Mina Guli

Mina Guli has been internationally recognised as a global visionary and one of the 50 greatest leaders in the world. An entrepreneur with a passion for making social change happen, she founded Thirst, an organisational initiative of the Young Global Leaders of the World Economic Forum. An extreme athlete, she has undertaken ambitious marathons to raise awareness of the world’s limited water resource.

An acclaimed speaker, Mina Guli has presented for companies that include Brandix, Swiss Re and Nike. A frequent media commentator, she has featured in over 400 local, national and global newspapers, magazines and television programs around the world including UN Radio, CNN, BBC, ITV, ABC, Forbes, Fortune, CCTV and Al Jazeera.

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Following a 15-year successful career as a world leader in climate change, including cofounding Peony Capital – a company that provides capital and knowledge to Chinese companies to help them mitigate their impact on the environment – Mina established Thirst.

Thirst is harnessing social media and technology to inform and inspire 14-24 year olds about water and the steps they can take to reduce their own water consumption. Since its launch in 2012, Thirst has educated over two million students in China, trended No. 1 on Chinese Twitter, established 170 Thirst Clubs, set up offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing and 28 hubs across 12 other provinces. Thirst has set one Guinness World Record, run innovation competitions with participation of over 600,000 students and the support of the government, and reached over 250 million people with its messages.

Mina is also a keen ultra-distance athlete, having started at the age of 22 after a severe injury. She runs to raise awareness and inspire action around the global water crisis and in doing so, has set two world firsts. In 2016 in just seven weeks, Mina ran 40 marathons across seven deserts on seven continents, including Antarctica – a continent that left an indelible impression on her for its critical role in the water cycle.

In 2017, she ran 40 marathons in 40 days on six continents down six of the world’s great rivers – to promote the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal Six (water). Along each of her routes, Mina interviewed local people and water experts, putting together a real and very visual representation of the water crisis we are facing. Mina and her team documented the stories in short film format, to ensure they would be accessible to the millennial generation.

Mina was appointed by the Chinese Government as an Advisor to their Education for Sustainable Development Program and runs with the support of the United Nations Development Program. She was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2010, is a recipient of a Future Leadership Award from the Australia Davos Connection, named as one of Australia’s ‘50 for the Future’, was a finalist for the Australian Female Alumni of the Year, and has been honoured as one of Australia’s 100 most influential women – twice. She is an advisor to the Chinese Government’s sustainability program and on the Academy for the US$1miillion Global Teachers Prize.

In recognition of her incredible achievements, Fortune Magazine named Mina as one of the 50 greatest leaders in the world, and UBS gave her the title of “Global Visionary”.

Mina Guli speaks about:

Education: Mina talks about water scarcity and what can be done to prevent it. She also educates on the coming water crisis and the importance of building our lives around using less water.

Business: Mina shares strategies businesses can implement to limit the impact of their water use and make it easier for consumers to do the same.

Sports: Having completed feats such as running 40 marathons in seven weeks to show the importance of 40% over-consumption of freshwater resources in the coming century, Mina is able to inspire both the average runner as well as other ultra-athletes.

Inspiration and Motivation: Mina has experienced hardships that have led her back to running. She draws on these experiences to support her organisations as well as educate others.