Brian Cody is currently Professor at the Technical University of Graz and manages the Institute of buildings and energy. He is mainly interested in the areas of research, teaching and practical experience concerning the maximization of energy efficiency in buildings and cities.

Until 1989 he studied engineering at the University of Dublin, Ireland. He graduated with first-class honours and was assigned the Walker-Award for "best performance" in his class year. From 1993 until 2003 he worked for Arup, which is a subsidiary of the internationally well-established company Ove Arup. In between 1999 and 2003 he was appointed as Design Leader, Associate Director and Business Development Leader. Until now, he is still working as a scientific consultant for Arup and also as a member of many different advisory boards and committees. Moreover, in 2005 he lectured as a guest professor at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna.

Selected works:
MOCAPE Museum, Shenzen, China in cooperation with Coop Himmelblau
Silesian Museum, Katowice, Poland in cooperation with Riegler Riewe Architects
Busan Cinema Center, Southkorea, with Coop Himmelblau

Stefan Behnisch is principal of the German firm Behnisch Architects. He has long been an advocate of sustainable building design, which he also teaches, and his approach is highly acknowledged in Europe and worldwide.

He studied philosophy at Hochschule der Jesuiten in Munich from 1976-1979 and received his B.A. in Philosophy in 1978. He also studied Economics at Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, from 1977-1979, before taking a degree in Architecture at the University of Karlsruhe, where he graduated in 1987. Since 2004 he has been a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

Selected works:
German Oceanographic Museum, Stralsund, Germany, 2007
Genzyme Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2003
Headquarter of the Norddeutsche Landesbank, Hannover, Germany, 2002

Yung Ho Chang is one of China's most accomplished contemporary architects and since 2005 has been Professor and Head of Department of Architecture at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA. He is also founding head of the Graduate Center of Architecture, Peking University

He studied Architecture at Nanjing Institute of Technology, China, and Science at Ball State University, USA, before completing a Masters of Architecture at the University of California at Berkeley. He became a licensed architect in the USA in 1989, has been practicing in China since 1992, and established Atelier FCJZ - China's first private architecture firm - in 1993 together with Lijia Lu. His interdisciplinary research focuses on the city, materiality, tradition and sustainable building practices. He often combines his research activities with design commissions.

Selected works:
Tourist Orientation Center, Dalinor, Inner Mongolia, 2004
Pingod (Apple) Sales Center / Art Museum, Beijing, 2003
Peking University Nuclear Magnetic Resonant Instrument Laboratory, Beijing, 2001

Colin Fournier is currently Professor of Architecture and Urbanism at the Bartlett School of London, where his key research interest is in sustainable principles applicable to urban development.

He commenced his education at the Beaux-Arts in Paris and completed his studies at the Architectural Association in London. He worked alongside Bernard Tschumi to draw up the master plan and design of the Parc de la Villette in Paris. For a long time he was Director of Planning at Ralph M. Parsons, Pasadena, California, one of the three largest urban development companies in the world. In this capacity he planned several new town projects, in particular drawing up the master plan for Yanbu, on the west coast of Saudi Arabia, with a population of 200,000.

Selected works:
Kunsthaus Graz, Graz, Austria, together with Peter Cook, 2003
Parc de la Vilette, Paris, France, overall planning and design together with Bernard Tschumi, 1991

As per May 1, 2010 Harald Sommerer succeeds Andreas Ludwig as the Chief Executive Officer of Zumtobel Group, a leading global lighting company, headquartered in Austria, and at the same time takes over his engagement on the Group Award.

He earned a degree in business and a doctorate of law from the University of Vienna, Austria. He also attended Harvard Business School, receiving a Professional Management Degree. Before becoming CEO of Zumtobel Group, he was Managing Director of UBS Warburg, one of the world's leading international investment banks, based in London as Senior Coverage Banker for industrial clients in Europe.

Previous positions:
Managing Director, UBS Warburg, 2001-2003
Chief Executive Officer, Tyrolit Industries, until 2001
CFO & COO, Zale Corp. Dallas, Texas, 1990-1994

Enrique Norton is principal of TEN Arquitectos, which he co-founded in 1986, and currently holds the Miller Chair at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, USA.

He began his formal study of architecture at Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City, earning his first professional degree in 1978. He obtained a Master's degree in architecture from Cornell University in 1980. The following year, he began his professional practice as a partner in Albin y Norten Arquitectos S.C. He lectures all over the world and has been a member of several prominent international juries and award committees, including the jury of the World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition in New York City.

Selected works:
Parque España Residential Building, Colonia Condesa, Mexico City, Mexico, 2001
Hotel HABITA, Mexico City, Mexico, 2000
House RR, Mexico City, Mexico, 1997

Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka is an Under Secretary General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT).

She studied Agricultural Economics at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala, graduating with a Doctorate of Science. She has undertaken extensive research on agriculture, rural development and human settlements policy; trade and marketing, cooperative development and aid policy; welfare economics with a focus on education, health and nutrition, water and food security; women in development; and tropical agriculture and environmental economics.

Past achievements:
Establishment of African Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development (AMCHUD)
Foundation of Barbro Johannson Girls' Education Trust, 1996
Foundation of the Tanzanian National Women's Council, BAWATA, 1994