One Million Years Of Joy

Daphne E. Jones is the CEO of The Board Curators and author of the book Win When They Say You Won’t. As a former Chief Information Officer, she has navigated a remarkable career across organizations like IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Hospira (now part of Pfizer), and General Electric. She exemplifies the transformative power of resilience and ambition, having turned early societal constraints into a narrative of success and empowerment. Discover what her recipe for joy is, how she prioritizes what she calls the “5Fs” in life and how to pursue bodacious goals.

Daphne's websites:

https://www.daphneejones.com/

https://theboardcurators.com/

One Million Years Of Joy: 

https://www.andreeavanacker.com/joy

Christoph von Toggenburg is global leader with 15 years of experience across multiple organizations and countries. His leadership journey spans humanitarian missions in conflict zones with the ICRC and UN, strategic engagement with key decision-makers at the World Economic Forum and serving as CEO of World Vision Switzerland for three years. Christoph has led numerous humanitarian expeditions, using film and photography to raise awareness and funds for critical global causes. His acclaimed film, Alegria, has received over 40 international awards and has been screened in more than 50 countries. Discover his journey, how his personal motto “Be Brave, Be Kind, Be Bold” had shaped everything he has done to date, his definition of joy, and a sneak peek on his second book due to be published later this year.

Melissa Cohen is a LinkedIn Top Voice who helps individuals develop their personal brand, and craft their thought leadership. She is also the co-author of the book Your Career Resilience Blueprint, and is a board member of Her Move Next, a charity dedicated to empowering girls and young women through chess, community, and competition. In our interview she shares how she reinvented herself after a decade long career working in the fashion industry, why she loves LinkedIn and why her secret to living joyfully is all about family, friends and coffee.

Pete Bombaci is the Founder and CEO of The GenWell Project, a human connection movement he launched in 2016 to tackle human isolation. Prior to founding The GenWell Project, Pete served as the Executive Director of Movember Canada, where he led the organization to raise $142 million for men’s health. He is also a 2024 Leadership Luminary by One Million Years Of Joy. Discover why human connection is so important to our physical and emotional health, the role we all play to prevent isolation in our communities, and why face-to-face connections bring us more joy than virtual interactions.

Heather Hansen is an accent bias and linguistic inclusion expert, a Thinkers50 Radar 2024 author of the book Unmuted, a TEDx Speaker and she is the Founder of Global Speech Academy. Discover her journey in living across multiple countries, learning multiple languages, and how she discovered the influence of accent biases, the power of conscious communications and in giving people the opportunity to shine, despite linguistic differences. Her work is not just about encouraging open and honest communications, it is about fostering joy as we connect at a human level.

Mike Rubin is a physician, scientist, engineer, entrepreneur and educator. He is the Founder and CEO of a science-driven venture capital firm called Northpond Ventures. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Stanford Medicine, and a visiting scholar at both Harvard (Wyss Institute) and MIT (School of Engineering). He holds a black belt in Tang Soo Do, and enjoys running marathons. Discover his key insights about joy, values, family and his key messages for students and entrepreneurs about the importance of focusing on their return on potential.

Cristina Zenato is a shark ecologist and behaviorist, who was instrumental in advancing the campaign that resulted in the declaration of the Bahamas as one of the first countries to create a shark sanctuary in 2011. She is part of the Women Divers Hall of Fame and she was awarded the Diver of the Year by Beneath The Sea in 2025. She also surveyed and created a map of the underwater Ben's Cave System located in the Lucayan National Park extending to 36,000ft to foster conservation. She is also a 2024 Leadership Luminary by One Million Years Of Joy. Discover her love for sharks, conservation, education and what brings her joy on land and while diving.

Satish Kumar is an Indian British peace-pilgrim, lifelong activist, and former monk who has been inspiring global change for over 50 years. He is the world-renowned author of several books and the founder of The Resurgence Trust. Satish served as the editor of the charity’s publication, Resurgence & Ecologist, for over 40 years, making him the UK’s longest-serving magazine editor. Satish is also a co-founder of Schumacher College, where he remains a Visiting Fellow. Discover why he did a peace walk of over 8,000 miles,  the obstacles to love, cultivating joy, and why he believes a gentle revolution in our thinking is necessary in today’s world.

Jenn Drummond holds the Guinness World Record as the first woman to climb the 7 second summits. As a successful financial services entrepreneur, and mother of seven, a car accident in 2018 left her awestruck. Since that transformative experience, she began her mountaineering pursuits, she has published a book, and she is the host of the Seek Your Next Summit podcast. Discover her incredible journey and her key sources of joy and awe.

Karl Moore is a professor at McGill and he has taught on executive and MBA programs at Harvard, Standford, Cambridge, Oxford, INSEAD and McGill University. He is the author of several books, and the recipient of numerous awards among which the Thinkers50 Distinguished Achievement Awards in the Leadership Category for his research on introverts/extroverts. His work has been featured in numerous publications from Harvard Business Review to The Economist. He also has a radio show called the CEO Series.