.
With a background rooted in identifying systemic weaknesses within modern finance workflows, Mahdi has spent years studying how organizations rely heavily on fragmented oversight and manual controls. This insight led him to design an autonomous framework that applies artificial intelligence, behavioral analysis, anomaly detection, and real-time risk scoring to continuously protect transactions, processes, and financial decision-making. Netronova's technology targets vulnerabilities such as fraud, financial leakage, manipulation, and payment-bound errors across complex enterprise environments.
As CEO, Mahdi leads product architecture, AI strategy, enterprise integration, and long-term platform vision. He also oversees the development of Netronova's Independent Operator Network, a global micro-franchise ecosystem that enables individuals to launch Netronova-powered businesses without upfront investment, expanding access to advanced financial defense capabilities worldwide.
Mahdi's work is driven by a belief that financial systems must evolve from reactive controls to intelligent, preventive governance. His leadership emphasizes transparency, resilience, and ethical design in financial infrastructure that has seen little innovation for decades. Guided by strong personal values and a long-term vision, Mahdi continues to build Netronova as a foundational layer for the next generation of secure, autonomous finance.
Lloyd Leitstein
Lloyd Leitstein has spent more than three decades shaping marketing, advertising, and public relations strategies for corporate, political, and nonprofit clients. A graduate of the University of Bridgeport with a degree in Political Science and minors in Journalism and Management, Lloyd built his career on the principle that a strong image, thoughtful strategy, and clear communication drive both market share and profitability.
He began in publishing, managing consumer, B2B, and Yellow Pages products, before founding Lloyd R. Leitstein Marketing & Public Relations, where he has led countless campaigns that integrate advertising, public relations, strategic marketing, and crisis management. His clients span industries from banking and automotive to fashion, electronics, and marine, each benefiting from his ability to craft tailored strategies that elevate brand visibility and business growth. For over a decade, he also served as a political strategist, directing communications, management, and fundraising for campaigns and candidates.
Recognized as an expert in crisis management, Lloyd teaches seminars at the University of Richmond School of Continuing Studies, sharing insights that help organizations protect their reputation while navigating challenges. Complementing his primary practice, he leads LRL Racing, applying his marketing expertise to motorsports sponsorships and promotional opportunities. Across every endeavor, Lloyd combines creativity, strategic insight, and hands-on leadership to ensure his clients not only succeed but thrive.
Valentino Iakimov
Valentino Iakimov is the Founder and CEO of Sea Further, a deep-tech company rooted in Monaco and focused on advancing next-generation carbon materials for clean energy systems. With academic training in medical biotechnologies, he developed an early fascination with carbon chemistry, graphene, emerging allotropes, and hybrid structures, which led him to experiment with ways to enhance material performance through interactions between microorganisms and carbon powders. What began as a student-driven scientific exploration evolved into the foundation of Sea Further, strengthened by Monaco's strong commitment to sustainability and the company's incubation at MonacoTech.
Under his leadership, Sea Further has transformed a scientific insight into a patented bio-doping platform that uses marine microorganisms to convert standard carbon materials into high-performance catalysts. These materials are engineered to support Europe's ambition for technological resilience, offering practical applications across fuel cells, supercapacitors, and water electrolysis. The company's latest initiative, BIOXIS, selected under EIT RawMaterials' KAVA Upscaling 13 program, aims to industrialize bio-doped carbons through a consortium of industrial partners and energy innovators.
Valentino's work positions Sea Further at the forefront of sustainable material science, bridging biotechnology and clean-energy engineering to deliver scalable solutions that improve efficiency, durability, and long-term environmental impact.
Jannelle Hurst
Jannelle Hurst is the founder and CEO of Legacy Rose Company, a boutique property management and advisory firm based in Charlotte, North Carolina. With nearly two decades of experience across real estate operations, accounting, and asset oversight, she has built a business rooted in the belief that property management should serve as a strategic partner aligned with long-term investment goals. Legacy Rose supports investors who view real estate as both a performance-driven asset and a vehicle for sustained wealth creation.
Jannelle's professional background combines formal training in business and accounting with an MBA, equipping her to manage portfolios ranging from residential holdings to multi-million-dollar commercial assets. Throughout her career, she has worked closely with high-net-worth individuals, institutional stakeholders, and growth-focused investors during periods of expansion, stabilization, and repositioning. Her approach emphasizes disciplined financial controls, proactive oversight, and operational clarity.
Operating in Charlotte, one of the Southeast's fastest-growing markets, Jannelle has positioned Legacy Rose to meet the needs of domestic and international investors drawn to the region's economic momentum. The firm is known for its customized management strategies, transparent reporting, and high-touch communication model, recognizing that no two properties or ownership structures are alike.
Under Jannelle's leadership, Legacy Rose Company has grown deliberately, prioritizing service quality and long-term client relationships over rapid expansion. She remains focused on scaling the company in ways that preserve its core values while supporting clients as their portfolios evolve and grow.
Clare Rosenfield And Michael Pergola
Reverend Michael Pergola, MA, MBA, JD, founder of the Center for Regenerative Ecology, Education, and Enterprise Development (CREEED), and Clare Rosenfield, MA, MSW, LCSW, author, poet, meditation teacher, children's book writer, harpist, founder of Contact Healing™, and President of the Global Healing Foundation, have spent more than fifteen years advancing a shared mission: helping emerging adults discover purpose, resilience, and grounded pathways to meaningful work while accessing inner spiritual guidance. Their distinct backgrounds converge around strengthening their nonprofits' impact, addressing the ecological, emotional, and vocational challenges young people face, and promoting lovingkindness, mutual respect, and everyday actions that contribute to a more peaceful world.
CREEED, Contact Healing™, and the Global Healing Foundation foster intergenerational learning environments where young adults and wise elders engage in dialogue with one another and with the natural world. Their programs weave together meditation, emotional awareness, artistic expression, communication skills, and hands-on ecological practices that help participants reconnect with nature, build confidence, and develop regenerative skills.
Their initiatives span permaculture and food-forest projects, restoration of historic spaces, and the creation of regenerative enterprises designed to meet human needs sustainably. Current efforts include transforming Clare's verse narrative, The Call of Mother Earth: How a Being of Light Draws Forth Humanity's Response, into an immersive group experience and independent film that amplifies its healing message of listening carefully to the planet and responding deeply from their hearts.
Through these collaborative projects, their organizations guide emerging adults to clarify purpose, cultivate resilience, and recognize the vital role they play in healing themselves, their communities, and the earth.
Shelley Clarke
Shelley Clarke serves as the Eastern Region Director at the Federation of Canadian Naturists (FCN), where she plays an active role in community engagement, social media, and national collaboration. Based in New Brunswick, she has become a key organizer within the province's non-landed New Brunswick Naturist Club, helping maintain a vibrant calendar of events across the Maritimes, including gatherings in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia. Her leadership also extends to moderating and supporting numerous naturist groups across multiple platforms, as well as contributing to communication efforts with the International Naturist Federation.
Shelley discovered naturism as a young adult and has since woven it deeply into her life, raising her four children with body-positive values and cultivating inclusive naturist spaces wherever she has lived. She previously hosted well-known events in Ontario before relocating east, where she continues to create opportunities for newcomers and seasoned naturists to connect on her expansive private property. She shares her life in New Brunswick with her partner, Mike, who is an avid naturist and a strong supporter of her advocacy and community-building efforts.
In addition to her regional director role, Shelley contributes to the FCN as an official photographer, photo liaison, and active committee participant. Outside her naturist advocacy, she enjoys rural living, photography, motorbiking, four-wheeling, caring for her animals, and gathering around campfires with family and friends.
David R. Leng
David R. Leng is the Founder and Executive Vice President and Executive Partner of Duncan Financial Group, where he brings more than three decades of expertise in enterprise risk management, insurance strategy, and organizational performance. As the creator of the Employer Success Program™, he developed a data-driven methodology that helps companies identify and address the underlying behaviors and operational factors that contribute to financial and safety-related losses. His approach has become a widely adopted framework for employers seeking to reduce risk, improve culture, and strengthen long-term business sustainability.
David is also an accomplished author whose international bestselling books, including The Laws of Insurance Attraction, Insured to Fail, Turning Premiums Into Profits, and Stop Being Frustrated and Overcharged, have established him as a leading voice in modern risk management. His work has been featured by industry publications such as Environmental Health & Safety, Construction Executive, Dynamic Business, and HRM Update, and he is frequently invited to speak at national conferences and professional associations.
A Certified Insurance Counselor, Certified Risk Manager, Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter, and Master Certified WorkComp Advisor, he also contributes to several national and state committees focused on risk management and insurance standards. Beyond his professional impact, David is dedicated to autism advocacy and is an award-winning novelist known for the Echoes of Fortune thriller series. He resides in Pennsylvania with his family.
