Changing the way we think about water.
The founder and CEO of the Thirst Foundation, Mina Guli, is a global leader, entrepreneur and adventurer, passionate and committed to making a difference in the world.
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 the Thirst Foundation, an organizational initiative of the Young Global Leaders of the World Economic Forum, to inform, inspire and educate 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 more than two million students in China, trended on Chinese Twitter, set a Guinness World Record, run innovation competitions with the participation of over 700,000 students, and now works with thousands of qualified volunteers and schools across China with the support of the Chinese government, and reached over 250 million people with its messages.
Mina is also a keen ultra-distance athlete, having started running only at the age of 22 after a severe injury. In 2016, she became the first person ever to run 40 marathons across 7 deserts on 7 continents, which she completed within 7 weeks. Along the route, Mina interviewed local people, putting together a real and very visual representation of the water crisis we are facing. Short films now available via Deserts Run, Mina and the team are documenting these stories so they are accessible to the millennial generation. An incredible journey whose messages reached over 4 billion people – and all for one reason: to raise awareness about the water crisis.
Mina is the former deputy chairman of the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Beijing, a strategic advisor to the Joint US-China Collaboration on Clean Energy, a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Sustainable Consumption, a member of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders community and Young Presidents Organization.
She is an advisor to the Chinese Government’s Eduction Sustainable Development Program, a Board Member for the Global Water Partnership, and a member of the inaugural board of the Antarctic Science Foundation.
Fortune Magazine named Mina as one of the 50 greatest leaders in the world. Mina is a frequent media commentator and public speaker, and splits her time between Australia, Beijing and Hong Kong, when she’s not running the world.
