Featured Speakers of the 6th Global Infrastructure Leadership Forum

Ibrahim Ahli, Director Investment Support & Promotion Division, Foreign Investment Office, Department of Economic Development, Government of Dubai

Ibrahim Ahli has served in the travel & tourism industry for 12 years, and has promoted tourism in Dubai for 10 years and in Abu Dhabi/Al Ain for 2 years. He started his career with the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing in the UAE, where he was the Manager of Overseas Promotions for 10 years. Additionally, he has 6 years of experience in marketing and brand management for free zone entities such as the Dubai Flower Centre, where he was the Director of Marketing, and for the Dubai Airport Free Zone, where he was the Director of Marketing & Corporate Communications and lead both marketing and commercial aspects of this hugely successful state-of-the-art free zone entity. Ibrahim is experienced in attracting international businesses to Dubai and supporting investors who seek to establish operations in the United Arab Emirates. Ibrahim Ahli is currently Director of the Investment Support & Promotion Division for the Dubai Foreign Investment Office, where he identifies opportunities for increasing Dubai’s FDI in international markets. His role at the Dubai FDI Office is to support investors and companies aiming to establish operations in Dubai or its free zone.

Marco Airoldi, Senior Partner and Managing Director, The Boston Consulting Group

Marco Airoldi is a BCG topic leader in infrastructure with a focus on road, airport, and port transport infrastructure. His wide experience includes global growth and development strategies, due diligences for acquisitions, investment analyses, reorganization of field operations, operations improvement, and redesign of tariff regulations. Before joining BCG, Mr. Airoldi was European General Manager for Autogrill, world leader in travel catering and retail (airport, motorways, railway stations). 

Ayse Akçura, Advisor, Investment Support and Promotions Agency of Turkey

Ayse Akçura was born in Los Angeles, CA. She spent more than 15 years on Wall Street. She started her career as a treasurer at Citibank after studying Industrial Engineering at RIT. After completing an MBA degree at Carnegie Mellon University, where she graduated with Cum Laude honors, she joined Goldman Sachs’ Fixed Income Sales and Trading Department where she worked as an Associate in both New York and Chicago. Subsequently, Mrs. Akçura worked at Bear Stearns and later at Citigroup in New York as a Managing Director responsible for Structured Sales in the Fixed Income Division before establishing her own firm in collaboration with AK Capital. Currently, Mrs. Akçura is in an advisory role for the U.S. relations at the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey. Mrs. Akçura, is married and a mother of two children.

Mohamed Al Binfalah, CEO, Bahrain Airport Company

Mohamed Yousif Al Binfalah, a high achieving Bahraini with a proven track record and who is currently serving as CEO of Bahrain Airport Company brings a wealth of experience gained over 27 years of working at various managerial and entrepreneurial capacities in the private sector.  In addition to his current role, he is also on the Board of Directors of ATYAF Telecommunications and Infrastructure International BSC (C), a Bahraini ICT service provider. Mohamed has abundant knowledge in the aviation industry through his previous work as General Manager of DHL Aviation Service WLL, a Bahraini trading and operator of an FAA and BCAA certified avionics station at Bahrain International Airport. That as well as his extensive experience and solid understanding of facility management which he gained during his previous work at Gulf Petrochemicals Company BSC (C) and through his previous role in setting up and heading Olive VFM as a regional facility management service provider where he was CEO of the company.  He holds a bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters in Business Administration. In addition to his current role, Mohamed is also on the Board of Directors of ATYAF Telecommunications and Infrastructure International BSC (C), a Bahraini ICT service provider. An active member of the community who believes in giving something back, his interests extended to sports initiatives, too. This has seen him contribute as a previous Director of both the Tennis Federation of Bahrain and the Muharraq Club.

Nasser Al Mansoori, CEO, Etihad Rail 

His Excellency Dr. Nasser Saif Al-Mansoori was appointed CEO of Etihad Rail in September 2012, after serving on Etihad Rail’s Board of Directors since 2009. Dr. Al-Mansoori brings with him a wealth of experience in the logistics and transportation fields, as he has led and managed several high profile government projects. Prior to being appointed CEO at Etihad Rail, Dr. Al-Mansoori was the Director General of the National Transport Authority from 2007 until August 2012, where he was responsible for implementing policies, laws and regulations to ensure efficiency and safety in maritime and land transportation in the UAE. In addition to serving as a member on the Etihad Rail board, Dr. Al-Mansoori also serves on the boards of various other government and non-governmental organizations.  He was previously the Chairman of the Infrastructure Committee for the Abu Dhabi Eastern Region Development Council, a Board Member of Emirates Transport, a founding member of the Emirates Traffic Safety Society, a founding member of the UAE Sustainable Buildings Society.

Saad Al Muhannadi, CEO, Qatar Rail

Saad Al Muhannadi had a distinguished career at Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (KAHRAMAA) before assuming the leadership of Qatar Rail. Holder of a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and an MBA from the University of Qatar, he directed various strategic functions and committees and was the Secretary-General of the GCC-CIGRE Organization, member of the Advisory Committee and the regulatory body at the GCC Interconnection Authority, and Chairman of the Tenders Committee at “KAHRAMAA.” Al Mohannadi received ISO certification for several administrations, which were under his direction and was honored by the Council of Ministers for his managerial performance.  

Adel Al Roumi, President, Kuwait Partnerships Technical Bureau 

Adel Mohammed Al-Roumi is the head of the Partnership Technical Bureau (PTB) in Kuwait, which operates Kuwait's PPP program, and is the current chairman of the VIVA Telecommunications Company. Al-Roumi completed his bachelor’s degree in the United States; and holds post-graduate degrees from Harvard’s School of Business, Northwestern University and the London Business School. He started his career in New York, where he worked for the Kuwait Investment Authority. He was later called to the Kuwait Investment Office in London, where he was promoted to Senior Vice President and Director of Asian Investments. He later moved to Kuwait to establish the “Kuwait Small Projects and Development Company” to oversee the development of small and medium business enterprises in Kuwait. Al Roumi has been aboard member of several prestigious Asian financial institutes like Dao Hang Bank, First Capital Corp., and Sassoon Holding. He also served on the board of the Arab African Investment Bank for 7 years and was a board member of Kuwait Cement. He is currently a member of the Kuwait Foreign Investment Bureau. He has also served as the director of Institutions and New Investments within the Kuwait Investment Authority, where he monitored investments and participated in regional and international developmental institutions, where he evaluated new development investment projects and organized new projects approved by the council of ministers.

Norman Anderson, President & CEO, CG/LA Infrastructure, Inc.

Norman Anderson, President & CEO, CG/LA Infrastructure & the Global Strategic Infrastructure Leadership Forum. As President & CEO, Norman focuses on infrastructure project creation, aimed at increasing the level of infrastructure investment, and the performance of existing infrastructure stocks, in developed and developing countries alike. He has overseen the development and execution of CG/LA’s proprietary analytic models. He leads the CG/LA team that develops infrastructure projects globally; and provides high level strategy assessment for the public (cities, states, countries, MDB’s) and private (finance, E&C, equipment/technology) sectors. Among other positions he is a visiting professor in the Politecnico de Madrid, a regular contributor to AmericaEconomia, and the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the Future of Sustainable Construction. He is also an Advisory Board Member of The Center for Transformation and Strategic Initiatives (London/Washington).

Magdalene Apenteng, Director of Public Investment, Ghana Ministry of Finance & Economic Planning 

Mrs. Magdalene Apenteng is currently Chief Economics Officer and Director of Public Investment at Ghana’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. She provides overall strategic guidance in national investment and project development for efficiency in public investment decisions, including the implementation of public private partnerships initiative for Ghana. She was a member of a Technical Team that drafted the National Policy on PPPs and provides overall supervision and guidance to the World Bank funded Ghana PPP Project, which aims to improve the legislative, institutional, financial, fiduciary and technical framework to generate a pipeline of bankable PPP projects.  

Luiz Antônio Athayde Vasconcelos, Undersecretary of State for Strategic Investment

Luiz Antônio Athayde is, since January 2011, the Undersecretary of Strategic Investments of the State Secretariat for Economic Development of Minas Gerais. Between March, 2003 and December, 2010 he worked as Undersecretary for International Affairs of the State Secretariat for Economic Development of Minas Gerais. He also serves ad Executive Secretary of the Minas Gerais Foreign Commerce Council, and Head of the PPP Unit. Before 2003, Luiz held several executive posts in the Government of Minas Gerais and in the Federal Government. He is part of the technical staff of BDMG. Athayde holds a degree in Economic Sciences from Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais - PUC/MG and a post graduated degree in Financial Management from Fundação João Pinheiro - FJP.

Dexter Bachelder, General Manager, Vice President, Americas, Aconex

Dexter Bachelder is a Senior Vice President at Aconex. Over the last 15 years, Mr. Bachelder has been involved in a wide range of large  capital projects around world.  He has published several articles and speaks at conferences regularly about successfully implementing project collaboration systems for large construction and engineering projects.

Terry Bennett, Senior Industry Manager, Civil Engineering & Construction, Autodesk Inc.

Terry D. Bennett, LS LPF MRICS LEED AP, is the Senior Industry Program Manager and Strategist for Civil Engineering and Planning at Autodesk. He is responsible for setting the company’s future vision and strategy for technology serving the planning, surveying, civil engineering and heavy construction industries, as well as cultivating and sustaining the firm’s relationships with strategic industry leaders and associations. Bennett has been a practicing professional for close to 30 years and was the company manager and lead designer for a civil engineering, geotechnical and land surveying firm directing its services throughout the New England region within the US. Over the last 25 years, he has been a global author and lecturer on the impact of technology to the infrastructure and urban planning, engineering, and construction industries focusing on sustainable approaches to urban infrastructure redevelopment. He holds multi-state licensing in both Land Surveying and Natural Resource Forest Management is a Chartered Land Surveyor with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, and a LEED Accredited Sustainable Design Professional. He currently serves as a Board Member of Harvard’s Graduate School of Design’s Sustainable Infrastructure Advisory Board, is a founding editorial board member of Rebuilding America’s Infrastructure Magazine and is a council member on the Urban Land Institute’s Public Development and Infrastructure Council.

Izzet Bensusan, Managing Director, Captona Partners, a Karbone Group affiliate

Izzet Bensusan is a Managing Director of Captona Partners, an alternative energy project investment fund. Captona’s startegy is to acquire and manage late stage income generating renewable energy projects within North American and the Caribbean. Mr. Bensusan is also the founder and CEO of Karbone, a renewable energy and environmental markets firm based in New York City. Captona Partners was launched to build upon the capabilities of the Karbone platform. In under three years, the Karbone platform has become a leading provider of brokerage, research and project origination services in renewable energy markets. Karbone has won numerous awards and enjoys global recognition.

Terry Bills, Global Transportation Industry Manager, Esri

Terry Bills is the Global Transportation Industry Manager at Esri, responsible for all transportation infrastructure segments worldwide.  He has over 25 years experience in transportation planning and policy, information technology and GIS. Mr. Bills has been a Principal Planner for a large regional transportation planning agency, as well as the President of a GIS and transportation consulting firm during his career.  He was a Doctoral Candidate at UCLA, where he was also awarded two Masters’ degrees.

Wagner Bittencourt, Secretary of Civil Aviation, Brazilian National Government

Mr. Wagner Bittencourt de Oliveira is Secretary of Civil Aviation for the Brazilian National Government. He has been the Chairman, Executive Director and Counselor of public and private sector companies that offer logistics, financial, mining, metallurgy and equipment services. He has 20 years of executive experience. He was Secretary of the Ministry of National Integration, Superintendent of Sudene, Chairman of the Companhia Ferroviaria do Nordeste (Northeast Railroad Company), and served as the Director, Superintendent, Department Head, and Manager of various units of the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES). He is the former Director of Infrastructure and Basic Input Resources at BNDES and Member of the Board of Directors of several companies, such as Caraiba Metais, Sibra, Cadam, Usiminas Mecanica and Banco do Nordeste. He gained a degree in Metallurgical Engineering from Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro in 1974 and completed a specialization course in Finance and Capital Markets.

Nasserie Carew, Acting Vice President, Congressional & Public Affairs, Millennium Challenge Corporation

As Acting Vice President for Congressional & Public Affairs at the Millennium Challenge Corporation, Ms. Carew is responsible for managing MCC’s relationship with Congress, the media, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, and other key groups engaged in MCC’s mission. Ms. Carew has an extensive background in issues management, media relations and branding. She has over 16 years of strategic external communications experience and has developed numerous national and international integrated campaigns on innovative programs and policy initiatives. Prior to joining MCC, Ms. Carew served as the Senior Director for Public Relations at InterAction, the largest coalition of U.S.-based international NGOs. She has also served in leadership positions at the Academy for Educational Development (AED) and the YWCA. Ms. Carew has led numerous trainings and seminars on development communication. She is a graduate of the University of Iowa and holds a master’s degree from Howard University.

Ekow Coleman, Financial Analyst, Public Investment Division, Ghana Ministry of Finance & Economic Planning

Ekow Coleman has close to 10 years of experience in public sector consulting and corporate advisory services spanning public-private partnerships (PPPs), infrastructure investment, project financing, corporate finance advisory, investment, financial markets research, and private sector development among others. These experiences have focused on various sectors such as the financial, service, MSME, economic & social infrastructure and others. Ekow is currently a Financial Analyst for the Public Investment Division of Ghana’s Ministry of Finance & Economic Planning, where he assists in establishing a fully functional PPP Advisory Unit to provide advice and support to MDAs and other contracting authorities in the public sector to enhance the identification, detailed preparation, structuring, negotiations and procurement of PPP projects.

Michael Conley, Global Engineering Manager, Sustainable Operations, DuPont

Michael G. Conley has over 30 years of experience in leading capital engineering processes globally.  Mike’s assignments in the United States and Europe have included construction, design, project controls, project, and business engineering management. He currently manages engineering for the DuPont Sustainable Solutions business and leads the safety competency for the DuPont capital program. In 2002, he became the DuPont representative to the Construction Users Round Table (CURT). He was a member of the Board of Trustees for six years during which time he served as secretary, vice president, and president. Mike currently serves as the immediate past president. He has also served on the Board of Trustees for the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER). Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Mike received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University. He lives in New London, Pennsylvania with his wife Ann and has four children.

Luciano Coutinho, President, BNDES

Born in Pernambuco, Luciano Coutinho has a PhD in Economy from the University of Cornell (US) and a guest lecturer at Unicamp. He has a Master's degree in Economy from the Institute of Economic Research of the University of São Paulo (USP) and was a visiting professor at the University of Paris XIII, in Texas, at the Institute Ortega y Gasset, as well as at USP, and was a head professor at Unicamp. He graduated in Economics from USP, and during the course, he received the Gastão Vidigal award for best student of Economics in São Paulo. A specialist in industrial and international economics, he has written and organized several books, in addition to an extensive production of articles, published in Brazil and abroad. His academic studies have always focused on industrial policy and the real economy. Between 1985 and 1988, he was the Executive Secretary of the Ministry of Science and Technology, participating in the structuring of the Ministry and designing policies aimed at areas of high complexity, such as biotechnology, computer science, fine chemistry, precision mechanics and new materials. In 1994, he coordinated the Competitiveness Study on Brazilian Industry, the work of almost one hundred specialists who mapped with unprecedented extent the Brazilian industrial sector. Prior to taking over the presidency of the BNDES, he was a partner at LCA Consultores, acting as a specialist consultant in competition law, international trade and economic reports.

Ranu Dayal, Senior Partner and Managing Director, The Boston Consulting Group

Ranu Dayal is the global leader of our Public Sector engagements in Infrastructure. He led BCG in South-East Asia from 2006-2011 and has worked with governments and private sector clients in power and transport infrastructure on issues from privatization to growth strategies. Dr. Dayal is a BCG Fellow with a focus on financial institutions and funding in emerging markets, which also covers the varied dimensions of infrastructure finance. 

John M. Dionisio, Chairman & CEO, AECOM

John M. Dionisio leads AECOM, an $8-billion global provider of professional, technical and management support services, as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the company’s Board of Directors. Prior to being appointed Chairman, Mr. Dionisio served as Chief Executive Officer and President for AECOM commencing in 2005. Before this, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, and earlier as the Chief Executive Officer and President of AECOM’s legacy operating company DMJM Harris. Under Mr. Dionisio’s leadership as CEO, AECOM has tripled its revenue and doubled its workforce, while considerably expanding its service offerings and geographic reach. During 2007, Mr. Dionisio oversaw the company’s initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), which was one of the 10 largest NYSE listings for 2007, and one of the largest engineering industry IPOs of all time. During Mr. Dionisio’s 35-plus-year career at AECOM, his leadership has also helped advance the company’s transportation and energy infrastructure business in the Americas. Mr. Dionisio oversaw the combination of three AECOM business units — Frederic R. Harris, DMJM Infrastructure, and Holmes & Narver Infrastructure — to form DMJM Harris in 2000 — a leader in U.S. transportation. While heading DMJM Harris, Mr. Dionisio was involved in the advancement of many notable projects. These include the Second Avenue Subway in New York, the Tren Urbano transit rail system in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the State Highway 130 toll-way in Texas, Southern California’s Metrolink Commuter Rail System, and the new World Trade Center PATH Terminal in Lower Manhattan.

Raymond Ellis, Vice President, Global Business Development, Export-Import Bank of the United States

Raymond Ellis currently serves as Vice President of the Global Business Development Division of Ex-Im Bank's Export Finance Group. The division oversees business development activities worldwide and for certain industry sectors, such as medical equipment and infrastructure. Mr. Ellis previously was Vice President of the Strategic Initiatives Division and the Operations Division of the Export Finance Group. Strategic Initiatives was responsible for business development for Sub-Saharan Africa and renewable energy. The Operations Division administers the intake of all applications for Ex-Im Bank support and the issuance of all medium- and long-term loans and guarantees and short and medium term insurance policies following authorization. Mr. Ellis began his career at Ex-Im Bank in 1975 as a financial analyst/loan officer in the Bank Guarantee Division before moving to the Asia Division overseeing the Bank's long-term programs for Southeast Asia. He left in 1982 to join the private sector where he held executive management positions in international tour companies and in leading U.S. banks in Chicago, Illinois. He served as Vice President for Trade Services/Cash Management at Chemical Bank in Chicago, and Vice President and General Manager of Bankers Trust Company International, also in Chicago. He returned to Ex-Im Bank in 1999. Mr. Ellis holds a Masters of Business Administration degree in International Finance and Business Administration, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Russian and Linguistics, both from Indiana University, Bloomington.

Bryan Erwin, Director, Advocacy Center, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce

Bryan Erwin was selected by the Obama Administration to serve as the Director of the International Trade Administration’s Advocacy Center in September 2010. In this capacity, he is responsible for coordinating U.S. Government resources and authority in order to level the playing field on behalf of U.S. business interests as they compete against foreign firms for specific international contracts or other U.S. export opportunities. In doing so, the Advocacy Center helps create and retain U.S. jobs through exports. Prior to joining the Advocacy Center, Bryan spent 8 years as a Vice President at Goldman Sachs & Co., all within the Investment Management Division.  While at Goldman Sachs, Bryan managed $800 million in assets while co-running a Private Wealth Management team. From 1993-2000, Bryan was an aide to Senator Tom Daschle (D-SD). From 1993-1997, Bryan served in Senator Daschle’s personal and finance office. From 1997-2000, Bryan served on Senator Daschle’s leadership staff.  Bryan has a MPA in International Trade and Finance from Cornell University and a BA in Political Science, Economics and Sociology from George Washington University. Bryan hails from the North Fork of Long Island and currently serves as Chairman of the Long Island State Parks Commission. 

Conrado Falco, Economic-Commercial Counselor of Peru in New York

Conrado J. FALCO Scheuch is currently the Economic-Commercial Counselor of Peru in New York. His main functions are related to the promotion of exports, investments and tourism. Prior to this position, he has been Head of Information and Economic Studies in ProInversión, Peru´s Investment Promotion Agency (IPA), where he worked almost 10 years. Mr. Falco has also been Assistant Editor for Perú Económico and Semana Económica, the most recognized economic and business publications in Peru, working at Apoyo Group for 8 years in total. Mr. Falco has a Master’s Degree in Real Estate and Construction Companies Management (MDI), from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, and is a Bachelor of Economics by the Universidad del Pacífico.

Nuria Fernandez, Chief Operating Officer, MTA

Nuria Fernandez has worked for over 30 years in the transportation industry with a record of achievement for driving key performance results in public policy, transportation planning and operations, project management, and marketing. As COO for New York's MTA, she is responsible for overall security of the MTA system; development of its capital and environmental sustainability programs; federal and state government affairs; and management oversight of the five operating agencies and capital construction. Nuria's past experience includes positions as SVP at CH2M HILL and Commissioner for the City of Chicago Department of Aviation.  

Peter Ford, CEO, Port of Salalah

Mr. Peter Ford is the Chief Executive Officer of Port of Salalah. Port of Salalah is managed by APM Terminals where Mr. Ford has worked in various responsibilities for the past 17 years. A graduate of the US Merchant Marine Academy, Peter holds a B.Sc in Marine Transport & Business, a diploma in Port management from Lloyd’s Maritime Academy, and an MBA in Global Management. During his tenure with APM Terminals, Mr. Ford has held executive positions in the US, Caribbean and Europe before moving to Oman. His previous port leadership positions included Managing Director of Oakland, California and Kingston, Jamaica. Most recently Peter has been COO for the APM Terminals European region, where he represented APMT on 7 different Boards before working in APM Terminals Headquarters leading global projects in acquisitions and strategy.

Camillo Fraga, Director, Development Agency of the Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Region

Camillo Fraga is the General Director of the Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Region Development Agency (BHMR Agency). As such, he is responsible for planning and deploying strategic projects in a metropolitan region comprised of 50 municipalities and over 5 million inhabitants. Among other relevant initiatives, he manages the development of two PPP projects alongside other governmental institutions that may represent around 1 billion dollars in the next five years. Before heading the BHMR Development Agency, Camillo has occupied important positions in local governments, such as Chief Advisor for Strategic Management of the Minas Gerais Roads Department, and Secretary for Government, Planning and Management in Matozinhos City. He received his B.S. in Public Administration from João Pinhero Foundation and is currently pursuing an M.A. in Finance at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG).

Rex Frohlich, Director of Operations, Business Development, and Development of Federal Contracts

Director specialized in operations, business development and development of federal contacts. Year after year he has achieved income, profits and growth of the construction industry. He has experience in procurement activities at the national level (United States); which requires organizational skills and understanding the federal market and the differences between the federal and state agencies in the United States. He has successfully developed relationships with partners and suppliers to achieve cost reductions and increased profitability margins. He has led design/construction teams in multiple sites in various regions of the country. His experience covers over 30 years in the construction sector in the United States and in the Multinational Beck Group includes assisting large and complex projects with a range exceeding US$ 200 million. He has won the “Presidents Pursuit of Excellence” award in Beck Group on three separate occasions. During his career at Grupo Tradeco he has consolidated an important alliance with the English company G4S to attain important projects. Rex received his Bachelor of Science Construction Management degree at Purdue University located in West Lafayette Indiana.

Enrique García, Executive President and CEO, CAF 

Enrique García Rodríguez (1991-2016) (re-elected for a fourth five-year term) is CAF’s Executive President. He is the legal representative and the highest authority in charge of the Institution’s overall supervision and management, and oversees all matters that are not specifically entrusted to any other governing body. His most important functions are to approve CAF’s strategic plans for countries and sectors, oversee institutional structures and procedures under his authority and authorize financial operations  within the limits delegated to him by the Board of Directors. The Executive President is appointed for a five-year period, and may be re-elected.  Mr. Garcia was originally elected for the 1991-1996 term and subsequently re-elected for the 1996-2001, 2001-2006 and 2006-2011  terms. In 2011 he was again re-elected to a new five-year period that will end in December 2016.

Philipp Gerbert, Senior Partner and Managing Director, The Boston Consulting Group

Philipp Gerbert is the global leader of BCG's Infrastructure Practice, with a primary focus and expertise in energy infrastructure and mobility infrastructure. Having worked in management consulting for 20 years, Dr. Gerbert works with many multinational OEMs and EPCs to improve their infrastructure business. This includes, "Successful Business Models and Value Creation in Infrastructure", "The Korean/Chinese Challengers", "Scoping, Developing and Financing Infrastructure" and "Large Project Management".  He also leads BCG's support of the World Economic Forum on Strategic Infrastructure, African Infrastructure, and the B20 Group on Infrastructure.  

Andrés Gluski, President & CEO, AES Corporation

With more than 20 years of proven experience, Mr. Gluski has created a mind set for operational excellence at AES. He led the turnaround of some of AES' most significant operating businesses, and spearheaded a major expansion program in Chile. Under his leadership, AES was the first company to be recognized with three Edison Electric Institute awards within a six-year time span. These awards were granted for the Angamos power plant in Chile, performance improvements at AES Masinloc in the Philippines, and AES Latin America. He is also responsible for a number of portfolio management activities that strengthened AES' liquidity, including the sales of EDC in Venezuela, the Ekibastuz power plant and Maikuben West Coal Mine in Kazakhstan, the AES Atimus telecommunication company in Brazil, and several distribution businesses in Argentina. Prior to his current position, Mr. Gluski served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of AES from 2007 to 2011. He was Regional President for Latin America from 2006 to 2007, Senior Vice President for the Caribbean and Central America from 2003 to 2006, CEO of La Electricidad de Caracas ("EDC") from 2002 to 2003 and CEO of AES Gener (Chile) in 2001. Before joining AES in 2000, Mr. Gluski held several leadership roles including: Executive Vice President and CFO of EDC, Executive Vice President of Banco de Venezuela (Grupo Santander), Vice President for Santander Investment, and Executive Vice President and CFO of CANTV (subsidiary of GTE). Mr. Gluski worked with the International Monetary Fund in the Treasury and Latin American Departments, in addition to serving as Director General of Public Finance for the Ministry of Finance of Venezuela.

Donald Graul, Senior Vice President, Global Alternative Delivery, AECOM

Donald Graul is a Senior Vice President, Global Alternative Delivery with AECOM.  Mr. Graul has 30 years of engineering and construction experience on some of the industry’s highest profile projects.  He has alternative delivery experience throughout North America as well as in Europe, the Middle East, and Australia. Projects that Mr. Graul has actively managed and led include: the $650 million North East Stoney Trail project in Calgary, Alberta; the $995 million North West Anthony Henday Drive project in Edmonton, Alberta; the $485 million A25 Bridge & Highway project in Laval, Quebec; the $1.2 billion I-25 Transportation Expansion Project (TREX) in Denver, Colorado; the $90 million I-40 / Coors Road Interchange Project in Albuquerque, New Mexico; the $385 million Route 3 P3 project in Boston, Massachusetts; New Mexico’s $250 million I-25 / I-40 Interchange Reconstruction – the “Big I” in Albuquerque, New Mexico; the $1.4 billion Interstate 15 Reconstruction Project in Salt Lake City, Utah; and the $790 million San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor in Orange County, California. Prior to working for Parsons, he held positions with Parsons Corporation, Modern Continental Construction, URS Corporation, and Fluor Corporation.

Thomas Hardy, Director for Congressional Affairs and Public Relations, U.S. Trade and Development Agency

Thomas R. Hardy is the Director for Congressional Affairs and Public Relations at the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA). As a member of Director Leocadia Zak's senior management team, Mr. Hardy oversees the agency's outreach to Capitol Hill, the business community and press to amplify the success USTDA achieves through its commercially oriented foreign assistance program. Prior to this assignment, Mr. Hardy served as the Chief of Staff of USTDA. Since his arrival at USTDA in 2001, he has also served as the Country Manager for China, the Agency's largest program, and West Africa where he brought a trade policy background that led to a more active program in support of the African Growth and Opportunity Act. Prior to joining USTDA, Mr. Hardy served as an advisor to Commissioner Thelma J. Askey at the U.S. International Trade Commission. After attending California State Polytechnic University at San Luis Obispo, Mr. Hardy worked at the Trade Subcommittee of the Committee on Ways and Means in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he assisted in the development of trade legislation.

Lorraine Hariton, Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, U.S. Department of State

Lorraine Hariton was sworn in as the State Department’s Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs (CBA) on September 14, 2009. Her experience in innovation and entrepreneurship provides a unique perspective in addressing our global economic growth challenges. She is responsible for State Department outreach to the business community and commercial advocacy efforts. She works with the business community worldwide to ensure that commercial diplomacy efforts support U.S. foreign policy objectives. During her tenure, CBA has expanded cooperation and coordination with other trade promotion agencies and U.S. diplomatic posts overseas to support U.S. exporters and business interests in support of the President's National Export Initiative. In her first year with CBA, Ms. Hariton oversaw the launch of the Global Entrepreneurship Program (GEP), a State Department-led effort to promote and spur entrepreneurship around the world. She has been instrumental in successful undertakings as the Palestinian Information Technology Initiative (PITI) and she chairs the U.S. delegation to the U.S.-Russia Innovation Council on High Technologies (ICHT). Ms. Hariton is Chairman Emeritus of the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs and Executives, served as Treasurer of the State of California Board of Accountancy, served on the board of the Demand Response Smart Gird Coalition, served on the National Advisory Board of the Stanford Clayman Institute for Gender Research and the Executive Committee of the National Center for Women and Information Technology.

David Harris, FDI Adviser, Foreign Investment Office, Dubai Department of Economic Development

David is time served in the logistics industry with over 33 years of experience including 17 years in the Middle East, having held several senior positions with some of the leading organizations in the region. David has a wealth of experience assisting business start-ups and offering consultancy services for companies seeking to enter the Middle East markets, specifically for Dubai. In his role as FDI Adviser at Dubai FDI, David assists in providing impartial advice and support to organizations aiming to establish their operations in Dubai to serve local, regional and international markets offering assistance during the full investment cycle. 

Simon Herriott, Managing Director, Global Consulting Solutions, DuPont Sustainable Solutions

Jeff Hill, Partner and Managing Director, The Boston Consulting Group

Jeff Hill serves as the Managing Partner of BCG's Los Angeles office, the Americas engineering and construction sector leader and as a member of BCG's global infrastructure steering committee. Mr. Hill's recent work has included co-leading BCG's work with the World Economic Forum on Strategic Infrastructure as well as corporate strategy and M&A work for several large engineering, construction, and concession firms in North America and Europe. Mr. Hill also served as a member of BCG's team that supported the President's Automotive Task Force (US Treasury) in Turnaround plans of GM and Chrysler.

Marcela Huertas, Executive President, La Gerencia de Gestión e Innovación de Proyectos

Marcela Huertas is an urban planner from New York University specialized on urban innovation and technology implantation in cities of developing countries. She worked for the World Bank for 10 years developing urban sustainability projects, specializing on financial structuring, in selected cities of Africa, East Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. After leaving the World Bank, she co-funded Metropolis Global with José María Figueres, former President of Costa Rica, an international consulting firm specializing in the design and implementation of technology projects to promote urban sustainability in the developing world. After 20 years of international experience, Marcela is back in Cali as President of GIP, the Management and Innovation Office of Colombia´s Pacific Region specialized on PPP projects. She has degrees from Los Andes University on Political Science and from Harvard University on International Development Assistance, a program specially designed by the Kennedy School of Government and the Business School, for international civil servants of the World Bank. Marcela has co-authored books with Guillermo Perry, former World Bank chief economist and Finance Minister of Colombia, with Mila Freire, Urban Ph.D specialist of the World Bank and has written many articles on urban development with internationally recognized urban specialists such as Berkeley Professor Tim Campbell.

Leigh Jasper, CEO, Aconex

Leigh Jasper co-founded Aconex in 2000. Under his leadership, the company has raised approximately $86 million in private equity investment and grown the company to more than 400 employees worldwide. Jasper’s principal responsibilities as CEO consist of the company’s vision, strategy, operations, and growth. Prior to Aconex, he was a business analyst at McKinsey & Company, where he managed projects for clients in the financial services, media, information technology, and consumer goods segments. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from the University of Melbourne.

Michel Jichlinski, Principal, Ascendant Program Services LLC

Michel Jichlinski is the Project Director for Augustin Plains Ranch, LLC ‒ a $500 Million water resources development project in New Mexico.  He is a Principal at Ascendant Program Services, a consultancy group providing technical and program management advisory services for global infrastructure projects. With over 30 years of experience in infrastructure development, Mr. Jichlinski’s expertise covers a broad spectrum, from the management of operations of AEC firms to the structuring of Public-Private Partnerships and the organization and management of complex programs and projects in the United States, Western Europe, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Sub Saharan Africa. Mr. Jichlinski has provided advice to governments, companies, developers and financial institutions. He is a member of the Board of Advisors of CG/LA Infrastructure and former President and COO of The Louis Berger Group, a global A/E firm.  

Jan Justus, Principal, The Boston Consulting Group

Jan Justus is the coordinator of all BCG infrastructure activities across the public and private sectors globally. He has worked in power and transport infrastructure for equipment OEMs, engineering & design firms, and construction firms with a focus on corporate strategy. He is also involved in BCG's work on Strategic Infrastructure with the World Economic Forum.

Essa Kaldari, CEO, Lusail

Qatari Born Eng. Essa Mohammed Ali Kaldari, is the Chief Executive Officer of Lusail Real Estate Development Company (LREDC), a subsidiary of Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company the wholly owned real estate investment arm of the Qatar Investment Authority and the Government of Qatar. In this role, Eng. Kaldari controls all aspects of development, construction and ongoing operations of the company’s flagship Lusail City development project, in addition to leveraging the company’s domestic and international portfolio. In addition to the position he holds at LREDC, Eng. Kaldari is currently the Chairman of Seef Lusail, Vice Chairman of KAT–Istanbul and Qatar Management Projects, and is also a Board Member in Hochtief JV and Barwa New Cairo. Prior to being appointed as the CEO, Eng. Kaldari served as the Group Director of LREDC. Previously, Eng. Kaldari held the position of Manager – Special Projects at Barwa Real Estate Company and various positions in Qatar Petroleum Project Department. Eng. Kaldari holds a bachelor degree in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University in the United States.

Stanley Kamau, Director, Public Private Partnership Unit, Kenya Ministry of Finance

Eng. Stanley K. Kamau has been the Director/Head of Public Private Partnership (PPP) Unit in Kenya’s Ministry of Finance since February 2010.  He serves on the GDC Board of Directors as the alternate to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance. He graduated with a B.Sc Degree in Civil Engineering (Upper Second Class Honors) from the University of Nairobi in 1985. Currently, he is pursuing a Master’s Degree in Sociology at the University of Nairobi. Eng. Kamau is a registered engineer with Engineers Registration Board of Kenya and a member of the Institution of Engineers of Kenya. He has a wealth of experience in funding, development and management of infrastructure facilities and services as well as institutional reforms in the public sector. Eng. Kamau has attended several finance, management and leadership courses in Europe, Asia, Africa and America. He also serves as an alternate Director at the National Oil Corporation of Kenya and the National Biosafety Authority.

Simon Kapenda, Managing Director, Tses Glass

Simon Kapenda is a neuroeconomist, sound engineer and serial entrepreneur. He's the founder and CEO of Groot Group, Namibia. He’s also the Co-founder and serves as Managing-Director of Tses Glass (Pty) Ltd, Namibia; as well as Co-founder and Project Manager of Groot Steel (Pty) Ltd., Namibia; and Sitentu Power Plant (Pty) Ltd, Namibia. As an economist, Simon specializes in industrial and economic development, international trade, growth and productivity theory and their impact on macro performance, and the underlying dynamics of migration flows. Simon previously worked as Audio Engineer for major TV, film, and music recording studios in Namibia, Europe, and the U.S., where he engineered several world's and sporting events as well as live TV news and face-to-face interviews with some of the world renown personalities including Former President Bush (41) (USA), Former Prime Minister Tony Blair (Britain), Founding President Sam Nujoma (Namibia), Former President Nelson Mandela (South Africa), and more. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics from The College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at The Ohio State University in 2009. He's currently studying towards a Ph.D in Economics and Finance. Simon makes his home in Los Angeles, California and Windhoek, Namibia.

Elguja Khokrishvili, Executive Director, Municipal Development Fund of Georgia

Mr. Elguja Khokrishvili  is Executive Director of the Municipal Development Fund of Georgia, which implements various infrastructure projects throughout Georgia with donor, Government of Georgia and own financial resources. Before taking this position Mr. Elguja Khokrishvili  held mostly leading positions at such academic institutions as University of Potsdam (Germany), Free University of Berlin (Germany), Program and Educator Development Group (Canada), Ilia State University (Georgia) and Caucasian Institute for Economic and Social Research-CIESR (Georgia).  His research interests include tax and social policy, institutional economic, fiscal decentralization, public choice and regulation issues.

Natalia Klepikova, Head of Department for Projects Development, PPP Unit, Vnesheconombank

In 1996 Natalia Klepikova graduated with honors from Canterbury college, Great Britain, in 1998 – from Central Bank of the Russian Federation college with a specialization in foreign economic activities, in 2002 – from Russian State Institute of Finance and Economics with a specialization in business accounting and audit. Natalia Klepikova is a member of working group of Vnesheconombank and UNDP Joint Project “PPP development in Russia”, a member of Coordination Council of UNDP joint project “Energy efficiency in Russia”, a member of the board of non-profit organization “Operating fund for the program of financial support to innovation projects of the skolkovo fund” (“VEB-Innovation Fund”). Natalia is an Associate Professor of the joint PPP Chair of Vnesheconombank and Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation. In 2008 Natalia Klepikova was awarded commendations of the executive management of the RF Government Office and Chairman of Vnesheconombank for participating in working out federal law of October 13, 2008 no.173-fz “On additional measures to support financial system of the Russian Federation”. Since 2000 till 2012 Natalia Klepikova had been worked for Russian State corporation “Vnesheconombank”, specializing in structuring PPP projects subject to IFI requirements, VEB’s strategic planning of PPP programs, marketing of VEB’s PPP Unit’s products and services, launching PPP educational programmes in Russian regions institutes of higher education. Sine January 2013 till present time Natalia works in the position of Deputy CEO JSC “Federal Centre for Project Finance”.

Frank Kopas, General Manager, North America, Aconex

Frank Kopas has more than 20 years of strategic and operational sales management experience. Before joining Aconex, he was Senior Vice President of sales at Trilogy, responsible for sales across all vertical markets, including insurance and financial services, technology, telecommunications, and automotive. Prior to Trilogy, Kopas held sales management positions at several enterprise software companies specializing in customer relationship management (CRM) and interactive customer support, business intelligence, and consulting services. Kopas holds an M.B.A degree from The Ohio State University and a B.S.E.E. degree with Distinction from the University of Kentucky.

Martin Kris, Expert Consultant, DuPont Sustainable Solutions 

Martin Kris is an Expert Consultant within the Contractor Safety Management practice of DuPont Sustainable Solutions (DSS). In DuPont, he has 13 years of Safety, Health & Environment management experience that includes petrochemical and heavy construction industries. He also has experience in chemical process manufacturing, and assembly manufacturing. His competencies include start-up SHE Management Systems, program implementation, environmental best practices, contractor medical program and insurance administration, contingency planning and contracted workforce safety in co-management and co-occupancy environments. He has vast experience with hazardous waste, hazardous substances, and extremely hazardous substances in occupational and environmental regulatory controls. He held numerous management positions in business, safety and environmental disciplines.

Julie Labonte, Director, Water System Improvement Program

Julie Labonte is the Director of the Water System Improvement Program (WSIP), a 10-year, $4.6 billion program to rebuild the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System, which serves 2.6 million customers in the San Francisco Bay Area. The WSIP is one of the largest water programs in the country. Labonte is a registered Professional Civil Engineer with over 25 years of experience in the planning, design and construction of various public infrastructure. She is now recognized as one of the premier program managers in the water industry. Labonte also volunteers in Africa to build in-country capacity for the development of water infrastructure.

Richard Joost Lino, CEO, PT PELINDO II

Richard Joost Lino has over 30 years of experience in port management & operation, port planning, port engineering, strategic planning and project management. For 12 years he was directly responsible for the planning and management of many port development projects in the 18 ports controlled by Public Port Corporation II. Since joining Transconsult in 1992, he has been directly involved in many marine projects and studies throughout Indonesia and beyond. Mr. Lino’s experience has covered access channels, breakwaters, dredging, reclamation, general cargo wharves, coal terminals, container terminals and feasibility studies. In 2005, Mr. Lino was involved in the acquisition of the Port of Guigang, Guang Xi, China and became Managing Director of the port in 2006. His major role was to review plans for remodeling the obsolete port, which was upgraded with new facilities and equipment, new organization and management systems, human resources and marketing strategies. In 2009, Mr. Lino was appointed President Director of Indonesia Port Corporation II, a state owned company that manages 12 ports in western Indonesia, which handled 5,1 million TEUs of containers in 2010.

Nelisiwe Magubane, Director General, South African Department of Energy

Nelisiwe Magubane (Nellie) has been the Director General of the South African Department of Energy since December of 2009. She received her BS in Electrical Engineering from Natal University in Durban, and her MBA from Milpark Business School. Ms. Magubane has 20 years experience in the energy sector, and expertise in long-term planning, regulation and reform, power generation, transmission, distribution, financing, low carbon, business management and governance. 

Thomas Maier, Business Group Director, Infrastructure, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Thomas Maier is the Managing Director in charge of the Infrastructure sector at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Mr. Maier joined the EBRD as Senior Project Manager in August 1993 from NatWest Markets where he worked on acquisitions, management buy-outs and highly leveraged transactions in the UK and Western Europe.  At the EBRD, he worked as Senior Banker in the Romania/Moldova/ Croatia/Ukraine country team. In 1999 he moved to the Municipal and Environmental Infrastructure Team as Deputy Director and became Team Director in October 2001. Mr. Maier is a German national and holds a degree in Public Management and an MA in Development Economics.

Ibrahim Mardam-Bey, Group President, Taylor-DeJongh

Ibrahim Mardam-Bey is an entrepreneur, financier and business developer with extensive international experience. He possesses a broad range of unique experience and a track record in international finance, merchant investment banking, and Islamic finance. He also maintains an active role in corporate governance, mentoring and public speaking. As Group President at TDJ, Ibrahim Mardam-Bey has been instrumental in developing the firm’s new growth strategy. He oversees new business origination and built several new TDJ initiatives, including Sukuk Finance. Mr. Mardam-Bey is also the Co-founder and Non-Executive Chairman of Merchant-Edge, a merchant investment company. Previously, he was the Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Siraj Capital. Other positions have include Chief Financial Officer of a telecom company, Strategic Advisor and Non-Executive Director of an educational software company, and Chief Marketing Officer and member of the founding team of one of the MENA regions’ leading structured finance banks.

Federico Martinez Urmeneta, President & CEO, Grupo Tradeco

Nikolai Meleshko, Project Manager, Development Assistance Department, PPP Unit, Vnesheconombank

Nikolai Meleshko graduated from the Financial Academy under the Government of the Russian Federation with a specialialization in International Economic Relations. From 2006 to early 2012, he worked in major Russian banks in the area of client relations, business planning and internal audit. He has been working at Vnesheconombank since 2012. Now as a project manager of Development Assistance Department, PPP Unit. Specialized in client relations and marketing of PPP Unit’s projects.

Timothy McManus, Senior Vice President, Director, Global Program Management, AECOM

Timothy C. McManus is Senior Vice President and Director of Program Management for AECOM, an $8-billion global provider of professional technical and management support services. In his role, Mr. McManus works closely with all AECOM Business Lines and Geographies throughout the world leading major program management pursuits and directing the development and implementation of best practices, control systems and standards, and delivery strategies associated with the management and control of major capital projects and programs across all industry sectors.  Mr. McManus has extensive experience in program and construction management in various countries for both the public and private sector. Mr. McManus has been involved with the management and control of various projects and capital programs.  He has served as the Program Director for the $50-billion Infrastructure Development Program for the country of Libya, and was the Senior Technical Director of the $16-billion Second Avenue Subway project in New York, the $25-billion Crossrail Program in London, the $1.2-billion Lincoln Center Development Program in New York, and the $6 billion New Port of Doha, Qatar, among others. Prior to joining AECOM, Mr. McManus was with the New England Patriots football team, serving as its Director for the development and implementation of Gillette Stadium and all associated infrastructure, was the Regional Director of construction consulting for Ernst & Young LLP, and a member of Exxon’s international project management group.

Ruth McMorrow, Executive Vice President, Parsons Enterprises

Ruth McMorrow is Executive Vice President, Parsons Enterprises, the strategic investment unit of Parsons Corporation, an international engineering, construction, technical, and management services firm headquartered in Pasadena, California, with more than 10,500 employees and revenues of $2.7 billion in 2010. Ruth is responsible for leading Parsons’ efforts in Public-Private Partnerships, project financing opportunities, and project investment initiatives. She has more than 30 years of experience in the global infrastructure and U.S. public finance markets and has led teams providing financial advisory services, debt arrangement, and equity sales and sourcing services for infrastructure projects across sectors and geographic markets. Ruth has extensive expertise in structuring, negotiating, and executing infrastructure and municipal debt transactions. Ruth joined Parsons in March 2011, having held senior management positions at several global infrastructure banking institutions. Most recently she was the Managing Director for Scotia Capital, Global Infrastructure Finance International, where she spearheaded the bank’s global infrastructure expansion into the United States, Europe, and Asia Pacific (Australia).

Terry Newendorp, Chairman and CEO, Taylor-DeJongh

Terry Newendorp is the founder of Taylor-DeJongh. He has more than 35 years of experience in international and cross-border capital investments, project and structured financing, corporate financing and private placements of capital. He has negotiated and closed deals in 75 countries, aggregating more than $70 billion, primarily in the energy, oil & gas, petrochemicals, telecommunications, metals & mining and infrastructure sectors. In addition to extensive experience organizing and structuring commercial bank loans globally, he has strong experience with government and multilateral financing institutions, including the export credit agencies of most of the developed world. He has extensive experience assisting clients in managing the project development process and in closing transactions. Amongst Mr. Newendorp’s awards are: “Independent Energy 25-year All-Star Award” for energy finance, Infrastructure Journal’s “Oil and Gas Advisor of the Year, 2003,” Leader of “Superstar Team, Asia/Middle East Oil and Gas,” Infrastructure Journal’s “Latin America Advisor of the Year, 2001.” He was the overall leader for project finance teams that have won 13 “Deal of the Year” awards since 1999. He is on the Board of Directors of several energy companies, and since 2006, he has advised the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe on energy security issues.

Elkanah Odembo, Ambassador of the Republic of Kenya to the United States

Ambassador Elkanah Odembo comes to Washington after serving as the Ambassador of the Republic of Kenya to France, since January 2009. Prior to representing Kenya abroad, Ambassador Odembo held senior level positions at philanthropic and non-governmental organizations in east Africa for more than two decades. Advocating for human rights and social justice has always been at the core of Ambassador Odembo’s work. He was the founding director of Ufadhili Trust, a Nairobi based organization that promotes philanthropy, the use of local resources for social development, especially through corporate social responsibility, cross-sector partnerships, technical assistance and policy research. Prior to founding Ufadhili, Ambassador Odembo served as a consultant to the Ford Foundation’s Africa Philanthropy Initiative. He has served as a distinguished member of the National Advisory Committee for Health Research, the NGO Co-ordination Board of Kenya, and the National Committee for Social Dimensions of Development. Additionally, he was one of the founding members of the NGO Coalition for East Africa and has served on the Boards of several National and International NGOs.

Vahid Ownjazayeri, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer, Business Lines, Group Chief Executive, Global Transportation, AECOM

Vahid Ownjazayeri is Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, Business Lines, as well as Group Chief Executive, Global Transportation, for AECOM Technology Corporation. In this role, Mr. Ownjazayeri is responsible for leading the efforts relative to AECOM's global growth strategies with particular emphasis on developing and emerging geographies, leading mega project pursuits, and developing the company’s relationship with global contractors. In addition, Mr. Ownjazayeri is responsible for the overall strategic direction, growth, and performance of AECOM’s Global Transportation business. Prior to rejoining AECOM, Mr. Ownjazayeri served as executive vice president of Environmental & Infrastructure as well as president of Commercial, State and Local Division, for The Shaw Group. Before joining Shaw, Mr. Ownjazayeri was AECOM’s Senior Vice President and U.S. National Director, Transportation, for the company. Before that, he served as AECOM’s northeast region manager and vice president of Marine, Intermodal and Freight. With more than 28 years of experience in the development, design and management of complex transportation projects, Mr. Ownjazayeri has been a global leader in project development, specifically in the United States, Middle East, Canada and the Caribbean. He believes that a combination of local presence, technical expertise and global reach gives clients the confidence of seamless planning and execution of even the most complex projects. Mr. Ownjazayeri is a registered Professional Engineer in Massachusetts, U.S.

Maria Panina, Head of Project Department, PPP Unit, Vnesheconombank

Maria Panina graduated from the Financial Academy under the Government of the Russian Federation with a specialization in Finance and Credit. She also graduated from Weymouth College, Great Britain, in 2001. Maria Panina is a member of the Moscow Government Expert Council for Transport and Member of the VEB-Innovations Fund Council. She has been working at Vnesheconombank from 2007. Now as a head of PPP projects expertise division. Specialized in structuring PPP projects, project financing and financial management. Participated in structuring more then 10 PPP regional projects in transportation, social and water supply infrastructure.

James Porter, Former Chief Engineer and Vice President of Engineering and Operations, DuPont Sustainable Solutions

James (Jim) Porter has more than 42 years of experience within DuPont. His roles have included a very wide range of technical, supervisory, managerial and leadership assignments. The technical roles ranged from detailed engineering and design of chemical and nuclear process and support facilities to applications engineering consulting and product and equipment testing. As a supervisor, Jim was engaged in technical consulting, project execution, and early career hire competency and career development. As a manager, he had responsibility for all aspects of capital project and operations management. Jim’s leadership roles were at both individual business and Corporate levels and involved, globally, all engineering and facilities services operations; corporate remediation services; the Corporate Safety, Health and Environmental Excellence Center; and operations security. Jim’s experiences have enabled him to be skilled in formulating complex strategy and in directing rapid implementation, building and leading business effective teams, and delivering bottom-line results. He is a self-starter who thinks expansively and is a highly effective communicator. Jim was an editor and wrote the forward to IPA’s Ed Merrow’s new book on “Industrial Megaprojects”.

Pascual Prota, President, Dominican Republic National Authority for Maritime Affairs

Since 2008, Mr. Pascual Prota has been President of the National Authority for Maritime Affairs (ANAMAR), with the rank of Secretary of State as the first President of this institution. Previously, he developed his professional and business activities in the private sector, participating in several engineering companies engaged in the design, supervision and construction in the area of electricity and energy. He worked for the Dominican Electricity Corporation as Engineer, was the Manager of the Electrical Department, the head of Gas Turbine Maintenance of San Pedro de Macoris and Barahona, and the inspector of the installation of the gas turbine in San Pedro de Macoris. 

N.V.S. Reddy, Managing Director, Hyderabad Metro Limited

With 30 years of managerial and administrative experience in the Government of India, Government of Andhra Pradesh and Public Sector Undertakings, Mr. N.V.S. Reddy held several senior government positions. Presently, as the Managing Director of Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited, he is heading a mega Hyderabad Metro Rail Project (72 km). He is known for his financial acumen, managerial ingenuity, open minded approach, and leadership qualities.  He is an expert in the rail transportation and power sectors, finance, urban transportation, urban governance, project structuring, project management, and PPPs. He has been associated with the implementation of many important projects including the mega Konkan Rail project on the west coast of India. 

Jean Alain Rodriguez, Secretary of State / Executive Director, CEI-RD

Dr. Jean Alain Rodriguez is currently Secretary of State and Executive Director of the Investment and Export Center of the Dominican Republic. He worked as an Associate Attorney and Coordinator of the Business and Foreign Investment Department and is currently a Special Advisor to the international law firm Russin, Vecchi & Heredia Bonetti, Secretary of the Board of Directors, and Foreign Investment Advisor to the Dominican-Italian Chamber of Commerce, Assistant Attorney of the National District Prosecutor, Legal Advisor to the Costums Bureau for World Trade Organizations Issues, referee of INDOTEL, Outside Counsel to the Ministry of Tourism of the Dominican Republic, Advisor to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Executive and Legal Director of Domicem, S.A., and Managing Partner of the law firm JAR & Asocs., specialized in investment, trade and industry, Ambassador Assigned to the Foreign Ministry, and current Member, ratified by the National Congress, of the National Commission on Unfair Trade Practices and Safeguard Measures.

Doug Rubingh, Vice President, Aconex

Doug Rubingh is a Vice President for the Aconex Americas region.  Prior to joining Aconex, Doug managed a variety of high profile projects and programs for mining, oil and gas and defence clients in the US, Central and South America with Engineering firms like URS and Shaw Group.  Doug is a registered professional engineer with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the Ohio State University.

Hans Schulz, Manager of Structured and Corporate Financing Department, Inter-American Development Bank

Hans Schulz is currently the General Manager of the Structured and Corporate Finance Department of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), which provides financing to private firms, and private and state-owned financial institutions and enterprises as well as to public-private partnerships. Previously, he managed the financial markets group of the Private Sector Department, responsible for capital markets development, trade finance and financial institutions, and served as the Senior Private Sector Advisor to the Executive Vice-President of the IDB. As Senior Investment Officer in the Private Sector Department, Mr. Schulz focused on infrastructure projects. During the first four years at the Bank, Mr. Schulz worked on financial sector development issues as part of the Bank’s efforts to help increase the competitiveness of financial services in the region. Mr. Schulz also served at the Andean Development Corporation (CAF) in Caracas, at the UN’s ECLAC Office in Santiago, Chile, and at WestLB in Düsseldorf, Germany. Mr. Schulz holds a Master’s Degree in Economics from Southern Illinois University and undergraduate degrees in economics and business from Marburg University in Germany.

Don Sherman, Principal, Don Sherman Group LLC

Mr. Sherman provides professional services management consulting, marketing and sales program leadership, strategic planning, and risk management for AEC (Architecture Engineering, and Construction) businesses globally. Programs he has developed and implemented consistently result in winning large CAPEX and OPEX programs and projects valued from $250 million to 5+ billion USD. Professional activities included active participation in the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Engineering Excellence Committee, International Committee, and Sales and Marketing Forum. Throughout his career, he has specialized in client-centered programs for planning, design, construction, and finance corporations to consistently win large capital expenditure and operations programs and projects. His programs are tailored for traditional and alternative project delivery methods, including: traditional planning, design and construction; design-build, DBFOM, to program management, etc. Clientele served include all market sectors of engineering, architecture and construction, including transportation, environment, water, energy, mining, health-care, civic/public facilities and private sector industries. He provides over 30 years of experience as a licensed Professional Engineer. He served HDR Engineering, Inc. as Senior Vice President & Marketing Director for National and Global Strategic Pursuits; MWH Global, Inc. as Chief Marketing & Sales Officer; Arcadis-Malcolm Pirnie as Senior Marketing Associate, Dames & Moore as Division Marketing Director; Centec Corp.as Federal Systems Marketing Manager; SCS as Project Engineer; and Dewberry as Civil Engineer and Laboratory Director.

Marcos Siqueira Moraes, Director, Minas Gerais PPP Unit

Marcos Siqueira Moraes is the Executive Manager of the Central PPP Unit of the Brazilian State of Minas Gerais. As such, he is responsible for managing a pipeline of PPP and Concession projects that will attract $5 billion in the next 3 years in areas such as solid waste management, water, transportation and soft infrastructure. Before heading the PPP Unit, Marcos conducted the financial and legal structuring of concession contracts for prisons and sports infrastructure.  He teaches Project Finance and Public Administration for several undergraduate and postgraduate courses. He received his B.S. in Law from Federal University of Minas Gerais and in Public Administration from João Pinhero Foundation. He also holds an M.A. degree in Public Administration and management from University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom.   

Steve Sleigh, Fund Director, IAM National Pension and Benefits Trust Funds

Bringing years of collective bargaining experience to the position, former IAM Strategic Resources Director Steve Sleigh has been named the Fund Director for the IAM National Pension and Benefit Trust Funds. The Fund Director’s primary responsibilities are to provide the highest possible pension benefits to the maximum number of IAM-represented employees, and to make certain that quality health, dental and vision benefits are delivered to IAM members who participate in the Fund’s health and welfare plans. Sleigh began his IAM career in 1975, completing an apprenticeship as a machinist and working as a journeyman printing press erector out of Local 126 in Chicago, IL. After receiving an IAM Scholarship in 1984, Sleigh earned a Bachelor’s degree in Labor Studies from the University of Massachusetts in 1986; a Masters degree in Public Administration from Harvard University in 1987 and a doctorate in sociology from the City University of New York in 1991. Sleigh served as the IAM Director of Strategic Resources from 1994 to 2006, when he began a five-year stint at the Yucaipa Companies, a labor-friendly investment firm.

Johan Smet, Director of Technology Consulting and Services, Trimble Heavy & Highway Construction Division

Johan Smet is Director of Technology Consulting and Services for Trimble’s Heavy & Highway Construction Division.  He started his career as Management Consultant for finance and technology companies in Europe and the United States, before joining a satellite imaging company in Colorado in 2001.  He joined Trimble in 2004 as Director of Finance for the Construction Division.  From 2008, he managed the division's marketing and product strategy, before taking his current role in 2012.  Johan holds an Engineering degree from the University of Antwerp, Belgium, and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley.  He currently lives in Denver with his wife and three children.

Victor Stroud, Global Solutions Architect, Capital Effectiveness, DuPont Sustainable Solutions

Vic joined DuPont Sustainable Solutions in March 2011 with 30 years of Operations and Project Management experience. Prior to joining DSS, Vic was the Engineering Manager for INVISTA’s Nylon Polymer and Specialty Chemicals businesses. Previous assignments included Operations Management roles with DuPont’s Titanium Dioxide and Fluorochemicals businesses. Vic is an accomplished and proven change agent with a diverse background in operations management, engineering, organizational development and project management. He is a collaborative business-focused leader with a progressive record of accomplishments assessing operations, formulating strategies and leading diverse cross-functional teams to achieve best-in-class performance. Vic executed aggressive $5.0M Solution Dyed Nylon (SDN) restructuring project at Kingston, ON and a $6.5M Nylon 66 Polymer recycle project at Chattanooga, TN positioning INVISTA to capitalize on a strategic market restructuring opportunities in 2009. He was responsible for consolidating INVISTA Canada’s Regional Engineering Office resulting in $2M/year annual savings. Prior to joining INVISTA, Vic led a cross-functional corporate task team to develop and institutionalize a strategic capital investment model for DuPont’s $2B investment portfolio.

Alexander Superfin, CEO, Akkuyu NPP

Alexander Superfin is CEO of Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, JSC ( a project company formed by Rosatom group of companies) and is responsible for development and implementation of 4x1200 MW NPP in Turkey – the first “build-own-operate” NPP project in the world. Alexander has 30 years’ experience in the energy and infrastructure sectors, managing large projects in the Former Soviet Union, Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, Turkey and the USA, including consulting work for the World Bank.  During his career, Alexander has worked for 17 years for Bechtel Group in engineering, business development and project management.  Prior to joining Roastom, Alexander has held various senior positions at Russian power plant construction companies.  Alexander holds a Master’s Degree in Mechanical engineering from Moscow Power Engineering Institute and is a licensed Professional Engineer in Maryland, USA.

Felipe Targa, Manager, Green Corridor Project, La Gerencia de Gestión e Innovación de Proyectos

Felipe Targa was Deputy Minister of Transportation of Colombia from 2010 to 2012. He successfully designed and executed one of the most complex policy reforms in the freight transportation sector, developed a national road safety plan projected to reduce traffic fatalities by 50%, and designed a national system for electronic vehicle identification. Currently, Mr. Targa manages the Green Corridor project in Cali, a highly innovative, mass transit-urban renewal-open space project that incorporates state-of-the-art practices in green infrastructure, PPP financing, sustainable mobility and urban development. Prior to this, he worked on the Office of Private Participation in Infrastructure in Colombia’s National Planning Department, in a special task force responsible for structuring and implementing one of the most advanced national urban transport policies, conceptualizing the first group of Colombia’s worldwide recognized Bus Rapid Transit –BRT- systems. From 2004 to 2010, he worked on the Inter-American Development Bank as a Senior Transport Specialist, leading a variety of urban transit projects in Panama, Chile, Mexico and Brazil. He serves on the Board of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (www.itdp.org). Mr. Targa holds a Masters degree in City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Ph.D. candidate in Transport Systems at the University of Maryland at College Park.

Helcio Tokeshi, Managing Director, Estruturadora Brasileira de Projetos

Thomas Waldron, Senior Vice President, Americas Director, Transit & Rail, AECOM Transportation

Tom Waldron is transportation professional with over 30 years of public and private sector experience. He is currently Senior Vice President and Americas Director - Transit & Rail for AECOM, the world’s #1 ranked transportation engineering and architecture firm.  Based in New York, he is responsible for $300 million annually of planning, engineering and program management services provided to AECOM’s passenger rail and transit clients in North and South America, while supporting global efforts in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Australia and Asia. 

James Weigand, President, DuPont Sustainable Solutions

James R. Weigand is president, DuPont Sustainable Solutions. In his role, Mr. Weigand leads a global solutions business specializing in transforming workplaces and work cultures with services and technologies that bring about sustained improvements in safety, operational and environmental performance. Mr. Weigand began work with DuPont in 1981 in Wilmington, Del., in the finance organization, with assignments in the areas of federal and international taxes, business analysis, and mergers and acquisitions. In 1987, Mr. Weigand joined DuPont Performance Coatings and held several leadership positions including European sales and marketing director and global business director for Ford, responsible for delivering coatings solutions to Ford worldwide. Mr. Weigand was appointed director, DuPont corporate planning in 1999 where he guided corporate strategic direction and positioned the DuPont portfolio of businesses. In 2001, he was appointed regional sales and marketing director for Engineering Polymers, helping to achieve near double-digit growth in the Americas. In 2003, Mr. Weigand was named global business director for Advanced Fibers Systems, where he had global business leadership responsibilities for products under the Kevlar® and Nomex® brands sold into a variety of markets including military, government, automotive, aerospace and oil and gas. In September 2007 he was named vice president and general manager of DuPont Safety Resources. In October 2009, he was appointed president of DuPont Safety Resources, which is now part of DuPont Sustainable Solutions, an integrated business that also includes segments of DuPont Clean Technologies and Coastal Training Technologies.

Frederick Werner, President, Europe - Middle East - Africa, AECOM

As president of EMEA, Mr. Werner is responsible for AECOM’s global markets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He ensures that AECOM is advancing technology and best practices across all of these regions. Mr. Werner is also a member of AECOM’s EMEA Executive Board, which oversees operational performance and drives strategic growth. Prior to this role, he was president, corporate development, and has also led AECOM’s U.S. Infrastructure Group, which brought together the company’s business throughout the U.S. in the fields of transportation, energy, water and development. Mr. Werner also served as chief executive officer of AECOM's Americas Transportation Group — part of the U.S. Infrastructure Group. He was promoted to that position following a successful stint as president of AECOM's legacy DMJM Harris operation.

Dennis Wright, President and CEO, Peregrine Development International

Dennis Wright is the President and Chief Executive of Peregrine Development International. Dennis formed Peregrine following a highly successful career in both Government and Industry. Dennis led the company’s initiative to bring Busch Gardens and Sea World to Dubai to build the regions first major western branded theme parks in the Middle East. He then took the company to Southeast Asia where he conceived and won the development of a 177 hectare greenfield Logistics and Business Park in the Philippines valued in excess of $3B on behalf of a major Middle Eastern investment company. Prior to starting Peregrine, he was a corporate Vice President for KBR, the leading Engineering and Construction company in the U.S. and the 7th largest Defense Contractor, where he was responsible for the development of all public sector planning and marketing strategies for a $5B business segment. Dennis later led KBR’s international strategic business initiatives and established a Middle East corporate office during the Iraq war and post‐war reconstruction efforts, including direct support of all U.S. Reconstruction work. As Vice President in the new Mid‐East regional office he developed strategies and a sales plan supporting $4B revenue base while capturing over $2B in new work.  Dennis also served a 33-year distinguished career in the U.S. Navy. 

Luky Eko Wuryanto, Deputy Minister of Coordination for Infrastructure and Regional Development, Indonesia Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs

Mr. Luky Eko Wuryanto was born in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. He holds a M.Sc in Urban and Regional Planning from the Institute of Technology in Bandung and Ph.D from Cornell University in NY. He currently serves as the Deputy for Infrastructure and Regional Development for the Ministry of Economic Affairs and previously served as Deputy for Planning Investment at the Investment Coordinating Board.