This unprecedented achievement by Leonie is not just a remarkable milestone in her own career, but it also marks the first occasion in which a Sri Lankan representative has been selected as a pioneer.

In her commitment to take positive action for sustainable development issues whilst promoting positive change, Leonie was selected from a highly reputed pool of candidates to be ultimately ranked amongst the top professionals, recognised for advancing sustainable development.

With this, she has now sealed her position amongst a cohort of 10 SDG pioneers employed within the UN Global Compact companies, who continue to set ambitious, scalable and impactful targets towards delivering on the UN Sustainable Development Goals. More importantly, her selection is emblematic of her breakthrough efforts to advance these global goals, through the implementation of the UN Ten Principles on human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption.

Leonie was chosen following a rigorous and highly competitive selection process, with the pioneers being selected from diverse regions of the world. The multi-stakeholder selection committee comprised of representatives from the civil society, academia, the Global Compact Board, the UN, and the previous SDG Pioneers.

The annual Leaders Summit mobilises and connects business leaders, policy makers, civil society and academia representatives, from all over the world, to take action on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).