José-Maria Figueres Olsen is managing director of the Center for the Global Agenda at the World Economic Forum in Cologny, Switzerland. He served as president of Costa Rica from 1994 to 1998, and previously served as Costa Ricas minister of foreign trade and minister of agriculture and livestock. Mr. Figueras was also the general manager, president, and financial advisor for Sociedad Agroindustrial San Cristóbal, S.A. Mr. Figueres has served as president of the Board of Directors of several organizations, including the Agrarian Development Institute, the National Production Council, and the League of Sugarcane Growers. He was president of the Board of the Atlantic Port Authority and of the Intervention Board of the National Railway System. In 2000, Mr. Figueres was appointed special representative on information and communications technologies for the secretary general of the United Nations. He earned an M.P.A. from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA.