International Debt Management Conference, 14th session

Rebeca Grynspan, of Costa Rica, became UNCTAD's eighth Secretary-General on 13 September 2021 and is the first woman to lead the organization.

Prior to her UNCTAD appointment, she was the Ibero-American secretary-general from 2014 to 2021, also the first woman to head the organization. During her mandate, she has coordinated the 22-member Iberoamerican Conference and led four key summits of Heads of State and Government. 

In 2010 she was appointed Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and prior to that was UNDP Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean.  

Prior to joining the United Nations, Ms. Grynspan served as Vice-President of Costa Rica from 1994 to 1998. She was also Minister of Housing, Minister Coordinator of Economic and Social Affairs, and Deputy Minister of Finance. In 2021 she was named Special International Advisor to the newly created Economic and Social Council of Argentina and invited to join as member of the G20 High-Level Independent Panel on Financing the Global Commons for Pandemic Preparedness and Response.

In addition to her experience as a lecturer and advisor to several international organizations, she has been actively involved in key United Nations initiatives, such as the Millennium Project's Task Force on Poverty and Economic Development and the High-level Panel on Financing for Development.  

In 2014 and 2015, she was recognized as one of the 50 leading intellectuals of Latin America.  And she was recognized as one of the 100 most powerful women in Central America by Forbes magazine.

Ms Grynspan holds a degree in Economics by the University of Costa Rica and a MSc in Economics by the University of Sussex. She has been awarded a Doctorate Honoris Causa by the University of Salamanca, the University of Extremadura and the European University of Madrid in recognition of her outstanding professional achievements. 

The Honourable Mia Amor Mottley, Q.C., M.P., became Barbados' eighth and first female Prime Minister on 25 May 2018.

Ms. Mottley was elected to the Parliament of Barbados in September 1994 as part of the new Barbados Labour Party Government.

Prior to that, she served as one of two Opposition Senators between 1991 and 1994. One of the youngest persons ever to be assigned a ministerial portfolio, Ms. Mottley was appointed Minister of Education, Youth Affairs and Culture from 1994 to 2001.

She later served as Attorney General and Deputy Prime Minister of Barbados from 2001 to 2008 and was the first female to hold that position.

Ms. Mottley is an Attorney-at-law with a degree from the London School of Economics, specialising in advocacy. She is also a Barrister of the Bar of England and Wales.

In 2002, she became a member of the Local Privy Council. She was also admitted to the Inner Bar, becoming the youngest ever Queens Counsel in Barbados.

The Secretary of State in the Office of Finance, Licenciado Christian David Duarte Chávez, has a distinguished academic and professional career focused on public finance, the tax system, and economic policy. His primary objective as head of the Secretariat of Finance is to uphold the Constitution of the Republic, the laws, and the Government Plan of President Xiomara Castro.

In 2022 and 2023, he served as Vice Minister of the Revenue Administration Service (Servicio de Administración de Rentas, SAR). Starting in 2023, he assumed the role of Minister-Director of the institution, a position he held until September 2024. During his tenure, he spearheaded the restructuring of Honduras' tax system through both administrative reforms and structural measures, such as the Ley de Justicia Tributaria (Tax Justice Law), negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement with China, and audits of energy-generating companies under the framework of the Ley de Rescate de la ENEE (ENEE Rescue Law).

Between 2017 and 2020, Duarte held leadership positions in the Tribunal Superior de Cuentas (Supreme Court of Auditors).

Christian Duarte holds a degree in Economics (Licenciado en Economía) from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (UNAH) and a Master’s in Government and Public Affairs from the Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO), Mexico.

H.E. Pen Thirong is a Secretary of State of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), and a Deputy Secretary General of the Steering Committee of Public Financial Management Reform, who leads the preparation of draft rules and regulations for managing public investment projects. He is also a member of the Supreme National Economic Council (SNEC), Director for Cambodia to the ASEAN Infrastructure Fund (AIF) Board of Directors, and Alternate Director of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) for Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Sri Lanka, and Timor-Leste.

He holds responsibilities for overall work in relation to public investment financed by external and domestic borrowing and grants, and management of public debt. He leads the technical team in the preparation of rules, regulations, and policy frameworks for managing public investment projects and public debt management including the development of government securities.
He was an Under Secretary of State of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) for four years from June 2020 to September 2024. Previously, he served as a Director General of the General Department of International Cooperation and Debt Management, MEF; an Advisor to ADB's Board of Directors, Manila, Philippines; a Deputy Director of the Department of Investment and Cooperation, Chief of ADB Unit; and a Financial Officer of the MEF.

H.E. PEN Thirong holds a Master in Business Administration from the Ateneo De Manila University, Graduate School of Business, Manila, Philippines; and a Master in Financial Economics from the University of London, England.

Paolo Gentiloni served as European Commissioner for Economy from 2019 to 2024.

In December 2024, the United Nations Secretary-General appointed him Co-Chair of the Group of Experts to Promote Policy Solutions for Resolving the Debt Crisis. He is also a nonresident Distinguished Fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Previously, he served as Prime Minister of Italy (2016–2018), Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (2014–2016), and Minister of Communications (2006–2008).

From 2001 to 2019, Gentiloni was a member of the Italian Parliament, where he served as Chairman of the Broadcasting Services Watchdog Committee (2005–2006) and as a Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee (2013–2014).

Earlier in his career, he worked as a professional journalist and served as a Councillor for the City of Rome (1993–2000).

He was also one of the 45 founding members of the Democratic Party (Partito Democratico – PD) and led the party as its President from 2018 to 2019.

Born in 1954, he graduated in Political Science from La Sapienza University in Rome. His most recent book is La sfida impopulista (The (Un)populist Challenge, Rizzoli).

Penelope Hawkins is the acting head of the Debt and Development Finance Branch at UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Previusly, as founder and managing director of Feasibility (Pty) Ltd, she has undertaken some of the leading research projects in the financial sector in Southern Africa, commissioned by regulators, policymakers, and the private sector.

She researches and engages with member country representatives and the broader civil and academic society on sovereign debt, financing for development, illicit financial flows, and financial inclusion.

She is a published economist, with a Ph.D. in economics from Stirling University, Scotland. She has an M.A. in economics (cum laude) from the University of South Africa and a B.A. in economics (honours), a higher diploma in education (cum laude) and a B.Sc., all from the University of the Witwatersrand.

Allison Holland leads the Debt Policy Division of the Strategy, Policy, and Review Department of the International Monetary Fund since July 2023.

She has been with the IMF for over 18 years in a variety of roles including Mission Chief for Zambia and Somalia, supporting them through complex debt relief operations, as well as for Oman; overseeing the Regional Economic Outlook for the Middle East and Central Asia; and as a public debt management expert in the Monetary and Capital Markets Department.

Prior to joining the IMF, Ms. Holland worked for almost 12 years in the UK public sector—including the Bank of England, and senior roles at the Ministry of Finance and UK Debt Management Office.

Dr. Patrick Ndzana Olomo is Economist, Acting Director Economic Development, Integration and Trade Directorate and Head of Economic Policy and Sustainable Development Division and Coordinator of the Productive Transformation and Regional Value Chain Initiatives at the African Union Commission (AUC) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

His work includes contributing to Africa’s economic transformation through regional value chains, industrialization, financial Sector Development and Regional Integration in Africa.

Before joining the Commission, he served as Lecturer, at Omar Bongo University (ENSET-Gabon) and International Consultant at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the African Development Bank and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), where he successfully applied economic principles to produce rigorous analytical work and policy orientations in private sector development, macroeconomic and financial situation Central African Countries for economic and social transformation.

Dr. NDZANA's research interests include: international economics, investment, private sector, regulation, institutions, and policy evaluation. In addition, Dr. NDZANA is the Editor of the African Integration and Development Review of the AUC. He holds a PhD in Economics from Dschang University (Cameroon).

Dr. Patrick Njoroge served as the ninth Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya from June 2015 to June 2023, after a 20-year career at the International Monetary Fund.

He is currently a member of the Advisory Boards of the Yale Program on Financial Stability and the Global Finance and Technology Network, and Co-Chair of the Debt Relief for Green and Inclusive Recovery Project.

He has received several awards and recognition, including four awards for Africa’s Central Banker of the Year, and recognition in 2023 as a Top 25 African Finance Leader.

He holds a PhD in Economics from Yale University.

Guilherme de Aguiar Patriota as Permanent Representative of Brazil to the World Trade Organization and other economic organizations based in Geneva. 

He was previously the Consul General of Brazil in Tokyo (2021-2023) and Consul General of Brazil in Mumbai (2019-2021). Mr. Patriota served as the Special Representative of Brazil to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva (2018-2019), and before that the Deputy Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva (2015-2018). A career diplomat since 1983, he has been a delegate of Brazil accredited to the Organization of American States in Washington from 1990 to 1994, the Latin American Integration Association, in Montevideo from 1994 to 1997, the Embassy of Brazil in New Zealand from 1997 to 2000, the Delegation of Brazil to the WTO and the World Intellectual Property Organization, in Geneva from 2005 to 2008, and was twice posted at the Permanent Mission of Brazil to the United Nations in New York from 2008 to 10 and from 2013 to 2015. He was International Advisor to the Brazilian Minister for Science and Technology from 2003 to 2004 and Deputy Foreign Policy Advisor to the President of the Republic from 2010 to 2013.
 

Yuefen Li is currently Special Advisor on Economics and Development Finance at the South Centre, Geneva, and Independent Expert on the effects of foreign debt and other related international financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of all human rights to the UN Human Rights Council.

She worked at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) from 1990 to 2014 where she last was Head of the Debt and Development Finance Branch in the Division on Globalization and Development Strategies. She was also guest professor at Tsinghua University and two other universities in China. She has published books, papers and articles in professional journals and newspapers, and contributed extensively to UNCTAD and South Centre publications and documents.

She received her Bachelor's degree from the University of Foreign Studies of China and Master's degree from the American Graduate School of International Management in the United States.

Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin is an economist with more than 30 years of experience in international finance and development. He currently serves as the United Nations Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Recently, he served as the UN High-Level Climate Champion for Egypt, and as Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund representing the Arab States and The Maldives. Previously, Dr. Mohieldin was the Minister of Investment of Egypt from 2004-2010, and afterwards served as the World Bank Group Senior Vice President for the 2030 Development Agenda, United Nations Relations and Partnerships. 

Dr. Mohieldin held seats on several advisory and executive boards in the banking, research, academic and corporate sectors among others, including his role as chairman of the Africa chapter for the Glasgow Financial Alliance on Net Zero (GFANZ). He was a member of the Commission on Growth and Development and was selected a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum in 2005. Dr. Mohieldin is a Professor of Economics and Finance at the Faculty of Economics and Political Science in Cairo University and has been a member of its faculty for almost 30 years. In addition to that, he has held posts as a visiting Professor at several renowned Universities in Egypt, Korea, the UAE, the UK and the US.

Dr. Mohieldin holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Warwick, United Kingdom; an M.Sc. in Economics and Social Policy Analysis from the University of York, United Kingdom; a Diploma of Development Economics from the University of Warwick; and a B.Sc. in Economics from Cairo University. He has authored numerous publications and articles in leading journals in the fields of economics, finance, and sustainable development.

Ambassador Mabhongo has served in several senior diplomatic positions both in South Africa and abroad.

Ambassador Xolisa Mabhongo serves as Non-Executive Director to the NECSA Board, representing the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO).

In April 2024, Ambassador Mabhongo was appointed as South Africa’s BRICS Sherpa. He also serves as the country’s G20 Sous-Sherpa.

He became Deputy Director-General (DDG) of Branch: Global Governance and Continental Agenda at South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation in August 2023. In this capacity, Ambassador Mabhongo serves as the Personal Representative (Sherpa) of the South African President on issues related to the African Union’s New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).

Ambassador Mabhongo holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Columbia University in New York, a Post Graduate Certificate in Diplomatic Studies from Oxford University in the United Kingdom and a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Rhodes University in South Africa.

For more than 25 years, Eric LeCompte has led religious groups to win policies that alleviate poverty, address global conflict and promote human rights. He is the Executive Director of Jubilee USA Network, a development coalition of more than 750 religious groups and organizations.  LeCompte advised a United Nations General Assembly process on global sovereign bankruptcy structures to alleviate poverty.

He is a member of expert working groups to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner.

LeCompte serves on boards of faith-based, development and financial transparency organizations. He is a member of the executive board of the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition.

Anna Gelpern is a Scott K. Ginsburg Professor of Law and International Finance at Georgetown Law and a non-resident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

She has published research on government debt, contracts, and regulation of financial institutions and markets. She co-directs the Sovereign Debt Forum (SDF), a collaboration with Queen Mary University of London and scholars from around the world, that most recently launched the #PublicDebtIsPublic initiative, a joint project with Georgetown's Massive Data Institute to create the first centrally collated web-based sovereign debt documentation and data commons.

Daniel Reichert-Facilides is an attorney in private practice admitted to the bar in Germany and in the State of New York. He spent most of his professional career as a partner at Freshfields, where he led the German project finance and export credit team.

He also regularly advises on financial restructurings and cross-border insolvency law. Besides his current roles as a Senior Counsel at Chatham Partners and as a faculty lecturer at the Institute for Law and Finance, he regularly contributes in different formats to the international debate on sovereign debt restructuring reform.  

Sharon Almanza is a Career Executive Service Officer and currently the Treasurer of the Philippines of the Bureau of the Treasury, an attached agency of the Department of Finance.

Before assuming her current role, she served as the Officer-in-Charge of the Bureau of the Treasury. Preceding this position, she held the title of Deputy Treasurer of the Philippines wherein she headed the Accounting Service, Research and Regional Operations, and Asset Management Service.

he was seconded to the World Bank Group (WBG) from 2021 to 2023 as the Alternate Executive Director and Senior Advisor for the Constituency of Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Panama, Philippines, Suriname, and Trinidad & Tobago.

She also held various positions at the Department of Finance as the Chief of the Debt and Risk Management Division (DRMD) of the International Finance Group and Officer-in-Charge of the Multilateral Assistance Division.

Natalia Turdyeva is the Head of the Regional and Industry Research Unit in the Department of Forecasting at the Bank of Russia, a position she has held since 2018.

Prior to this, she was a Leading Researcher at the Center for Economic and Financial Research at the New Economic School in Moscow. Ms. Turdyeva holds a Master of Computer Science degree from the Russian National University of Science and Technology MISiS and a Master of Arts in Economics from the New Economic School.

Her main areas of research include climate economics and trade policy. Ms. Turdyeva is among Russia's leading experts in computable general equilibrium (CGE) models and currently applies her expertise in CGE modeling as part of the Bank of Russia's climate stress-testing initiatives.

Jill Dauchy is the founder and chief executive of Potomac Group LLC, a financial advisory firm based in Washington DC that specializes in advising governments on complex matters of the sovereign balance sheet.

Ms. Dauchy's career as a trusted advisor to governments and public entities spans more than twenty years and over a dozen countries throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Prior to forming Potomac Group, Ms. Dauchy was Managing Director at Millstein & Co.

Ms. Dauchy is the host of Sovereign Debt, a podcast that is regularly downloaded in over 120 countries. In addition, Ms. Dauchy serves as an external expert to the IMF and is a member of the Institute of International Finance (IIF), where she regularly participates in the Principles Consultative Group, the Committee for Sovereign Risk Management, and the Committee for Debt Transparency.

Ms. Dauchy earned an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business and an M.A. in International Studies from the Lauder Institute, both of the University of Pennsylvania. She also received a B.A. in Soviet/Russian studies from Barnard College of Columbia University. She is fluent in French and Russian.

Nicole Kearse has a diverse career in law, finance, and consulting, with a focus on Africa's development. She began her legal career in 2003 at Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, later moving to Baker McKenzie and then Shearman & Sterling LLP as a finance associate.

In 2010, she became Deputy Managing Director at DaMina Advisors. By 2015, Ms. Kearse co-founded Krescent Consulting LLP and led Learning and Development at ILFA, also serving on its board. Her financial sector experience includes a secondment at Citibank's Latin America and Caribbean Division.

Since 2018, she has worked at the African Development Bank Group's African Legal Support Facility, currently heading the sovereign finance sector.

Ms. Kearse holds a JD from Georgetown, an MA from Columbia, and an MA (law and diplomacy) from the Fletcher School at Tufts. She is a Solicitor in England and Wales and admitted to the New York Bar.

Patricia Farah is the Coordinator of the Federal Council of Fiscal Responsibility of Argentina. Before that, she worked in the Ministry of Economy, in the National Senate, in Nación AFJP among other outstanding positions, and in private consulting, international organizations and international financial institutions.

She has worked in both the public and private sectors, with a solid development in the budgetary, fiscal and financial areas. She has extensive experience in consolidation and leadership of work teams, with experience in coordination of various topics and specialized in the evaluation of governmental fiscal management. She has several publications as co-author and research coordinator.

Patricia has a degree in Economics from the University of Buenos Aires, a Master's degree in Intégration Economique with a double degree from the Universities of Salvador and Sorbonne Paris, a Master's degree in Capital Markets from the University of Buenos Aires and the Argentinian Institute of Capital Markets, and is an Ontological Coach from the Di Tella University, among other postgraduate studies. 

Mr. David Rebelo Athayde has been Undersecretary for Fiscal Policy Strategic Planning at the National Treasury Secretariat, Ministry of Finance of Brazil since September 2021.

Prior to that he was Head of Investor Relations Office and Undersecretary for Law and Economics in Economic Policy Secretariat; and National Treasury civil servant since 2005, with experiences in the IT and Federal Government Debt Management departments.

David graduated in Electrical Engineering at the Universidade de Brasilia, with master’s degree in public Sector Economics at the same university. M.Sc. in International, Money and Banking at the University of Birmingham (UK).

Mr. Jayant Sinha currently serves as Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General in the Supreme Audit Institution of India.

He has served in various positions within the SAI at Federal and State level. He has also worked in the Government of India in the Ministries of Finance, Defence and Information and Broadcasting. 

Peter Schwendener has been Deputy Director of the Swiss Federal Finance Administration (FFA) within the Federal Department of Finance since 2019. Since 2015, he has been leading the Fiscal Policy, Fiscal Equalisation, Financial Statistics Division. Under his supervision, the division prepares the budgeting and financial planning for the federal government. Importantly, the division bears responsibility for all matters pertaining to the federal debt brake.

In addition, Peter Schwendener and his team are responsible for implementing and assessing national fiscal equalisation, and for compiling the financial statistics for all levels of government. Besides ensuring a reliable basis for fiscal-policy decisions, he has played an important role in various economic policy reforms.

Prior to joining the FFA, he was Head of the Statistical Office and Head of the Finance Administration of the Canton of Basel-Stadt. He obtained his doctorate in Economics from the University of Basel in 1990.

Mrs. Shanti Bobin is Deputy Director in charge of Multilateral Financial Affairs and Development Division at the French Treasury, and it also Vice-Chairperson of the Paris Club.

Previously, she covered European Affairs, as Deputy Director in charge of European Affairs (2021-23); Head of the French Treasury regional economic office in Madrid (2019-21); and Head of European bilateral affairs (2016-19).

She was also Head of official development aid unit (2013-16). She also covered emerging markets at the Treasury (2010-13). She started as head of mission on unemployment at ministry of Labour (2006-09).

Shanti holds a degree in Public Affairs from Sciences Po Paris and is an alumna from the Ecole nationale d'administration.

Mr Ronald Ozzy Lamola has served as South Africa's Minister of International Relations and Cooperation since June 2024. From 2019 to 2024, he held the position of Minister of Justice and Correctional Services.

Mr Lamola has been a member of South Africa's Parliament since 22 May 2019.

Lamola is a lawyer by profession and holds a law degree from the University of Venda, and two master's degrees in corporate law and extractive law from the University of Pretoria.

Luiz Vieira has over 25 years of senior management experience in international development, including 10 years collaborating with global economic, climate and human rights networks, academics and senior UN and government officials to critically analyse the international financial and aid architecture and its implications for international human rights obligations and the implementation of the UN’s Development Agenda.

Luiz coordinates the work of the Bretton Woods Project. Previously he served for eight years as the chief of mission for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Timor Leste, where he worked with UN bodies, donors and IFIs on strategic development planning and received the Order of Timor-Leste, Medal of Merit for services to the people of Timor-Leste.

His past experience includes working with the IOM in Nauru, as well as with NGO Mercy Corps in a variety of emergency response situations, including in El Salvador, Kosovo and Macedonia, as well as on democratic governance in Angola. He served as a guest lecturer on conflict and development at the Columbia University School of International Public Affairs (SIPA). Luiz holds an LLM in International Law and a Masters in Development Economics from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, as well as a degree in political science from the State University of New York at Albany.

Mr. Malack Luhanga is Assistant Director in charge of the Debt Data Management Unit under the Debt Management Office (DMO) in the Ministry of Finance and National Planning, Zambia. He has been supervising the management of debt data with the use of DMFAS for the past seven (7) years.

With his vast experience in Programming and Databases, he has contributed to the enhancement of debt data transparency by regular production of a Debt Statistical Bulletin for Zambia which is published on the Ministry of Finance website. He has also provided support to the Front and Middle Offices of the DMO including during the debt restructuring process by maintaining an updated database.

Prior to that Mr. Luhanga was key in the development of the Budgeting software as well as the Funding Release system and provided technical support in managing and maintaining the systems for over 10 years as a Systems Analyst in the Budget Office of the Ministry of Finance, Zambia.  

Vikas Pandey is a Business Analyst working in the Debt Management Unit of the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Mr. Pandey has over 25 years of experience with the debt management systems. He has assisted over 35 countries in Africa, Asia, Caribbean and the Pacific regions, in implementation of the debt systems, streamlining their debt management procedures and providing training.

Prior to joining the Commonwealth Secretariat, he worked with the Reserve Bank of India and played a key in setting up the Central Securities Depository.

Vikas has a Masters' degree in Statistics and a Post-Graduate diploma in Computer Applications.

Lilia Razlog is a Senior Debt Specialist in the Macroeconomics and Fiscal Management Global Practice of the World Bank.

Ms. Razlog is a seasoned debt management expert with vast international experience in sovereign debt management, debt restructurings, fiscal policy, inter-governmental fiscal relations, credit risk, sub-national debt and finance, and a broader range of public finance management.

She has more then 20 years of professional experience in the public sector reforms and regional experience from Europe, Asia, Latin America, Pacific and Africa regions.

Prior to joining the World Bank, Ms. Razlog was a Director of the Debt Department in Moldova, a member of the Board of Directors of the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, an Alternate Governor representative at the IMF, WB, a Governor representative at IFAD and other international institutions.

Ms. Razlog holds an MA degree from University College of London, UK. 

Ms. Carina Sugden is a Lead Governance Officer in the Governance and Economic Reforms Department at the African Development Bank Group (AfDB).

She is an experienced governance expert, leading policy dialogue, developing and implementing programs of support to African countries in the areas of economic management, public finance, domestic revenue mobilization, debt management, and combatting corruption.

She has been at the forefront of the AfDB's policy and strategy work on governance, leading the AfDB Strategy for Economic Governance in Africa and the Action Plan for the Management and Mitigation of Debt Distress in Africa.  

Prior to joining the Bank, she worked for the United Nations in both development and humanitarian assistance. She has an M.SC degree in Economics from the University of Copenhagen. 

Otavio Ladeira de Medeiros is the Chief of the Debt Management and Financial Analysis System (DMFAS) Programme of the UN Trade and Development.

Former National Treasury Secretary, he was appointed Head of the Brazilian Debt Management Office in May 2021 and held the position until January 2025, when he assumed his current role at UNCTAD as Head of the DMFAS Programme.

As head of the Brazilian DMO his responsibilities included managing Brazil's Federal Public Debt, ranging from defining the optimal debt composition and medium- and short-term strategies to executing domestic bond auctions and external operations.

He is also tasked with monitoring debt records and payments and managing institutional relations with financial institutions, investors, rating agencies, and multilateral organizations.

And while leading the DMFAS Programme, he leads a team dedicated to helping countries improve public debt management, primarily through the DMFAS System and capacity-building activities.

Mr. John P. Maketo is Programmes Manager, at the Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD)

He is an experienced debt management practitioner, economic justice expert and public policy analyst in developmental, governance and human rights work in Zimbabwe and in the SADC region.

His areas of specialty and interest include governance, accountability, human rights advocacy, economic justice programming.  He also has extensively worked national and regional organisations, such as National Association of NGOs (NANGO), Transparency International Zimbabwe, Southern Africa People's Solidarity Network (SAPSN), Fight Inequality Alliance (FIA) and Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD). 

Bruno Rocha is a Senior Economist of the Statistics Department at the IMF since 2017. Before that, he worked in the National Treasury of Brazil, where he established the Government Finance Statistics (GFS) Unit in 2008 and led it until 2015. He then became Director of Fiscal Affairs in the Brazilian Ministry of Finance (2016-2017).

He has extensive practice as a professor, and currently leads and designs different categories of trainings at the Statistics Department. He is also involved in substantial technical assistance in public sector debt statistics, including in fragile states. During 2017-2020 he worked as a GFS Advisor at the IMF's Regional Center in Central America and is based in Washington DC since 2020.

Mr. Rocha holds an MBA in Finances, a master's in Public Administration focused on Public Finances from the University of Brasilia, and studied Applied Linguistics at the University of California, Riverside. He is also a Project Management Professional, certificated by the PMI.

Mr. João Falcão Silva is a senior economist at the World Bank's Development Data Group, where he has been making significant contributions since October 2023. He currently leads the update of the World Bank's Debtor Reporting System Manual and reporting templates, as well as spearheading the compilation of external debt statistics.

With over 18 years of experience in external and monetary statistics from the Central Bank of Portugal, João held the position of Head of Unit for the Central Balance Sheet, Monetary and Financial Statistics, and External Statistics. In these roles, he was instrumental in data compilation, methodology development, innovation, and dissemination. Furthermore, João shared his expertise as a lecturer at the Nova School of Business and Economics.

He holds a PhD in International Economics, a master's degree in public economics, and an undergraduate degree in Economics.

Taichi Sakano is a senior advisor on public debt management and PFM at the Governance and Peacebuilding Department of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which he joined in 2016. He has been involved in various JICA projects related to debt management and PFM as an advisor, and has participated in several PEFA assessments as an assessor and peer reviewer.

Prior to joining JICA, he held a position of a senior analyst at a private think tank, where he conducted a number of policy studies for the World Bank, the ASEAN Secretariat, and the Japanese Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. He has been a visiting professor at the Department of Economics, Yamaguchi University and Chuo University. His research interests focus on economic growth, debt management, public financial management, climate change and natural resources.

He holds an M.S. degree in Applied Economics from the University of Minnesota and an M.S. degree in Environmental Sciences from the University of Tsukuba.

Celine Tan is Professor of International Economic Law. She is also the Co-Director of the Centre for Law, Regulation and Governance of the Global Economy (GLOBE) based at Warwick Law School. Celine is a founding member of The IEL Collective, a community for scholars and practitioners interested in critical reflection of the interactions between law and the global economy.

Prior to Warwick, she was at the University of Birmingham. She completed her PhD at the University of Warwick where she held a Postgraduate Research Fellowship. 

Mr. Niranjan Sarangi is the Leader of the Shared Economic Prosperity Cluster of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)

He previously served as Senior Economic Affairs Officer and Lead Economist on Debt and Fiscal Policy at ESCWA, spearheading transformative initiatives to address critical economic challenges in the Arab region. His work in global and regional economic policy has made a significant contribution to the United Nations' strategies on debt solutions and sustainable financing for developing countries.

Mr. Sarangi's leadership extends to the production of flagship reports, research on public finance and the Sustainable Development Goals, and the implementation of projects and data-driven insights tailored to policymakers' needs.

Mr. Sarangi also served as an economist at the United Nations Development Programme Asia-Pacific Regional Centre from 2007 to 2012. Before joining the United Nations, he had a robust career in research and the private sector (2002-2007). Mr. Sarangi is of Indian nationality.

He holds a PhD in Development Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, India. 

Ms.  Delphine Moretti is Lead of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Working Party on Public Financial Management and Reporting. As part of her functions, she works closely with OECD countries on developing innovative practices in PFM. She oversees the OECD's research work programme on fiscal risks management and digitalisation of public financial management.

Prior to this, Ms. Moretti served in the International Monetary Fund (IMF), where she held positions in headquarters and Southeast Asia. Ms. Moretti also previously held positions in the Ministry of Finance in France.