Elected a Member of the Croatian Parliament in 2003, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović served as Croatia’s first female Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador to the United States, Mexico, Panama and the Organisation of American States, as well as the first female Assistant Secretary General and member of the NATO Senior Leadership before serving as the 4th (and 1st female) President of Croatia. Since then she has been Chair of Council of Women World Leaders, was elected an independent member of the International Olympic Committee (in 2020), and has been appointed Chair of the Future Hosts Commission for the Games of the Olympiad. Currently she is a Special Advisor to the Dean of the Zagreb School of Economics and Management..

At SSE, she shared her thoughts on global leadership, sports, politics, and business.