Sharron L. McPherson is one of Africa's foremost thought leaders on technology disruption, emerging market growth, and the future of work and education. A former Wall Street investment banker and attorney with a Doctorate in Law from Columbia University, an honors degree in Finance from the University of Toulon, and a B.A. in Economics from the College of William & Mary, Sharron brings over 30 years of cross-sector expertise to her work as a social impact investor and serial entrepreneur. She is Co-Founder and Director of the Centre for Disruptive Technologies (CDT) in Johannesburg, South Africa — a tech-enabled collaborative innovation platform that empowers African experts, ideators, and disruptors to build a measurably better future. CDT was recognized by the Tony Elumelu Foundation in 2015 for innovation and for impacting over one million Africans. Sharron is the creator of SuperSchool, an AI-enabled STEM learning platform, and the "Launchpad" school enterprise development initiative, now adopted by more than 8,000 schools across South Africa. A pioneer in systems thinking for inclusive and sustainable development, she is one of the creators of NEXUS thinking for smart city development and serves on high-level UN Committees on sustainable public-private partnerships. She is also a founding director of Women in Infrastructure Development & Energy (WINDE), Africa's largest women's investment company, representing over 2,000 women-owned businesses and championing gender-smart investing across the continent. Sharron teaches Project Finance at the University of Cape Town's Graduate School of Business and has served as a founding board member of the Graça Machel Trust for Women in Finance. An accomplished public speaker and published author, she has addressed global audiences at TED and the World Economic Forum, and her mission remains clear: to harness disruptive technologies to improve the lives of one billion people in the developing world.