Key Speakers 2022

MASATSUGU ASAKAWA

President, Asian Development Bank

Masatsugu Asakawa is the President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Chairperson of ADB’s Board of Directors. He was elected President by ADB’s Board of Governors and assumed office on 17 January 2020.

Prior to joining ADB, he served as Special Advisor to Japan’s Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, and has a close-to-four decades’ career at the Ministry of Finance with diverse professional experiences that cut across both domestic and international fronts.

In the immediate aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis, Mr. Asakawa, in his capacity as Executive Assistant to Prime Minister Taro Aso, took part in the first G20 Leaders’ Summit Meeting in November 2008. He was instrumental in orchestrating a globally coordinated financial package to abate the financial crisis, including a $100 billion loan from Japan to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Then in 2016, in his capacity as Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs, he took on a leading role for the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Sendai under the Japanese presidency, where a sustainable and inclusive development agenda was extensively discussed.

Most recently, he served as Finance Deputy for the G20 meetings under the Japanese presidency, playing a pivotal role for the success of the G20 Osaka Summit as well as the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Fukuoka. Some of his outstanding achievements in Osaka include endorsement by the G20 Leaders of the “G20 Principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment” and the “G20 Shared Understanding on the Importance of UHC Financing in Developing Countries”. Before these, he had occupied various prominent positions within the Ministry of Finance, including director positions in charge of development policy issues, foreign exchange markets and international tax policy.

Mr. Asakawa’s professional experience extends beyond the realms of the Japanese government. Most notably, he served as Chief Advisor to ADB President Kimimasa Tarumizu between 1989 and 1992, during which time he spearheaded the creation of a new office that focuses on strategic planning. Also, he had frequent engagement with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in such positions as Chair for Committee on Fiscal Affairs (2011-2016).

Furthermore, he was a senior staff at the Fiscal Affairs Department of the IMF (1996-2000). In the meantime, he gave lectures as Visiting Professor at the Graduate School of Economic Science, Saitama University (2006-2009), and at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo (2012-2015).

Mr. Asakawa obtained his BA from University of Tokyo (Economics Faculty) in 1981, and MPA from Princeton University, USA, in 1985.

Masatsugu Asakawa is the President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Chairperson of ADB’s Board of Directors. He was elected President by ADB’s Board of Governors and assumed office on 17 January 2020.

Prior to joining ADB, he served as Special Advisor to Japan’s Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, and has a close-to-four decades’ career at the Ministry of Finance with diverse professional experiences that cut across both domestic and international fronts.

In the immediate aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis, Mr. Asakawa, in his capacity as Executive Assistant to Prime Minister Taro Aso, took part in the first G20 Leaders’ Summit Meeting in November 2008. He was instrumental in orchestrating a globally coordinated financial package to abate the financial crisis, including a $100 billion loan from Japan to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Then in 2016, in his capacity as Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs, he took on a leading role for the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Sendai under the Japanese presidency, where a sustainable and inclusive development agenda was extensively discussed.

Most recently, he served as Finance Deputy for the G20 meetings under the Japanese presidency, playing a pivotal role for the success of the G20 Osaka Summit as well as the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Fukuoka. Some of his outstanding achievements in Osaka include endorsement by the G20 Leaders of the “G20 Principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment” and the “G20 Shared Understanding on the Importance of UHC Financing in Developing Countries”. Before these, he had occupied various prominent positions within the Ministry of Finance, including director positions in charge of development policy issues, foreign exchange markets and international tax policy.

Mr. Asakawa’s professional experience extends beyond the realms of the Japanese government. Most notably, he served as Chief Advisor to ADB President Kimimasa Tarumizu between 1989 and 1992, during which time he spearheaded the creation of a new office that focuses on strategic planning. Also, he had frequent engagement with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in such positions as Chair for Committee on Fiscal Affairs (2011-2016).

Furthermore, he was a senior staff at the Fiscal Affairs Department of the IMF (1996-2000). In the meantime, he gave lectures as Visiting Professor at the Graduate School of Economic Science, Saitama University (2006-2009), and at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo (2012-2015).

Mr. Asakawa obtained his BA from University of Tokyo (Economics Faculty) in 1981, and MPA from Princeton University, USA, in 1985.

Indranee Thurai Rajah is a Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office of Singapore. She is also Second Minister for Finance and and Second Minister for National Development, as well as a Leader of the House for the 14th Parliament. She has been a Member of Parliament for the Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency since 2001.

She was a practicing lawyer and a Senior Counsel before joining the government.

Under her law portfolio from 2012 to 2018, she co-chaired the Committees on Family Justice, the formation of the Singapore International Commercial Court, as well as the Committee to Strengthen Singapore as an International Centre for Debt Restructuring. She also co-chaired the Penal Code Review Committee whose recommendations led to major amendments of the Penal Code, including greater protection for women and the vulnerable.

In her first tour of the Education Ministry from 2012 to 2015, she led the Applied Study in Polytechnics and ITE Review (ASPIRE) Committee resulting in the setup of SkillsFuture, a national movement to align education with economic demand, career guidance, and lifelong learning. In her second stint from 2018 to 2020, Ms. Rajah chaired UPLIFT—“Uplifting Pupils in Life and Inspiring Families Taskforce"—an inter-agency team convened in 2018 to strengthen support for students from disadvantaged families.

Under her finance portfolio, Ms. Rajah co-chaired the Working Group on Legal and Accounting Services, a sub-committee of the 2016 Committee on the Future Economy, the recommendations of which are aimed at transforming the legal and accounting industries in Singapore and catalyzing the internationalization of such professional services. She oversees Infrastructure Asia, the Singapore government platform that connects infrastructure demand and supply in the region.

In the Prime Minister’s Office, Ms. Rajah oversees the National Population and Talent Division and assists Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean on population matters.

Since 2004, Ing Kantha Phavi, has been serving as the Minister for Women’s Affairs, where she is responsible for its management and leadership. In addition to her ministerial post, she has been the Chairwoman of the Cambodian National Council for Women since 2004. Prior to becoming Minister, Dr. Phavi served for 5 years as Secretary of State of Women’s and Veterans’ Affairs.

Under her leadership, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs has succeeded in integrating gender equality measures into important laws such as the Land Law, the Decentralization and Deconcentration Organic Laws, and laws related to combating violence against women, such as the Anti-Trafficking of Human Beings and Sexual Exploitation Law, and the Law on Domestic Violence and Protection of the Victim. She continues to advocate for gender issues in state reforms and promote women’s economic empowerment and decision-making roles.

In the region and worldwide, Minister Phavi has contributed to the advancement of women’s agenda, especially at the East Asia Gender Equality Ministerial Meetings, the East Asia Ministerial Forums on Families and the ASEAN Ministerial Meetings on Women. In 2014, Minister Phavi was one of the nine women leaders awarded by the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Women Leadership Forum as “Most Outstanding Women”.

In the 1990s, Dr. Phavi worked in France as a private medical doctor and, later on, as director of the drugs trials department at ABR, a French firm involved in marketing and research for medical drugs.

Dr. Phavi also served as Deputy Secretary General in the medical nongovernment organization, Association des Medecins Cambodgiens, which provides medical and social assistance to Cambodia. Dr. Phavi holds a medical doctorate with a specialization in nutrition and tropical diseases from Saint Antoine Faculty, Paris and a brevet in Public Administration from Ecole Nationale d’Administration, Paris. In 2004, she participated in the Executive Leadership Program, Leaders in Development: Managing Political and Economic Reforms, at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

KISHORE MAHBUBANI

Distinguished Fellow, Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore

Kishore Mahbubani has been privileged to enjoy two distinct careers, in diplomacy (1971 to 2004) and in academia (2004 to 2019). He is a prolific writer who has spoken in many corners of the world.

In diplomacy, he was with the Singapore Foreign Service for 33 years (1971 to 2004). He had postings in Cambodia, Malaysia, Washington DC, and New York, where he twice was Singapore’s Ambassador to the UN and served as President of the UN Security Council in January 2001 and May 2002. He was Permanent Secretary at the Foreign Ministry from 1993 to 1998. As a result of his excellent performance in his diplomatic career, he was conferred the Public Administration Medal (Gold) by the Singapore Government in 1998.

Mr. Mahbubani joined academia in 2004, when he was appointed the Founding Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKY School), NUS. He was dean from 2004 to 2017, and a professor in the Practice of Public Policy from 2006 to 2019. In April 2019, he was elected as an honorary international member to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, which has honored distinguished thinkers, including several of America’s founding fathers, since 1780.

Mr. Mahbubani was awarded the President’s Scholarship in 1967. He graduated with a First Class Honours degree in Philosophy from the University of Singapore in 1971. From Dalhousie University, Canada, he received a master’s degree in philosophy in 1976, and an honorary doctorate in 1995. He spent a year as a fellow at the Center for International Affairs at Harvard University from 1991 to 1992.

He has achieved several “firsts” in his two careers. He was the founding dean of the LKY School, the founding director of the Civil Service College, the first Singapore Ambassador to serve on the UN Security Council, the first Singaporean to publish articles in globally renowned journals and newspapers like Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, the New York Times, and the Financial Times and co-authored articles with distinguished global thought leaders like Kofi Annan, Klaus Schwab, and Larry Summers. Mr. Mahbubani has never shied away from taking on new challenges.

He has also been a prolific author, having published eight books: Can Asians Think?, Beyond The Age Of Innocence, The New Asian Hemisphere, The Great Convergence, Can Singapore Survive, The ASEAN Miracle (co-authored with Jeffery Sng), Has the West Lost It? and Has China Won?.

Mr. Mahbubani has received significant international recognition for his many accomplishments. The Foreign Policy Association Medal was awarded to him in New York in June 2004 with the following opening words in the citation: “A gifted diplomat, a student of history and philosophy, a provocative writer and an intuitive thinker”. He was listed as one of the top 100 public intellectuals in the world by Foreign Policy and Prospect magazines in September 2005, and included in the March 2009 Financial Times list of Top 50 individuals who would shape the debate on the future of capitalism. He was selected as one of Foreign Policy’s Top Global Thinkers in 2010 and 2011. In 2011, he was described as “the muse of the Asian century”. He was selected by Prospect magazine as one of the top 50 world thinkers for 2014.

Kishore Mahbubani has been privileged to enjoy two distinct careers, in diplomacy (1971 to 2004) and in academia (2004 to 2019). He is a prolific writer who has spoken in many corners of the world.

In diplomacy, he was with the Singapore Foreign Service for 33 years (1971 to 2004). He had postings in Cambodia, Malaysia, Washington DC, and New York, where he twice was Singapore’s Ambassador to the UN and served as President of the UN Security Council in January 2001 and May 2002. He was Permanent Secretary at the Foreign Ministry from 1993 to 1998. As a result of his excellent performance in his diplomatic career, he was conferred the Public Administration Medal (Gold) by the Singapore Government in 1998.

Mr. Mahbubani joined academia in 2004, when he was appointed the Founding Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKY School), NUS. He was dean from 2004 to 2017, and a professor in the Practice of Public Policy from 2006 to 2019. In April 2019, he was elected as an honorary international member to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, which has honored distinguished thinkers, including several of America’s founding fathers, since 1780.

Mr. Mahbubani was awarded the President’s Scholarship in 1967. He graduated with a First Class Honours degree in Philosophy from the University of Singapore in 1971. From Dalhousie University, Canada, he received a master’s degree in philosophy in 1976, and an honorary doctorate in 1995. He spent a year as a fellow at the Center for International Affairs at Harvard University from 1991 to 1992.

He has achieved several “firsts” in his two careers. He was the founding dean of the LKY School, the founding director of the Civil Service College, the first Singapore Ambassador to serve on the UN Security Council, the first Singaporean to publish articles in globally renowned journals and newspapers like Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, the New York Times, and the Financial Times and co-authored articles with distinguished global thought leaders like Kofi Annan, Klaus Schwab, and Larry Summers. Mr. Mahbubani has never shied away from taking on new challenges.

He has also been a prolific author, having published eight books: Can Asians Think?, Beyond The Age Of Innocence, The New Asian Hemisphere, The Great Convergence, Can Singapore Survive, The ASEAN Miracle (co-authored with Jeffery Sng), Has the West Lost It? and Has China Won?.

Mr. Mahbubani has received significant international recognition for his many accomplishments. The Foreign Policy Association Medal was awarded to him in New York in June 2004 with the following opening words in the citation: “A gifted diplomat, a student of history and philosophy, a provocative writer and an intuitive thinker”. He was listed as one of the top 100 public intellectuals in the world by Foreign Policy and Prospect magazines in September 2005, and included in the March 2009 Financial Times list of Top 50 individuals who would shape the debate on the future of capitalism. He was selected as one of Foreign Policy’s Top Global Thinkers in 2010 and 2011. In 2011, he was described as “the muse of the Asian century”. He was selected by Prospect magazine as one of the top 50 world thinkers for 2014.

Ahmed M. Saeed joined ADB in 2019 and has significant prior leadership experience in both government and the private sector. He is currently responsible for overseeing ADB’s operations in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific.

Between 2004 and 2008, Mr. Saeed served in senior roles at the US Treasury. He was an advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury (2004-05) and the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for the Middle East and Africa, with responsibility for US economic diplomacy and financial engagement across 68 countries (2005-08). He has worked closely with two Secretaries of the Treasury (John Snow and Hank Paulson). He was deeply involved in a number of significant debt relief exercises (for Liberia, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq) and laid the basis for what became the Santiago Principles for sovereign wealth funds.

Prior to joining ADB, Mr. Saeed spent close to 8 years as Managing Director and head of JPMorgan’s coverage for finance ministries, central banks, and sovereign wealth funds across the Middle East and North Africa. He has raised over $100 billion in financing for governments, including the debut sovereign bond issuances for several sovereigns and the largest ever sovereign bond offerings in emerging markets (twice).

Mr. Saeed began his career as a lawyer at White & Case. In the late 1990’s, he led technology-related businesses in the UK, US, and Japan, raising over $150 million for companies in which he was a key principal.

Mr. Saeed holds a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Chicago Law School and a Master of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, as well as a BA (Economics and Political Science) from McGill University. He is a former White House Fellow and a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

RAMESH SUBRAMANIAM

Director General, Southeast Asia Department, Asian Development Bank

Ramesh Subramaniam has been with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for over 24 years, since March 1997. He has worked in different functions and areas in over 25 countries across the various sub-regions of Asia and the Pacific. In his current capacity as Director General of the Southeast Asia Department (SERD) from July 2017, he is in charge of ADB’s relationship with the 10 countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Timor-Leste, as well as all of its Sovereign engagement. He has been a member of various Global Agenda/Future Councils of the World Economic Forum (WEF) since 2012, and currently serves as the co-chair of the ASEAN Hub of WEF’s Sustainable Development Investment Partnership.

With a talent pool of over 430 globally and locally recruited staff, SERD has over $24 billion in projects under implementation. In addition, SERD also has several ongoing policy and structural reform programs with at least over $12 billion in funds disbursed and under monitoring. ADB’s new Sovereign commitments in Southeast Asia stand at around $7 billion per year in transport, energy, urban, agriculture and natural resources, human development, finance, and public management sectors, besides regional cooperation and integration.

From February 2020, Ramesh has been steering ADB’s work in the sub-region to help countries in their COVID-19 response. ADB mobilized over $5.3 billion in exceptional financing for economic and health sector measures in Southeast Asia. ADB also provided an emergency food grant for close to a million individuals in Metro Manila who had lost their jobs due to the pandemic, for which it also leveraged private sector financing. At present, teams are working under his overall leadership to mobilize vaccine support. The first-ever vaccine financing project of ADB under the $9-billion APVAX regional facility was recently approved for the Philippines ($400 million), followed by Indonesia ($450 million), to be followed by assistance to Cambodia in the fourth quarter.

Ramesh has also served as ADB’s Director General of Procurement, Portfolio and Financial Management Department (2015-2017); Deputy Director General of SERD (2013-2015); Senior Director in the Office of Regional Economic Integration (2011-2013); Director of public management and financial sector (2007-2010) as well as Director of urban infrastructure (2010-2011) in Central and West Asia; and Principal Economist and Deputy Country Director in Indonesia (2003-2007).

With a strong focus on policy and institutional reforms across the region, Ramesh’s strong interest has been in helping the region’s developing member countries reduce poverty, achieve equitable growth, and attract greater private sector investments. He has led several important initiatives such as the establishment of the ASEAN Infrastructure Fund, various critical post-crisis counter-cyclical reform and restructuring programs in many countries, as well as post-disaster reconstruction projects across the Asia and the Pacific. The ASEAN Policy Network and ASEAN Innovation Hub were established under his leadership in 2017, and he oversaw the establishment of the ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility. Among other aspects of his work, Ramesh is most humbled by his role in formulating ADB’s support after several devastating natural disasters, including the December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami; 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake; 2006 Pakistan earthquake; 2009 Pakistan floods; 2013 Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines; 2018 Palu earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia; and most recently the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

In parallel, Ramesh has maintained strong interest in education as an instrument for change. Improving social service delivery has been a key part of his support for public sector reforms in many countries. He considers serving the needy through the development profession as a highly noble endeavor. Outside of ADB, he is involved in volunteering work focused on livelihood, health care, and education, with the aim of promoting the fundamental human values of Love, Truth, Peace, Right Conduct, and Non-violence in society overall.

Ramesh has an MA in Economics from University of Madras, India (1988); and a PhD in Economics from McMaster University, Canada, where he was also a Lecturer (1990-1993). He has been a Research Fellow on Industry at University of St. Andrews in United Kingdom from December 1993 to January 1994, and Rockefeller Fellow at Yale University Economic Growth Center from February 1994 to March 1997.

Ramesh Subramaniam has been with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for over 24 years, since March 1997. He has worked in different functions and areas in over 25 countries across the various sub-regions of Asia and the Pacific. In his current capacity as Director General of the Southeast Asia Department (SERD) from July 2017, he is in charge of ADB’s relationship with the 10 countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Timor-Leste, as well as all of its Sovereign engagement. He has been a member of various Global Agenda/Future Councils of the World Economic Forum (WEF) since 2012, and currently serves as the co-chair of the ASEAN Hub of WEF’s Sustainable Development Investment Partnership.

With a talent pool of over 430 globally and locally recruited staff, SERD has over $24 billion in projects under implementation. In addition, SERD also has several ongoing policy and structural reform programs with at least over $12 billion in funds disbursed and under monitoring. ADB’s new Sovereign commitments in Southeast Asia stand at around $7 billion per year in transport, energy, urban, agriculture and natural resources, human development, finance, and public management sectors, besides regional cooperation and integration.

From February 2020, Ramesh has been steering ADB’s work in the sub-region to help countries in their COVID-19 response. ADB mobilized over $5.3 billion in exceptional financing for economic and health sector measures in Southeast Asia. ADB also provided an emergency food grant for close to a million individuals in Metro Manila who had lost their jobs due to the pandemic, for which it also leveraged private sector financing. At present, teams are working under his overall leadership to mobilize vaccine support. The first-ever vaccine financing project of ADB under the $9-billion APVAX regional facility was recently approved for the Philippines ($400 million), followed by Indonesia ($450 million), to be followed by assistance to Cambodia in the fourth quarter.

Ramesh has also served as ADB’s Director General of Procurement, Portfolio and Financial Management Department (2015-2017); Deputy Director General of SERD (2013-2015); Senior Director in the Office of Regional Economic Integration (2011-2013); Director of public management and financial sector (2007-2010) as well as Director of urban infrastructure (2010-2011) in Central and West Asia; and Principal Economist and Deputy Country Director in Indonesia (2003-2007).

With a strong focus on policy and institutional reforms across the region, Ramesh’s strong interest has been in helping the region’s developing member countries reduce poverty, achieve equitable growth, and attract greater private sector investments. He has led several important initiatives such as the establishment of the ASEAN Infrastructure Fund, various critical post-crisis counter-cyclical reform and restructuring programs in many countries, as well as post-disaster reconstruction projects across the Asia and the Pacific. The ASEAN Policy Network and ASEAN Innovation Hub were established under his leadership in 2017, and he oversaw the establishment of the ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility. Among other aspects of his work, Ramesh is most humbled by his role in formulating ADB’s support after several devastating natural disasters, including the December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami; 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake; 2006 Pakistan earthquake; 2009 Pakistan floods; 2013 Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines; 2018 Palu earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia; and most recently the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

In parallel, Ramesh has maintained strong interest in education as an instrument for change. Improving social service delivery has been a key part of his support for public sector reforms in many countries. He considers serving the needy through the development profession as a highly noble endeavor. Outside of ADB, he is involved in volunteering work focused on livelihood, health care, and education, with the aim of promoting the fundamental human values of Love, Truth, Peace, Right Conduct, and Non-violence in society overall.

Ramesh has an MA in Economics from University of Madras, India (1988); and a PhD in Economics from McMaster University, Canada, where he was also a Lecturer (1990-1993). He has been a Research Fellow on Industry at University of St. Andrews in United Kingdom from December 1993 to January 1994, and Rockefeller Fellow at Yale University Economic Growth Center from February 1994 to March 1997.

For more than 20 years, Shamina Singh has been on the frontlines of developing and implementing solutions to make the global economy work for everyone, everywhere.

Shamina is the founder and president of the Center for Inclusive Growth, the philanthropic hub of Mastercard. She also serves as executive vice-president of Corporate Sustainability.

Since 2014, she has led the Center with a remit to leverage Mastercard’s data, technology, capital, and expertise for social impact. In her role as EVP for Sustainability, she is responsible for the development and implementation of the environmental, social, and governance strategy across the company.

In 2018, Mastercard pledged $500 million to advance inclusive growth around the world. Shamina was named president of the Mastercard Impact Fund and charged with activating those philanthropic dollars to advance inclusive growth and financial inclusion around the world.

Currently, Shamina sits on the boards of Data & Society and ADL, a leading anti-hate organization. In addition, she serves as a board member of the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders and the Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation at Georgetown University. Shamina co-chairs the Ad Council’s Advisory Committee on Public Issues and serves on the Advisory Boards of social enterprise Women Reignite and The Aspen Institute Civil Society Fellowship. She is also a Henry Crown Fellow with The Aspen Institute.

Deeply committed to public service, Shamina has held senior positions in the White House and the US House of Representatives. In 2015, Shamina was appointed by President Obama and confirmed by the US Senate to a 6-year term on the board of the Corporation for National and Community Service. She is a graduate of the Presidential Leadership Fellows program and an alum of the Young Global Leaders program of the World Economic Forum.

F. CLEO KAWAWAKI

Head, Office of Public-Private Partnership, Asian Development Bank

F. Cleo Kawawaki is the head of the Office of Public–Private Partnership (OPPP) of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). She assumed office in January 2022. The OPPP was established to enhance the role of ADB in supporting and enabling governments of its developing members to secure greater private investment and generate economic growth in the region. OPPP provides transaction advisory services to developing member clients in order to develop bankable PPP projects. It also coordinates and supports PPP-related activities in ADB.

Previously, she was in the deputy director general role for Southeast Asia and Central West Asia Regional Departments. SERD covers the ASEAN countries and Timore-Leste with a portfolio of over $20 billion in loans/grant assistance and CWRD covers Pakistan, Afghanistan, Central Asia, and the Caucus countries. From large road and infrastructure projects to education and rural development projects, ADB has been a partner to developing member countries for over 55 years. ADB is working with our countries for immediate support for medical, social, and economic needs as well as formulating innovative green recovery. She also chairs the Digital Committee for ADB.

Prior to this position, Ms. Kawawaki was the director, Energy Division of the Central and West Asia Department. Responsible for business development and implementation of a $7-billion portfolio for the Central and West Asian countries as well as leading the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program’s Energy Sector Committee. Ms. Kawawaki has been with ADB since 2000.

Starting as commercial cofinancing officer, she implemented the bond (JPY61.7 billion) guaranteed by ADB in December 2002 for Power Sector Asset Liabilities Management Corp (PSALM) of the Philippines and established the ASEAN+3 Asian Bond Market Initiative. As a senior private sector development specialist, she worked on enabling environment and increase private sector investment in Indonesia and Philippines. In Central West Asia, she was responsible for the Energy Sector’s $1.2-billion portfolio, policy dialogue, business development and portfolio oversight and lead milestone innovative projects totaling $3.6 billion.

Prior to ADB, she was with the Nomura Securities Co., Ltd. for over a decade. As underwriter (equity and financial structuring of bonds and syndication manager), in Japan and Hong Kong, China, she led the documentation for UK electricity privatization, worked as transaction advisor for state-owned enterprises, structured finance as well as was a syndication manager for equity and bond sales. Immediately before joining ADB, she structured the transactions for Miyazawa initiative debt guarantees to support ASEAN countries.

F. Cleo Kawawaki is the head of the Office of Public–Private Partnership (OPPP) of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). She assumed office in January 2022. The OPPP was established to enhance the role of ADB in supporting and enabling governments of its developing members to secure greater private investment and generate economic growth in the region. OPPP provides transaction advisory services to developing member clients in order to develop bankable PPP projects. It also coordinates and supports PPP-related activities in ADB.

Previously, she was in the deputy director general role for Southeast Asia and Central West Asia Regional Departments. SERD covers the ASEAN countries and Timore-Leste with a portfolio of over $20 billion in loans/grant assistance and CWRD covers Pakistan, Afghanistan, Central Asia, and the Caucus countries. From large road and infrastructure projects to education and rural development projects, ADB has been a partner to developing member countries for over 55 years. ADB is working with our countries for immediate support for medical, social, and economic needs as well as formulating innovative green recovery. She also chairs the Digital Committee for ADB.

Prior to this position, Ms. Kawawaki was the director, Energy Division of the Central and West Asia Department. Responsible for business development and implementation of a $7-billion portfolio for the Central and West Asian countries as well as leading the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program’s Energy Sector Committee. Ms. Kawawaki has been with ADB since 2000.

Starting as commercial cofinancing officer, she implemented the bond (JPY61.7 billion) guaranteed by ADB in December 2002 for Power Sector Asset Liabilities Management Corp (PSALM) of the Philippines and established the ASEAN+3 Asian Bond Market Initiative. As a senior private sector development specialist, she worked on enabling environment and increase private sector investment in Indonesia and Philippines. In Central West Asia, she was responsible for the Energy Sector’s $1.2-billion portfolio, policy dialogue, business development and portfolio oversight and lead milestone innovative projects totaling $3.6 billion.

Prior to ADB, she was with the Nomura Securities Co., Ltd. for over a decade. As underwriter (equity and financial structuring of bonds and syndication manager), in Japan and Hong Kong, China, she led the documentation for UK electricity privatization, worked as transaction advisor for state-owned enterprises, structured finance as well as was a syndication manager for equity and bond sales. Immediately before joining ADB, she structured the transactions for Miyazawa initiative debt guarantees to support ASEAN countries.

Badri Narayanan Gopalakrishnan is the lead adviser at NITI Aayog, Government of India, where he heads the vertical of trade and commerce. Prior to joining the government, he has served as an economist, working to analyze a wide range of economic issues (mainly international trade), disruptive technologies (blockchain, AI, drones, robotics, IoT, among others), and environmental, energy, and public health policies. He has informed the process of decision making in several major economic policies, such as free trade agreements, technology regulations—both through his academic research and consulting or advisory projects. He is on the board of directors of British American Business Council.

Badri was a senior economist and affiliate professor at the University of Washington Seattle, senior fellow at the European Center for International Political Economy, Brussels, National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and Center for Social and Economic Progress (formerly Brookings India), New Delhi. He has served as a consultant to the UN, World Bank, ILO, FAO, WHO, ICRIER, IMF, ADB, Harvard University, LSE, the Commonwealth Secretariat, McKinsey, KPMG, PwC, and several other international organizations as well as government and private organizations across the world.

He has also been engaged with the startup community across the world as an advisor and cofounder. In 2015, he founded a consulting firm, Infinite-Sum Modelling, which has offices in Vancouver, Seattle, Los Angeles, Coimbatore, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, and New Delhi.

He has published over 100 papers and five books, been cited thousands of times in popular media (FT, BBC, CNN, WP, The Economist) and in reputed journals (Nature Communication, Energy Economics, Network and Spatial Economics, Economic Modelling, Applied Economics, and Agricultural Economics), and presented his work in over 30 countries.

John Bailey has spent more than 25 years helping companies around the world to prepare for and respond to reputational challenges and crises. He is the author of the Best Practice Guidelines on Crisis Communication and Reputation Management in the Digital Age, published by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). This is the definitive guide for the global aviation industry on adapting crisis response plans to meet the challenge of an “always on” media environment.

John offers an unrivaled breadth of international experience, having worked with more than 100 clients in over 50 countries across sectors, including manufacturing, hospitality, fast-moving consumer goods, financial services, and international sports. Before he established Global Communications Consulting, John built the largest independently-owned public relations agency in Singapore, which was acquired by Ketchum in November 2013.

John previously worked in Geneva, Switzerland, where he created the successful IATA Crisis Communications consultancy service.

He has been involved in the response to numerous crisis situations, including several airline accidents and the December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. More recently, he was part of the team advising the senior management of Malaysia Airlines on their response to the disappearance of flight MH370, an unprecedented crisis in the aviation history. He has also worked extensively with more than 50 other airlines, including the AirAsia Group, airports, and aerospace manufacturers.

John is a regular speaker at conferences around the world and has been a guest lecturer at the Singapore Management University, National University of Singapore, the Singapore Institute of Management, and the Singapore Aviation Academy. He has also been a presenter at the US National Transportation Safety Board Training Center in Ashburn, Virginia.

Parimita Mohanty works at the United Nations Environment Programme, Asia Pacific as a program management officer for renewable energy. She has more than 19 years of experience in sustainable energy, women entrepreneurship, and climate change. She has extensively worked on designing and implementing evidence-driven strategies, technology transfer, and climate action plans in more than 15 countries that accelerate and sustain social and environmental impact. Prior to joining UNEP, Parimita worked with TERI, where she had taken the pride of leading the technology unit of globally recognized Lighting a Billion Lives campaign and smart grid initiatives. At TERI, she made an impact on rural communities, including women, through a number of technology innovations for which she received NASSCOM’s National Social Innovation Award in 2010 and Graphical System Design Achievement Awards in 2012. During her 19-year career, she has initiated more than 50 collaborative projects with reputed national and international institutions, including governments, civil society organizations, and private sector entities, and worked on sustainable technologies for communities. She has led and successfully implemented solar women entrepreneurship project on the ground with innovative financing instruments in more than 10 South and Southeast Asian countries. She sat in various technical committees in India and abroad and was the visiting researcher to many recognized universities in the US and Europe. She is the author and editor of seven books and more than 25 publications on sustainable energy, climate change, and socioeconomic development in various international peer-reviewed journals. She holds a master's degree in energy sience and technology and a PhD on micro-grids and smart grids. Besides being a climate change expert, she is a national level women’s cricket player.

Marc Lepage has worked in the knowledge and technology innovation for development context since 1998.

Marc currently works at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as principal IT specialist (technology innovation), based at the ADB headquarters in Manila, Philippines. Marc advises and supports ADB with its 2030 digital agenda, by designing and implementing ADB’s Digital Innovation Sandbox Program, an initiative aiming at using emerging digital technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain, and robotics to future-proof ADB and support its transformation into an agile organization.

Prior to this position, Marc worked for the United Nations as UNDP innovation advisor in Africa, based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Marc advised the 46 countries under the UNDP Africa region to develop, sustain and implement innovative initiatives. Managing the UNDP Africa Innovation Fund, Marc provided policy guidance to countries interested to develop innovation initiatives.

He also worked as Uganda country manager for the International Institute for Communication and Development, advisor to the national ICT strategy formulation in Somalia, and regional director for Africa and Middle East of a Canadian international NGO working in ICT for development.

Previously, Marc has spent 7 years with UNDP in information and knowledge for development, including as deputy regional coordinator for ICTDAR, the UNDP program on ICT for Development in the Arab region, advisor for UNDP Afghanistan for all ICT-related activities; and as information systems engineer for UNDP Asia Pacific Development Information Programme.

Since he started to work in the field of knowledge and technology for development, Marc has worked in about 50 countries in Asia, Middle East, and Africa, designing and implementing projects linking sustainable development with knowledge and technology innovation.

Marc’s work has been featured on CNN, BBC, the Wall Street Journal, and other global and local media.

Holding both French and Canadian nationalities, married with a son and two daughters, Marc holds a master’s degree in network engineering from a French university.

Dr. Badri Narayanan Gopalakrishnan is the lead adviser at NITI Aayog, Government of India, where he heads the vertical of trade and commerce. Prior to joining the government, he has served as an economist, working to analyze a wide range of economic issues (mainly international trade), disruptive technologies (blockchain, AI, drones, robotics, IoT, among others), and environmental, energy, and public health policies. He has informed the process of decision making in several major economic policies, such as free trade agreements, technology regulations—both through his academic research and consulting or advisory projects. He is on the board of directors of British American Business Council.

Badri was a senior economist and affiliate professor at the University of Washington Seattle, senior fellow at the European Center for International Political Economy, Brussels, National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and Center for Social and Economic Progress (formerly Brookings India), New Delhi. He has served as a consultant to the UN, World Bank, ILO, FAO, WHO, ICRIER, IMF, ADB, Harvard University, LSE, the Commonwealth Secretariat, McKinsey, KPMG, PwC, and several other international organizations as well as government and private organizations across the world.

He has also been engaged with the startup community across the world as an advisor and co-founder. In 2015, he founded a consulting firm, Infinite-Sum Modelling, which has offices in Vancouver, Seattle, Los Angeles, Coimbatore, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, and New Delhi.

He has published over 100 papers and five books, cited thousands of times in journals as well as popular media (FT, BBC, CNN, WP, The Economist), in reputed journals (Nature Communication, Energy Economics, Network and Spatial Economics, Economic Modelling, Applied Economics, and Agricultural Economics) and presented his work in over 30 countries across the world.

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