The Second Cohort
In line with the first cohort and the goal of developing future global business leaders, the six members of the second Wallenberg International Fellows cohort represent six different countries: China, Croatia, Eritrea, Germany, Sweden and the United States.
Stockholm School of Economics Fellows
Sebastian Röing holds a Master’s degree in International Economics from the Stockholm School of Economics. He graduated with honors from King’s College at the University of Cambridge. Mr. Röing’s diverse professional experiences have included work in the public, private, and non-profit sectors across Europe. He has previously worked as a trainee for the Delegation of Sweden to the OECD in Paris where he contributed to the Aid for Trade initiative and the OECD Better Life Index. Prior to his experience with the OECD, Mr. Röing worked as an intern at Giving What We Can, and Oxford based organization that aims to increase the efficacy of donor giving, and as an intern at SRM Economics, a London based economic consulting firm where he conducted financial and economic analyses. Mr. Röing is a native Swedish speaker, fluent in English and French, and has a basic knowledge of Mandarin and German. His Wallenberg Fellows Program internship was with the Peterson Institute of International Economics performing research and analysis as part of an interdisciplinary team, for two articles and a book on sovereign debt management and financial stability regulation.
Bensam Solomon is a Master’s graduate of the Stockholm School of Economics. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business and Economics from the Stockholm School of Business. Mr. Solomon’s professional experiences span the public and private sectors, and include internships in both finance and government. Currently, Mr. Solomon works as an intern at Leksell Social Ventures (LSV), Sweden’s first social impact investment company. At LSV, Mr. Solomon is responsible for screening funding applications for socially conscious and economically sustainable businesses, and for helping to shape the company’s corporate communication profile. Mr. Solomon also works as an intern for the Swedish North African Chamber of Commerce, where he provides assistance to both the board of directors and the general secretary. Mr. Solomon is a native Tigrinya speaker, fluent in Swedish and English, has conversational proficiency in Italian, and a basic knowledge of Bulgarian. His Wallenberg Fellows Program internship was with Limiar Capital, LLC, a private equity firm focused on emerging markets. His work involved researching several emerging markets, evaluating various aspects including the macroeconomic conditions, political risk, and stock market valuations and culminated in the development an investment thesis for these countries. In addition, he also interned at the International Finance Corporation, at the Office of the Chief Economist in the Thought Leadership Unit.
Alexa Straus has a Master’s degree in Business and Management with a specialization in Management from the Stockholm School of Economics, and is the recipient of a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service. Ms. Straus graduated with a B.A. in Philosophy and Economics from the University of Bayreuth in Bayreuth, Germany where she wrote a thesis titled “Non-Financial Reporting: Evolution Challenges and Implementation – the GRI Example.” Ms. Straus has worked in diverse industries analyzing international trade and business. These experiences include an M&A internship at Volkswagen in Wolfsburg, Germany where she worked in project management and the preparation of contract negotiations; an internship at Sotheby’s Deutschland in Munich where she researched art market trends and coordinated international sales activities; and an internship at the German Consulate General in Atlanta where she researched political and economic trends. Ms. Straus is a native German speaker, is fluent in English, has an advanced knowledge of Italian, and is conversational in Swedish. Her Wallenberg Fellows Program internship was with Medtronic, in the corporate international relations department. She supported the formulation and execution of Public Private Partnerships and worked on market access issues, health economics and regulatory policies for medical devices.
Georgetown University Fellows
Valentino Grbavac is a graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service with a Master’s degree from the Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies program. Mr. Grbavac attended Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota where he majored in Political Science and History and minored in Russian Studies. The title of his undergraduate honors thesis was: Unequal Democracy: The Political Position of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina. During his time as an undergraduate, Mr. Grbavac was selected to be a Public Policy and International Affairs Fellow at Princeton University’s Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. As an undergraduate, Mr. Grbavac also worked as a marketing and sales intern at Extended Exposure, a marketing firm located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. At Extended Exposure, Mr. Grbavac worked to develop strategies for marketing, business development, and market penetration for clients. Mr. Grbavac currently works as a contributing writer for the Institute for Political and Social Research in Mostar, Bosnia. Mr. Grbavac was commissioned by the institute to research and write a book about the contemporary political position of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to be published in both Croatian and English. Mr. Grbavac is a native speaker of Croatian, speaks English fluently, is an intermediate speaker of Russian and has a basic knowledge of Italian. His Wallenberg Fellows Program internship was at Ericsson, where he supported the Standardization Team in an evaluation of national regulations in different countries to understand their needs, and work together to find a solution that works with country/regional policies, and technology.
Chloe Krawczyk holds a Master’s degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, where she studied Global Business and Finance while pursuing a certificate in International Business Diplomacy. Ms. Krawczyk also attended Georgetown as an undergraduate, when she studied Science, Technology & International Affairs with a concentration in Energy & Environment. In 2013, Ms. Krawczyk received a Department of State Critical Language Scholarship to study Mandarin and was honored as a Peter F. Krogh Scholar. As a Krogh Scholar, she produced original research analyzing China’s human rights transition based on the Spiral Model. Between 2014 and 2016, Ms. Krawczyk was an analyst at an economic consulting firm with global presence, Cornerstone Research, where her casework included international finance, securities, and energy market-based valuation projects. Ms. Krawczyk is a native English speaker, fluent in Mandarin, has a basic knowledge of Spanish, and is attempting to pick up Swedish. Her Wallenberg Fellows Program internship was at EQT Ventures, the venture capital arm of global private equity group EQT, where she analyzed fast-growing and innovative technology companies to find promising investment opportunities.
Sylvia Sun is a graduate of Georgetown University’s Master of Science in Foreign Program, where she studied Global Business and Finance and pursued a certificate in International Business Diplomacy. Ms. Sun is also a graduate of the University of Hong Kong, where she graduated with first class honors with a Bachelor of Social Sciences, and the Pembroke-King’s Program at the University of Cambridge where she studied international law and finance. Ms. Sun previously worked as a Liaison Associate for the China Development Research Foundation, where she served as the primary point of contact for 50+ delegates and staff from global firms including McKinsey, BCG, MasterCard, and Bloomberg. She also worked as a seasonal intern for AIA Hong Kong, where she reviewed diverse financial planning products, and ultimately won the Best Presentation Award for presentations to senior management. Ms. Sun has native proficiency in English and Mandarin Chinese, and is fluent in Japanese. Her Wallenberg Fellows Program internship was at Investor, A.B. Patricia Industries and Permobil where she split her time doing business development work and Asia market analysis for Permobil followed by work at Patricia Industries working on investment and corporate strategic analysis, financial modeling and valuation work on current and future investments.
The Wallenberg International Fellows Program 