PeaceTech Lab Names Civic Nation Advisor Megan Beyer and C5 Capital Founder André Pienaar to Board of Directors
Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) October 10, 2017 -- Two prominent experts in their fields have joined an expanding Board of Directors at PeaceTech Lab, a DC-based nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating peacebuilding efforts through technology, media, and data. Leading gender equality advocate Megan Beyer from Civic Nation and cybersecurity investment expert André Pienaar of C5 Capital and founding partner of the PeaceTech Accelerator with PeaceTech Lab and Amazon Web Services, will join a prominent group of technology, engineering, and foreign policy experts on the Board.
“Megan Beyer and André Pienaar share our vision for the PeaceTech Lab. Both have extraordinary careers spanning technology, media, and data and have made important contributions to issues like women’s equality and promoting transparency & accountability,” stated Chairman of the Board and former IBM Executive, Nicholas M. Donofrio. “With their combined passion and experience, the Lab is positioned better than ever to tackle the tough challenges of a rapidly changing world.”
Lab CEO and President Sheldon Himelfarb agreed, “Three years ago, PeaceTech Lab was formed with a simple mandate: to bring new players, new ideas, and new tools to the peacebuilding field. That’s why our programs emphasize reaching across sectors and disciplines. We are grateful to our newest Board members, Megan and André, who are committed to putting their diverse backgrounds in government and business to work in pursuit of an end to violent conflict.”
Megan Beyer is a journalist, activist, and life-long advocate of women’s rights and gender issues. Ms. Beyer currently serves as an advisor to Civic Nation, a nonprofit that operates several Obama White House programs including United State of Women, Let Girls Learn, and Reach Higher. In 2015 Ms. Beyer was appointed by President Barack Obama to be Executive Director of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. In this role, she led the first official U.S. Cultural Delegation to Cuba in 2016, which included directors of four U.S. cultural agencies and prominent artists, including Usher, Joshua Bell, Smokey Robinson, and Dave Matthews. In 2010 she founded the bilateral Swiss-U.S. project, Sister Republics, which accelerates private market drivers to break the glass ceiling. Ms. Beyer also served as the External Relations Representative for the Swiss-based EDGE Gender Certification, a company that certifies companies achieving a global standard of gender certification.
Expressing her enthusiasm for the Lab’s work, Ms. Beyer said, “From my early days as a journalist to spearheading the Sister Republics Women's Leadership initiative, I have seen firsthand the positive, tangible transformation that comes from empowering individuals to tell their stories and put their ideas into action. I’m thrilled to join PeaceTech Lab in its continued efforts to support peacetech entrepreneurs, amplify peace messages to counter hate speech, and provide a platform for youth voices.”
André Pienaar is the Founder of C5, a specialist technology investment group focused on cybersecurity, cloud computing and big data analytics with offices in Washington, London, Luxembourg and Bahrain. Andre serves on the boards of several cybersecurity companies including the Haven Group in Luxembourg, ITC Security in London and Omada in Copenhagen. He started his career in Kroll Inc where he became the youngest managing director until the successful sale of the company to Marsh Mclennan. In 2004 Andre founded G3, an international consulting firm that advises global companies and international law firms on cybersecurity. He sold G3 in 2011 to Europe’s leading technology investment holding company. Andre advised the 6th Duke of Westminster on the establishment of the new Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre (DNRC) in the United Kingdom as a state of the art centre for the rehabilitation of British military veterans.
Mr. Pienaar emphasized the world’s growing need for transparency and accountability. “Every day, issues like corruption, cybersecurity, and resource scarcity are eroding public trust in our governments and businesses. That loss of confidence is bad for all of us. PeaceTech Lab understands that solutions to these problems require efforts at all levels - from working with local governments and activists on improving transparency and accountability, to leveraging the latest AI and machine-learning techniques to predict and prevent conflict. As a Board Member and founding partner of the PeaceTech Accelerator, I am proud to support these initiatives and help chart the course for the Lab’s future.”
-About PeaceTech Lab-
PeaceTech Lab works to reduce violent conflict using technology, media, and data to accelerate and scale peacebuilding efforts. An independent nonprofit organization, the Lab brings together engineers and activists, MBAs and conflict experts, social scientists, data scientists, and other innovators to develop effective peacebuilding solutions.
Twila Tschan (US), PeaceTech Lab, http://www.peacetechlab.org, +1 (971) 264-0647, [email protected]
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