Professor Gail Whiteman

Gail Whiteman is a Professor of Sustainability at the University of Exeter Business School. She is a social science expert how decision-makers make sense of systemic global risks from climate change and other environmental threats.

She is a past member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Frontier Risk, keynote speaker at Davos in 2023, “Unlocking the Polar Crisis” with HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, and in 2020, “What’s at Stake: The Arctic,” alongside Sanna Marin (Prime Minister, Finland) and Al Gore. In 2021, she organised and participated in a High Level Panel – “A Plan for the Planet – the Arctic and Beyond” -- with TIME Magazine as part of WEF's media programme for the online Davos Agenda, together with HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, Robert Downey Jr., Baroness Bryony Worthington, Rainn Wilson, and Eric Rondolat.

She is regularly quoted in the media and has had numerous research grants from NERC, the EU and other sources. Professor Whiteman was named one of the top 20 UK Communicators of the Year in 2021 by PR Week, and is a member of the Climate Advisory Council for media outlet Reuters IMPACT to advise on their climate reporting.