“If we adopt the self-sustaining models of nature and apply them to how advances technologies operate, we can create a regenerative and prosperous future.”

Aurora Chiste envisions a future where innovation empowers a thriving and equitable world. The transformative power of technology she witnessed during the Silicon Valley boom drives her commitment to harnessing scalable tech solutions for a sustainable future. Informed by her firsthand experience during the American recession and the exponential tech boom of Silicon Valley in the mid-2000s that followed, Aurora took much of her early change-making inspiration from the transformational power of companies like Google, Facebook, and Tesla. In witnessing how these organizations revolutionized communication, information access, and transportation, Aurora gained a profound understanding of the critical role that innovation, community, and strong values play in driving progress. This foundation fuels her unwavering dedication to leveraging technology for the greater good of humanity.

Throughout her career, Aurora relentlessly advocated for sustainability, recognizing both its immense potential and, at least in certain traditional terms, its inherent limitations. This awareness, paired with her deep passion for technological problem-solving, led her to a strong conviction in the necessity of regenerative practices and systems, which she believes are essential for harmonizing the interconnectedness of our global ecosystems.

Strategic Visionary in Global Sustainability Transformation

As Head of Strategy and Transformation at ACTUAL, Aurora champions the company’s mission to accelerate global sustainability transformation. She oversees a global portfolio of clients across sectors, including energy, agriculture, real estate, and investment. Her work focuses on helping large organizations and governments to convert sustainability challenges into financial opportunities, thereby fostering resilience and long-term growth. Under her leadership, ACTUAL empowers stakeholders worldwide to invest in scientifically grounded, resilient projects that are redefining the future of industries. 

Aurora ensures the precise deployment of ACTUAL’s advanced technology to facilitate scientifically and financially driven sustainability outcomes. She serves as critical guide for organisations, revolutionising their approach to achieving sustainability targets by leveraging ACTUAL’s spatial, multi-player, console. This approach helps companies mitigate potential market disruptions and secure long-term sustainability and growth. 

A key aspect of her leadership is assessing organizational readiness for transformation. Aurora helps companies evaluate their current state and prepares them to have a new approach about capital planning and multi stakeholder engagement.

Aurora is also instrumental in building strategic partnerships and consortiums that unite organisations around shared sustainability goals. These collaborations accelerate the development of green technologies and create investment-grade portfolios, scaling solutions that restore ecosystems while making sustainability a central economic driver.

Recognized by TIME as one of the Best Inventions of 2022 and by Fast Company via it’s 2023 Innovation by Design Award, ACTUAL simplifies the complex challenges CFOs face in deploying funds for sustainability transformations and optimising real-world assets — by addressing the intricate interdependencies and financial risks posed across various sectors

Championing Inclusive Longevity: Aurora is the founder of Regenera, a groundbreaking venture at the forefront of skin regeneration that utilizes exosomes derived from umbilical stem cells to promote deep cellular rejuvenation and enhance skin health. Her mission with Regenera is to democratize access to cutting-edge longevity technologies, ensuring that the benefits of these innovations are available to all. In June 2024, under Aurora’s leadership, Regenera launched in collaboration with Warner Bros, introducing a limited luxury collection during an immersive retail experience branded around famed fictional conglomerate Wayne Enterprises, setting a new standard for integrating health and wellness into luxury experiences.

Global Visionary Leadership in Peacemaking: As the founder of Zero+, Aurora strives to explore the intricate nexus between peacekeeping and natural resources. This early-stage project merges climate action with a vision of global peace and prosperity, developing AI and data analysis models to map  the complex relationships between ecosystems and societies. Central to her work is the development of the R-Factor, a multidimensional metric designed to measure the regenerative power of ecosystems and societies, with the goal of forecasting and preventing conflicts. The first pilot of this initiative was launched in Somalia in partnership with the Elman Foundation.

Harnessing Fashion to Shape Culture and Promote Sustainability: In 2018, Aurora founded Maakola, a sustainable fashion brand that merges traditional Ghanaian textile craftsmanship with blockchain technology. Using fashion as a medium to influence both culture and economic development, Aurora’s goal with Maakola is to enhance transparency, promote conscious consumption, and preserve cultural heritage. WearMe30Times, the first digital tool for measuring a garment’s lifespan, was introduced by Aurora through Maakala to promote conscious consumption and sustainability. Aurora also designed suits for American presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard during the 2020 Democratic primary debates, helping to model ethical fashion on a national stage. Maakola’s Inside/Out collection, which reduces the carbon footprint of T-shirts by over 95%, is another testament to her commitment to sustainability. Aurora’s TEDx talk, “Threads of Freedom,” articulates her vision of fashion as a means to reclaim African identity and celebrate a legacy of freedom.

Empowering Emerging Leaders Through Entrepreneurship: In 2012, Aurora founded Hack for Big Choices, a global nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing development challenges through entrepreneurship. Under her leadership, the organization empowered over 400 entrepreneurs and helped launch more than 50 companies across countries like Mexico, Colombia, Santo Domingo, and Ghana. Further demonstrating her vision and leadership for this cause, Aurora organized the largest hackathon ever held in Africa, with support from major tech companies such as Facebook and WordPress, as well as public institutions like the U.S. Embassy. In 2015, she led the establishment of the first Healthcare Innovation Center in Accra, Ghana; addressing local healthcare challenges with support from Merck and UNICEF.

Guiding Future Leaders in Regenerative and Sustainability Practices: Aurora is also a trusted advisor, furthering her commitment to a more equitable and sustainable future through key roles at leading organizations such as Emerge, where she helps revolutionize human connection through AI-powered technology.  At Novamed, where she serves as Chief Sustainability Officer, she integrates ESG principles into healthcare and real estate investments.

Pioneering Energy Access for All: In Accra, Ghana, Aurora founded Ray Power Africa, with the vision of making renewable energy accessible to everyone. Collaborating with African financial institutions like Ecobank, she developed a groundbreaking “energy as a service” model. Through additional strategic partnerships and market development efforts, Aurora has successfully pioneered sustainable and reliable power solutions across several other African countries, furthering her efforts to contribute to a more prosperous and sustainable future.

Elevating Africa’s Presence Through Data: As the African Managing Director of Orb Intelligence, Aurora played a pivotal role in the creation of a comprehensive database  that identified 20,000 previously unknown African healthcare facilities, significantly enhancing access to critical healthcare data across the continent. Her strategic leadership in forging key partnerships and driving business growth at Orb Intelligence ultimately led to its acquisition by Dun & Bradstreet in 2020.

Strategic Influence Across Multiple Sectors: In her role as Lead of Innovation for BlueSPACE Africa in Ghana, Aurora’s work was instrumental in developing over $30 million worth of Fintech solutions for the informal sector, helping to empower small businesses and unbanked individuals to gain access to financial services and technology and significantly driving business development across the region.

Across every one of these stops in her journey, past and present, Aurora’s focus and commitment have remained fixated on her dedication to the regeneration of our planet and the sustainability of our systems. Driven by her embrace of innovation, and guided by her commitment to driving meaningful change, Aurora continues to welcome each opportunity to create the future she knows is possible – where business success and social and environmental well-being can not only co-exist but feed one another.