Jean-Pierre de Margerie , MA / 92

Since 1993, Jean-Pierre de Margerie has worked for United Nations, helping people in dire circumstances in countries around the world. As head of the North Korean operations of the World Food Program, de Margerie heads the biggest aid program in Pyongyang, North Korea, with 40 staff and a mandate to feed almost 10 per cent of the population under strict regulations imposed by the government.

De Margerie has been battling these kinds of challenges in some of the world’s most grueling places, including Rwanda (his first assignment) amid the genocide of 1994, East Timor during the militia bloodshed, Baghdad after the US invasion, Indonesia after the tsunami and Nepal during its civil war.

Before joining the UN, de Margerie worked as an intern at the Canadian International Development Agency.