Key speakers
Speakers (A-Z)
James Hookham is Secretary General and a Director of the Global Shippers Forum (GSF), the voice of cargo owners in international supply chains. He is a graduate in Environmental Science from the University of Bradford and completed a master's degree in the safe transport of dangerous goods at the University of Manchester.
James early career was spent with Exis Technologies (now part of National Cargo Bureau) developing the world's first remotely accessible computerized dangerous goods database and later served as deputy editor of Hazardous Cargo Bulletin.
Until 2020 James was Deputy Chief Executive of the Freight Transport Association (now Logistics UK) where he held numerous positions on UK, EU and global transport and logistics advisory bodies, as well as senior executive roles at one of the UK's largest trade organizations.
Gilbert F. Houngbo was elected as the 11th Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO) by the ILO’s Governing Body in March 2022.
He is the first person from the African region to have been elected to this post. His primary focus is promoting greater social justice, fighting inequalities and discrimination in the world of work, and achieving better working conditions through national action and building more effective multilateral coordination and leadership.
To achieve this, he is emphasizing universal social protection, decent work in global supply chains and in the platform economy, the fight against child and forced labour, protecting the rights of migrant workers, promoting social dialogue and freedom of association, ensuring just transitions, and attaining gender equality.
Additionally, Gilbert F. Houngbo chairs the Board of the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) and is a board member of the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA).
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Ingrid is Customs and Trade Facilitation Coordinator at the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism of Peru. She is responsible for negotiating provisions related to trade facilitation and customs procedures and cooperation within the framework of international trade agreements.
She is part of the team managing the National Trade Facilitation Committee of Peru, which is responsible for implementing the Trade Facilitation Agreement at the national level. In her role, she also serves as a focal point in technical working groups in APEC, the Pacific Alliance, and the Andean Community.
Ingrid is a qualified lawyer, holding a master’s degree in Tax Law from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, and she has specialized studies in international trade, taxation, and customs.
Martin Humphreys is a Lead Transport Economist and the Global Lead for Connectivity and Logistics, with a focus on ports, maritime and the inland water transport sector, at the World Bank.
He has been working in the transport sector for nearly 30 years in several different countries/regions, including inter alia, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Eastern Europe, Russia, South Asia, Central Asia, East Asia, the South Caucasus, the Baltic States, and the Western Balkan countries, and Eastern and Southern Africa.
His experience covers roads, railways, inland waterways and maritime ports, public private partnerships, and trade and transport facilitation, in post-conflict, fragile, and low- and middle-income countries.
Martin has a first degree in Economics, and a master’s degree and Ph.D in Transport Economics.
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Okechukwu Ihejirika serves as the Acting Chief Operating Officer, Caribbean Office at the African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank). With over 20 years of banking experience, he specializes in trade finance.
Before joining Afreximbank in 2015, he held senior positions in Nigerian banks, including Head of Trade Finance at Union Bank of Nigeria. He holds an MBA in International Business from the American Intercontinental University and a Bachelor's in Actuarial Science and Insurance from the Imo State University.
Additionally, he is certified in International Trade and Finance from the Institute of Financial Services London and holds the Certified Documentary Credit Specialist designation. Okechukwu serves on the ICC Taskforce on Guarantees and the digitization working group of the ICC.
He is a founding member of the African Council of BAFT, chairing its membership committee for the African Council and contributing to the global membership committee.
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Ricardo James, Head of the Trade Policy Development within the Division of Economic Affairs and Regional Integration of the OECS Commission, is responsible for providing leadership, advice, analysis and reporting to the Commission and Member States in the coordinating and harmonisation of the formulation, development and implementation of trade policy.
Previously, Mr. James was a Senior Technical Specialist for Business Environment and Export Development at the Commission’s Competitive Business Unit (CBU), where he was responsible for strengthening the policy, legislative and regulatory frameworks for MSME competitiveness trade and exports in the OECS.
He was also Head of the Permanent Delegation of the OECS in Geneva as Chargé d'Affaires responsible for advancing the interests of the OECS in the multilateral trading system at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). He served as lead technical spokesperson for the African Caribbean Pacific (ACP) Group of Countries in the negotiations on trade facilitation and fisheries subsidies rules.
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Carlos Felipe Jaramillo is the World Bank Vice President for the Latin America and the Caribbean Region, overseeing Bank relations with 31 countries and a portfolio of ongoing projects, technical assistance and grants of almost US$32 billion. Under his leadership, the Bank’s operations in the region focus on fueling growth, reducing poverty, supporting equality and protecting the environment.
Jaramillo was previously the World Bank country director for Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia and Uganda, based in Nairobi. There he managed an operational portfolio of more than 80 projects representing a total investment of more than US$12 billion to help countries share and apply innovative knowledge and solutions to the challenges they face.
Prior to his role in Africa, Jaramillo was the senior director of the World Bank Group’s Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment Global Practice (MTI), where he led a global team of more than 450 economists. Since joining the World Bank in 2002, he has also served two terms as country director in the Latin America and Caribbean Region.
Before joining the Bank, Jaramillo was a public servant in the Government of Colombia, holding offices in the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank and the Ministry of Trade. Jaramillo holds an M.A. and a Ph. D. in development economics from Stanford University. He has taught at the Department of Economics of the Universidad de Los Andes in Bogota and at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Philip Julien is CEO and Chairman of Kenesjay Green. In 2019, Philip launched Kenesjay Green Limited (KGL) as a pioneering entity for the energy transition industry of the Caribbean. Its primary goal is to establish renewable and low-carbon-based energy projects for Trinidad & Tobago and the Caribbean. One of its projects under development is for the large scale production of low carbon and green hydrogen for the petrochemical sector of Trinidad and Tobago.
Philip has been developing other energy decarbonisation opportunities in the Caribbean, including in geothermal-rich Dominica. He has also been an advocate for regional green energy integration across the Region.
Philip is also the Founder of the Heroes Foundation – a registered not-for-profit non-governmental organisation which was established in 2002, to “Create the Next Generation of Heroes”.
Philip holds a Bachelors of Chemical Engineering from McGill University. He has held management and leadership roles in the Trinidad and Tobago energy sector since returning in 2001.
Kumar Kanishk is currently an Assistant Director in the Department of Commerce, Government of India. He has been involved with the G20 issues over the last 4 years and has been instrumental in the successful completion of the Indian G20 Presidency.
Kanishk, an officer of the Indian Economic Service (IES) of the Indian Civil Services has had a proficient training in theoretical and applied economics.
In the past, he has been involved in the negotiating teams in Free Trade Agreements like India- UAE, India- EU, and upcoming FTAs. In addition to his trade focus, Kanishk has been trained in Public Finance and Public Policy.
Sangeeta Khorana is Professor of Economics at Aston University in the United Kingdom. She leads research and advises governments on government procurement reform.
Sangeeta has successfully completed several projects on procurement reform for the EU, InterAmerican Development Bank, OECS, International Criminal Court, among others. She has published several books, book chapters and written several journal articles on procurement issues.
She has a PhD from the University of St. Gallen, a summa cum laude Masters' degree in law and economics from Switzerland and MA Economics from India.