Moscow Urban Forum to kick off tomorrow

This year’s Moscow Urban Forum will kick off tomorrow with a number of city planning and urban development experts participating in debates across the four-day event. Launched to provide a platform for discussion about the opportunities and challenges facing the development of megacities, the Moscow Urban Forum is set to discuss urban progress underpinned by notions of sustainable development.

The speakers for the event, who come from a wide range of backgrounds, reflect the dual local and global focus of the forum. Here’s a list of some of the top speakers at the event:

Sergei Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow. Before starting his career as Moscow mayor in 2010, Sobyanin served as Deputy Prime Minister and Chief of the Government Staff.

Alexei Novikov, managing director of Thomson Reuters in Russia and CIS. Novikov is responsible for all aspects of Thomson Reuters’ business in Russia and the CIS.

Sergey Kapkov, head of the department of culture in Moscow. Kapkov has held his position since September 2011, before which he was appointed as director of Gorky Park, initiating a massive transformation of the park, broadly hailed a success.

Alexei Muratov, partner at Strelka Consulting Bureau. An architect and former editor-in-chief of Project Russia, Muratov participated in the competition to develop a concept for the Moscow agglomeration.

Sergey Kuznetsov, Moscow chief architect. Kuznetsov is a co-author and co-curator of the design for the -city/i-land exposition at the Russian pavilion at the 13th Venice Biennale of Architecture. He was appointed Chief Architect and First Deputy Chairman of the Moscow Architecture Committee by the Mayor of Moscow in 2012.

Gregor Clark, leading professor and Urban Land Institute (ULI) Europe. A trained economics, social and political scientist, Clark has held a number of leadership positions in UK organisations, as well as leading reviews in over 100 cities globally.

Martin Powell, head of urban development within Siemens Global Centre of Competence for Cities, UK. Powell was previously The Mayoral Advisor on the Environment to the current Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.

Hazem Galal, PWX Partner and Global leader for PWC Cities and Local Government Sector. Galal has supported several city projects in the United States, Middle East, Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe and is currently the co-chair of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development group.

Scott McQuire, Head of the Media and Communications Program at the University of Melbourne, founding member Research Unit for Public Cultures. McQuire specialises in interdisciplinary research linking digital media, modern art, urban planning and social theory, and is one of the co-founders of the Broadband-Enabled Society Institute.

Andres Mendoza Pena, co-author of the Global Cities Index and Emerging Cities Outlook session. Mendoza Pena is a principal in A.T. Kearney’s Strategy, Marketing and Sales Practice, and advises clients in numerous strategic issues including corporate strategy, due diligence, merger integration, strategic planning, market entry strategy and competitive benchmarking.