Minal Patel Davis is the Founder and CEO of Henekom Group, a boutique advisory that helps organizations identify, prevent, and address human rights risks while strengthening long-term organizational resilience and legacy impacts. This focus on human rights due diligence and responsible governance for global mega sporting events, organizing committees, governments, and the private sector help her clients withstand global scrutiny while doing the right thing. Over a 20-plus year career, she has moved between public service, all phases of mega-sporting event delivery, and the private sector, consistently focused on translating international human rights standards into practical, operational strategy.
Henekom Group was retained to serve on FIFA’s Expert Advisory Group for the Club World Cup 2025™ and FIFA World Cup 2026™, advising on human rights standards ahead of and during tournament delivery. She simultaneously served as Chief Legacy Officer for the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Houston Host Committee and Chief Human Rights Officer for the North Texas FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee™, making her one of a small number of senior executives to publicly lead human rights strategy across multiple host cities.
They advise these and other clients on how to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, OECD Guidelines, ILO Guidelines and emerging human rights due diligence requirements—spanning value chains and supply chains through responsible sourcing, conducting extensive stakeholder engagement and producing in-depth human rights impact assessments and action plans.
Before her work in sport, Minal was the founding Director of the Houston Mayor’s Office of Human Trafficking, where she built a model municipal response that was replicated by other U.S. cities and internationally at the request of the U.S. Department of State. This work earned her a White House Presidential Award for Extraordinary Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Persons.
Minal serves on the boards of Verité and the Eradicate Hate Global Summit, is a contributing author to the Thomson Reuters Institute, and holds a JD and MBA from the University of Connecticut and a BA from New York University.
