Alice Charles

Alice Charles is a member of the World Economic Forum who has been pivotal in planning and implementing forward-thinking urban development schemes worldwide. An experienced speaker on the environment, infrastructure, climate change and urbanisation, Alice is in high demand for corporate audiences due to having over eighteen years of experience in the industry. As a speaker she educates her audiences as well by including examples of where her techniques and ideas are successfully implemented, to add impact to her address.

In her role as the Head of Cities and Urban Development for the World Economic Forum (WEF), Alice is responsible for managing all projects and subgroups involved with urbanisation, city schemes and future-proofing of areas. Also accountable for developing the WEF’s Fourth Industrial Revolution City Preparedness Protocol, Alice applies her knowledge to ensure city leaders can effectively prepare to increase technology usage in smart city implementation. She is also responsible for the management of the Future of Urban Development and Services Initiative, the Global Future Council on Cities and Urbanisation and the former Global Agenda Council on the Future of Cities. 

Underpinned by the qualifications she obtained, including a BSc in Environmental Planning and two masters degrees in Business Admin and Global Leadership, Alice’s career began working as a chartered planner at GVA UK. She progressed and established her own planning consultancy in 2011, before moving into parliament and government work in 2012. She has also worked with the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government Ireland and Jacobs Engineering.

With the natural ability to transform ideas into realities, Alice joined the Irish Parliament tasked with drafting new policies on urban planning in addition to managing the EU legislation for the department of housing and planning. In 2018 Alice attended the Smart City Expo World Congress where she addressed innovative forms of collaboration in city development during her keynote speech. She is also a Chartered Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute and the Irish Planning Insitute. To expand her knowledge, Alice is completing a Masters's in Global Leadership through the WEF and The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. 

Her ability to educate an audience and drive them to change has seen her continually asked to present at conferences across the world, including the MIT Senseable City Lab 2019 and sit on the panel at the Northern Ireland Women's Leadership conference in 2018. Recently the recipient of the Irish Echo 40 Under 40 award, Alice Charles is widely recognised as an outstanding contributor to global affairs in the urban planning field. A fantastic professional speaker, Alice is the perfect choice of keynote guest for events if you require an unrivalled voice on the future of the changing world.

We recently sat down for an exclusive interview with Alice Charles to discuss our future with smart cities.