TOP 10 Most-Read Thought Leaders in Ethical Governance

Discover also our 2026 Rankings of the Most Read Thought Leaders in Business Impact, Carbon, Circularity, Climate Change, Energy, Energy Transition, Environmental Sustainability, ESG, Green Tech, Nature, Renewables, Social Responsibility, Sustainable AI, Sustainable Business, Sustainable Finance, and Sustainable Lifestyle. Explore how this year's leaders compare to the most influential voices of last year!

illuminem is proud to present the most-read Thought Leaders in Ethical Governance globally, as recognised by illuminem's ever growing community of 700,000+ readers.

Ethical governance in the last year was defined by a single, contested word: simplification. The EU's Omnibus package, launched in February, set out to ease the regulatory burden of the Green Deal, and by year's end had cut the scope of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive by roughly 90%, stripped mandatory climate transition plans from the due diligence directive, and triggered a bruising political fight in the European Parliament. To its champions, this was overdue relief for European competitiveness. To its critics, "simplification" was deregulation by another name, unfolding in the middle of COP30.

That tension – between ambition and competitiveness, sovereignty and cooperation – ran through the whole year. The voices on this list approached it from strikingly different vantage points: from EU-China climate diplomacy to the constitutional questions raised by the Omnibus, from the governance of exponential technology to the case that strong climate targets serve the national interest.

What distinguished Arvea Marieni in that conversation was her poised reading of the geopolitical map. As a European Commission Climate Pact Ambassador and a specialist in EU-China environmental cooperation, she writes from the seams where climate policy meets geopolitics. Her most-read piece argued that the knots tangling Europe's climate and geopolitical ambitions at COP30 found their resolution in Beijing – a provocative reframing of where global climate leadership now sits.

Joining her on the list, former Argentinian Secretary of Climate Change, Sustainable Development and Innovation Rodrigo Rodríguez Tornquist proposes an ecological country-risk index treating nature as the new sovereign rating, former UNFCCC Article 6 Advisor at UN Climate Change Ruth Dagan examines what the EU climate law amendment means for non-EU actors, and Andrea Bonime-Blanc, Founder & CEO of GEC Risk Advisory and finalist in illuminem's inaugural Sustainability Book of the Year competition, argues that exponential technology requires exponential responsibility.

Drawn from over 2,500 thought leaders publishing on illuminem Voices, the ranking below reflects the voices that shaped how the ethical governance conversation evolved in 2025. Please join us in congratulating the Thought Leaders of the Year in Ethical Governance, and every voice contributing to this vital global debate on illuminem.

1️⃣ Arvea Marieni - Climate Pact Ambassador of the European Commission
Country: Italy 🇮🇹
Most-Read Thought Piece: The truth of COP30: Europe's climate and geopolitical knots find resolution in Beijing
Profile: Arvea Marieni is a Belgian and Italian Climate Pact Ambassador of the European Commission. She is a Partner and Board Member of the management consultancy Brainscapital and a Shareholder and Director of the French systems engineering company BEAM CUBE, where she co-leads the development of Ecological Transition Solutions. As a strategy consultant, climate policy expert and innovation manager, she specialises in EU-China environmental cooperation and serves as an EU Commission expert. She is also a special commentator for CGTN.

2️⃣ Rodrigo Rodríguez Tornquist - Fmr. Argentinian Secretary of Climate Change, Sustainable Development and Innovation
Country: Argentina 🇦🇷
Most-Read Thought Piece: The ecological country risk index: why nature is the new sovereign rating
Profile: Rodrigo Rodríguez Tornquist is Director of Innovation for Sustainability at Asociación Sustentar and former Secretary of Climate Change and Undersecretary for Strategic Affairs of Argentina. He led the country's Long-Term Climate Strategy and National Climate Cabinet, and represented Argentina at the UNFCCC, UNEP, and G20. A former MIT Fellow, he advises the UN, IDB, and GIZ on nature finance and resilient infrastructure. His work bridges public policy, academia, and civil society to drive systemic sustainability in Latin America.

3️⃣ Ruth Dagan - Fmr. UNFCCC Article 6 Advisor at UN Climate Change
Country: Israel 🇮🇱
Most-Read Thought Piece: The EU climate law amendment: a turning point for global carbon markets and what it means for non-EU actors
Profile: Dr. Ruth Dagan is a senior partner and Head of Environment & Climate Change Practice at Herzog Law. She is the Co-Chair of the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) Legal Working Group and has served as legal advisor to the UNFCCC on Article 6. Ruth holds a doctoral degree in Environmental Law and Finance from NYU.

4️⃣ Angelo Bonelli - Spokesperson of Green Europe and Member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies
Country: Italy 🇮🇹
Most-Read Thought Piece: Lead or lose: a call to secure Europe's future through sustainability
Profile: Angelo Bonelli is the Spokesperson of Green Europe since July 2021 and a Member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, representing Imola since October 2022. He previously served in the Chamber from 2006 to 2008 for Lazio 1. Bonelli has held significant roles such as President of the Green Party and Regional Assessor for Environment in Lazio. He was a Regional Councillor in Lazio and a candidate for Mayor of Taranto in 2012. Bonelli has been active in Italian politics since 1990.

5️⃣ ex aequo Andrea Bonime-Blanc - Founder and CEO of GEC Risk Advisory
Country: United States 🇺🇸
Most-Read Thought Piece: ESGT exponential technology requires exponential responsibility part 2: use cases and future-proofing
Profile: Andrea Bonime-Blanc, JD/PhD, is founder and CEO of GEC Risk Advisory, multiple board member and advisor, specialising in the governance of change, strategic risk, leadership trust, geopolitics, sustainability, and exponential tech. Andrea serves as Senior Fellow at several think tanks including The Conference Board's Governance & Sustainability Center and is founding global faculty at the Institute for Corporate Directors Malaysia Mandatory Board Sustainability Certificate. Her 6th book – Governing Pandora: Leading in the Age of GenAI and Exponential Technology – will be published by Georgetown University Press in early 2026.

5️⃣ ex aequo Dante Disparte - Chief Strategy Officer of Circle
Country: United States 🇺🇸
Most-Read Thought Piece: ESGT exponential technology requires exponential responsibility part 2: use cases and future-proofing
Profile: Dante Disparte is the Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Global Policy for Circle, a leading global financial technology firm and the issuer of USDC. USDC has supported more than $10 trillion in cumulative transactions on the public internet and a global payment network in more than 190 countries.

6️⃣ Alexis Normand - CEO and Co-Founder of Greenly
Country: France 🇫🇷
Most-Read Thought Piece: With Omnibus, Europe abandons its climate sovereignty
Profile: Alexis Normand is CEO and Co-Founder of Greenly. A graduate of HEC and Sciences-Po, Alexis began his career in public policy consulting before spending six years at Withings, where he led operations in Boston and established the company's health department. After Withings was acquired by Nokia, he joined the startup Embleema through Techstars, refining his entrepreneurial skills. Returning to France, Alexis channeled his experience into addressing the climate crisis at a critical moment.

7️⃣ Camille Putois - Former French Deputy Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister
Country: France 🇫🇷
Most-Read Thought Piece: Green Deal: the line between simplification and deregulation is thin
Profile: Camille Putois is a Partner at FGS Global, a leading global public affairs and corporate sustainability advisory firm. She is also a member of the Advisory Board of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the Mission Committee of Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale. Previously, Camille served as CEO of Business for Inclusive Growth (B4IG) and has held key positions in sustainability and public affairs across various organizations.

8️⃣ Joel Stronberg - Founder and Principal of JBS Group
Country: United States 🇺🇸
Most-Read Thought Piece: Chuck Schumer can't save us
Profile: Joel B. Stronberg is a Senior Executive and Attorney and the Founder and Principal of The JBS Group, a Washington, DC consulting firm. Joel is currently advising the Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization project at Columbia University's Sabin Center along with his other clients.

9️⃣ ex aequo Mark Helfrich - Spokesperson for Environment and Climate Policy and member of the German Bundestag
Country: Germany 🇩🇪
Most-Read Thought Piece: Why Germany's climate targets are the right thing to do and in the national interest
Profile: Mark Helfrich is the spokesperson for environment and climate policy of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the German Bundestag.

9️⃣ ex aequo Peter Liese - Spokesperson for Climate and Environmental Policy and member of the European Parliament
Country: Germany 🇩🇪
Most-Read Thought Piece: Why Germany's climate targets are the right thing to do and in the national interest
Profile: Peter Liese is the spokesperson for climate and environmental policy of the EPP Group in the European Parliament. He holds a degree in medicine from the Universities of Marburg, Aachen, and Bonn and a Ph.D. in Human Genetics from the University of Bonn.

9️⃣ ex aequo Wiebke Winter - Chair of the CDU Parliamentary Group in the Bremen Parliament
Country: Germany 🇩🇪
Most-Read Thought Piece: Why Germany's climate targets are the right thing to do and in the national interest
Profile: Wiebke Winter is the Chair of the CDU Parliamentary Group in the Bremen Parliament. Previously she served as the Deputy Leader of the CDU Parliamentary Group in the Bremen Parliament. She holds a First State Examination and a Ph.D. in Law from Bucerius Law School.

🔟 Gonzalo Castro de la Mata - Fmr. Chair of the Inspection Panel of the World Bank
Country: Qatar 🇶🇦
Most-Read Thought Piece: Looking beyond climate diplomacy to achieve climate action
Profile: Gonzalo Castro de la Mata is Executive Director of Earthna, a Qatar-based foundation advancing sustainability, climate, and biodiversity solutions. He is also Chair of the Independent Oversight Advisory Committee of the International Labour Organization and previously served as Chairman of the Inspection Panel of the World Bank, the institution's independent accountability mechanism. Earlier in his career, he held senior leadership roles at Pluspetrol and advised international institutions, including the Green Climate Fund. He holds a PhD in Ecology from the University of Pennsylvania.

Congratulations to our most-read thought leaders of the last year. In a time when the sustainability conversation was pulled in every direction at once, the voices on this list helped move it forward with clarity and intellect. We are proud to amplify their voices, and look forward to what comes next.

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