EBRD
GREEN CITIES

Omar Al-Rawi

Omar Al-Rawi is an Austrian politician (Social Democratic Party) and was until 2011 the integration officer of the Islamic Faith Community in Austria. He has been a member of the Vienna State Parliament and Municipal Council since 2002. In his fifth term, he is a member of the City Council Committees on Innovation, Urban Planning and Mobility, and European and International Affairs and substitute member of the Committee for Education, Youth, Integration and Transparency and the Committee for Housing, Urban Renewal and Women. He has a degree in civil engineering from the Vienna University of Technology.

Nandita Parshad

Nandita Parshad is Managing Director, Sustainable Infrastructure at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), heading 200 staff. She has 30 years’ experience in financing and investing in the energy and infrastructure sector.

She is a Member of the Energy Transition Commission, a member of the Global Leadership Forum Advisory Board of the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) and a former Co-Chair of the WEF Global Future Council Energy Transition.

Nandita holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.

Erion Veliaj

Erion Veliaj was re-elected as Mayor of Tirana in June 2019. Prior to his tenure, Veliaj served as a Member of Parliament and Minister of Social Welfare and Youth from 2013 through 2015. Before joining the ranks of the Socialist Party in 2011, Veliaj had a long experience as the leader and founder of the youth movement “MJAFT”, a civic organization which gained huge popularity for inspiring peaceful protest since its creation in 2003. Veliaj has also worked with several international humanitarian organizations in the Americas, Eastern Africa and Kosovo.

Ursula Bauer

Ursula Bauer studied geography with a focus on urban and regional planning in Vienna and Paris.

From 1992 to 2005 she is working for Municipal Department 57 – Promotion and Coordination of Women’s Issues of the City of Vienna. In October 2005 she is nominated as project director for the implementation of gender mainstreaming in the Vienna City Administration, in April 2012 she is also appointed deputy head of the controlling instruments group.

Since 1999 she is giving lectures on gender mainstreaming at Universities of Applied Sciences in Vienna.

Harry Boyd-Carpenter

Harry Boyd-Carpenter is the Managing Director, Climate Strategy and Delivery at the EBRD. He took up this role in April 2021. Mr Boyd-Carpenter is responsible for coordinating the EBRD’s work across the green economy and climate agendas, with the overall goal of meeting the Bank’s commitment to achieve a green finance ratio of over 50 per cent of annual investments by 2025.

Before joining the EBRD Mr Boyd-Carpenter was an Associate in the project finance team at Allen and Overy LLP and also worked for the European Agency for Reconstruction in Pristina. He is a graduate of the University of Oxford.

Lin O’Grady

Lin O’Grady has more than 30 years of experience, working internationally in the transport and municipal infrastructure sectors, for both the public and private sectors. She is a Deputy Head, Associate Director in EBRD’s Sustainable Infrastructure Group (SIG), with specific responsibility for project preparation. Lin co-leads the development of the Bank’s EUR 3 billion Green Cities Framework.

Previously, she worked i.a. in the private sector, in transport consultancy in both South and East Africa, followed by the European Commissions’ TACIS (Technical Assistance to the Commonwealth of Independent States) programme.

Nigel Jollands

Dr. Nigel Jollands has worked on sustainable energy and environmental policy for 25 years. In March 2011, he took up a post with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and is now Associate Director, Head of Sustainable Business Investments, Infrastructure in the Climate Strategy and Delivery Group. Nigel co-leads the development of the Bank’s EUR 3 billion Green Cities Framework.

Prior to this role, he spent 5 years as Head, Energy Efficiency Unit at the International Energy Agency. At the IEA he led the Agency’s energy efficiency policy analysis.

Murat Pinar

Murat Pınar is the CEO of Enerjisa Enerji, touching the lives of one out of every four people in Turkey. After graduating from the Electrics and Electronic Engineering Department of Karadeniz Technical University, he got his MBA degree from London School of Commerce & University of Wales.

Pınar began his career at Siemens in 1998. Between 2005-2010, he had worked for Nokia NSN. He joined to Enerjisa family in 2010. At Enerjisa Enerji, he had been appointed various top executive positions and finally appointed as CEO in 2019.

Pınar also works for the future and sustainability of the sector as a member of the Board of ELDER and holds the Presidency of EUROGIA2020.

Sue Barrett

Sue Barrett is EBRD’s Director, Head of Infrastructure, Türkiye, Middle East and Africa. Her team focuses on sustainable infrastructure investments, combining flexible and innovative financing solutions with delivering impact from green and climate resilience, to gender, digital and inclusion, commercial sustainability and facilitating private sector participation.

Prior to joining EBRD, Sue was a Senior Manager at PWC, advising on privatisation and regulation of utilities. She has a Bachelors Degree in Economics from the University of Sussex and a Masters Degree in Economics from the London School of Economics.

Lbachir Benmhade

Born in 1956 in Morocco. Graduated from ISCAE Casablanca with a major in Finance in 1979. PhD in Management Sciences at the IAE of Aix en Provence - Aix Marseille III University. Former bank manager for more than 30 years and having held positions of responsibility in Morocco and abroad (Paris, Brussels and Abidjan). Currently Vice President in charge of finance and budget of the Municipality of Agadir since October 2021.

Gianpiero Nacci

Gianpiero Nacci is the Acting Director of the Green Economy & Climate Action Group at the EBRD where he is responsible for work on climate finance, corporate sector energy efficiency, climate resilience investments and circular economy.

He has 25 years experience in climate policies, sustainable manufacturing, resource efficiency and clean energy with a particular focus on emerging markets.

An Italian national, he holds a MSc in Mechanical Engineering from Politecnico di Torino (Italy) and a MSc in Renewable Energy from the University of Oldenburg (Germany).

Fatma Şahin

Fatma Şahin was born in 1966 in Gaziantep. In 1987, Mrs. Şahin received a BS degree in Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering from Istanbul Technical University.

Following the general elections due November 2002, Mrs. Şahin performed the duty as the first female parliamentarian of Gaziantep and Southeast Anatolia Region in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. During her tenure as parliamentarian, Fatma Şahin became a member of Turkish-EU Joint Parliamentary Commission as well as the Commission of Investigation for Child Battering. After the 2011 general election, Fatma Şahin was appointed as the only female Minister at the Cabinet and she was appointed as the Founding Minister of the Ministry of Family and Social Policies. She became the first minister of the South-eastern Anatolian Region.

Elected as the Mayoress of Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality after the local elections due 2014 and she was elected as the Chairman of the Union of Municipalities of Turkey in 2018.

Barbara Rambousek

Barbara Rambousek is the EBRD’s Director for Gender and Economic Inclusion. She established the Bank’s approach to integrating economic inclusion into the Bank’s mandate, to address inequality challenges through private sector investments and policy engagement.

Ms Rambousek has 20 years leadership experience in the design and delivery of multi-sectoral inclusive development programmes and strategies in Central and Eastern Europe, the MENA region, Asia and the UK. Previously, as Head of Regeneration and Corporate Strategy for the London Development Agency, she led major urban regeneration programmes and the formulation of London’s 20 year Economic Development Strategy. Before that, she managed integrated refugee return and economic development programmes in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Ms Rambousek holds an executive MBA from Cass Business School, London, an MSc from the London School of Economics and an MA from the University of Vienna.

Matthew Jordan-Tank

Matthew is the Director of Sustainable Infrastructure Policy and Project Preparation at EBRD, covering the energy, transport and municipal sectors. His work covers upstream policy support, PPP transaction advisory, and project preparation/technical due diligence and implementation issues. Matthew also leads the Bank’s Sustainable Infrastructure advisory activities, dedicated to improving the quality of advice and efficiency of project preparation for both PPPs and public sector-based projects.

Prior to joining EBRD, he worked as a Transport Specialist for Inter-American Development Bank. He holds a Masters in Planning from the University of Maryland, USA.

Ambassador Katharine Chang

Katharine Chang took up her role as Head of Mission of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Austria in September 2020.

Amb. Chang has had a long career working in Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and holding several government posts. She served nine years in New York and before coming to Austria, Amb. Chang headed the Taipei Economic and Cultural Offices in Seattle. She also represented her country as Ambassador to the Netherlands (2003-2005), the United Kingdom (2010-2013) and Australia (2013-2015). In 1997 she was appointed Taiwan's first female ambassador in St Kitts and Nevis and Dominica. She was also the first spokesman of Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Aida Sitdikova

Aida Sitdikova is Director Energy Eurasia, Middle East and Africa, Sustainable Infrastructure Group at the EBRD where she heads a team covering a diverse group of transition countries in Central Asia, Caucasus, Turkey, South Mediterranean and Africa.  Ms Sitdikova has over 20 years of experience in emerging markets with both the private and public sectors, leading complex financings involving debt, equity, syndications and policy dialogue with the governments.

Prior to joining the Bank in 2001 Ms Sitdikova worked in private equity. She holds the MBA degree in International Finance from Thunderbird, the American Graduate School of International Management, and a CFA designation.

Göran Heimer

Head of The Helsingborg treasury since more than 10 years, Göran Heimerhas been in the absolute centre of the Swedish fixed income market since the mid 80s, working for JP Bank, ABB Treasury Centre, Carnegie Investment Bank and others.

Göran Heimer has a masters degree in mechanical engineering and a bachelor of economics.

Dr Johannes Lutter

Johannes Lutter is a researcher and political consultant in the field of urban development and social science and head of the “urban development & mobility” department at Urban Innovation Vienna. Johannes deals with various facets of city development – ranging from urban development strategies, housing policies, and tourism concepts to questions of participation or local, metropolitan or cross-border governance. In his recent work, strategies towards a sustainable and resilient development of cities has gained much importance.

Johannes studied political science at the University of Vienna and the Vienna Institute of Advanced Studies. For many years he was Deputy CEO at Europaforum Wien – the Center for Urban Dialogue and European Policy in Vienna, and CEO of the multilateral Centrope Agency.

Irena Badelska

Irena Badelska is a senior leader in sustainability SaaS, social enterprise, global financial services and real asset finance, with focus on ClimateTech.

Irena joined ClimateView as CRO in March 2022 following a senior leadership position at the US-based ESG SaaS platform Measurabl.

Irena holds a CFA in ESG Investing and has over 18 years of business development, fundraising and investment experience, with focus on revenue growth, multi-stakeholder negotiations and commercial strategy, having worked in global financial services and investment banking in London and Frankfurt since 2005.

Ivars Bergmanis

More than 30 years of global financial market experience, including 7 years in London with HSBC Investment Bank, where he was the Global Co-ordinator for natural resources research. Since 2004 he has focused on the Baltics and has participated directly in almost every significant Baltics-related IPO/ECM transaction as a senior team member of SEB Enskilda and Suprema Securities / Evli. Joined LHV Bank in 2010. Since then LHV achieved the leading Nasdaq Baltic Market Member of the Year Award for 7 of the past 8 times it has been awarded.

Dr Sinan Küfeoğlu

Dr Sinan Küfeoğlu is a Senior Research Fellow in hydrogen research at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. Previously Dr Küfeoglu worked as a Research Associate at the Cambridge Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction. He also worked as the International Outstanding Research Fellow at the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey. He was an adviser at the UNITAR for integrating United Nations Sustainable Development Goals into university education. He consulted the World Bank and EBRD on using Machine Learning in power systems and cyber resilience in critical infrastructure.

Stefanie Sohm

Stefanie Sohm is an independent consultant in sustainable transport and climate policy with a focus on decarbonization and renewable energy. She has twelve years of experience in development cooperation and has worked with international organizations, governments, and the private sector in policy analysis, multi-stakeholder processes, and capacity development. Her various assignments to support sustainable transport development on behalf of international development organization allowed her to acquire a thorough understanding of the practical challenges to align policies, regulation, and actors across multiple sectors.

Tunç Soyer

Tunç Soyer was elected as the Mayor of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality at the local elections held in March 2019. Soyer is a lawyer by education and holds a master degree on “International Relations” from Webster College in Switzerland and a second master degree on the “European Union Studies” from Dokuz Eylül University.

Soyer worked as a counsellor to the Mayor of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Ahmet Piriştina. He served as Deputy Secretary General of the İzmir Chamber of Commerce and had been elected as the Mayor of Seferihisar, District of İzmir, in 2009.

Dominic Fritz

Dominic Fritz is a German citizen who was elected Mayor of Timișoara in the autumn of 2020, hence becoming one of the few European citizens to serve as mayor outside of their native country.

He has previously worked for the Germany Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), as well as an advisor and chief of staff for former German President, Horst Köhler.

H.E. General Mohamed Elsherif

H.E. General Mohamed Elsherif is the Governor of Alexandria since 2019, the second largest city in Egypt, and also a major costal city in the country. Previously, the Governor held positions as the Director of the National Security General Department, the Director of Alexandria Security Directorate, and the Director of Giza Security Directorate. He holds a bachelor degree in law which he obtained in 1983 and has an extensive 31 years’ experience in politics, 9 years’ experience in ports security in the Red Sea, among other notable experiences.

Melanie Slade

Melanie Slade, Senior Programme Manager, Energy Efficiency in Emerging Economies Programme, International Energy Agency

Mel Slade has spent more than thirty years in energy efficiency policy development and implementation in many parts of the world. She started out working in the UK Government on industrial and appliance energy efficiency and has worked with many other governments to establish efficiency programmes, perhaps most notably in China where she has been working since the early 1990s. In 2007 Mel became the Chair of Australia and New Zealand’s Equipment Energy Efficiency programme where she led the phase-out of inefficient lighting, a world first. Mel moved to the International Energy Agency in February 2014 to manage the Energy Efficiency in Emerging Economies Programme. Mel and her team work with policy makers in Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa and Thailand to develop more effective energy efficiency policy, track its progress and assess its potential.

Seblewongel Deneke Negussie

Seblewongel Deneke Negussie is a Gender and Social Specialist working at the Green Climate Fund for over 4 years. Being a staunch believer in equality, she has dedicated more than 20 years of work experience in advocating for and working on addressing gender equality and women’s empowerment issues in various sectors within the public and private sector domain. She has experience in policy and strategy development, project /program design, implementation and monitoring.

Venera Vlad

Venera Vlad is responsible for Infrastructure business in Romania and Bulgaria at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, a portfolio of approximately EUR 1 billion of investments, including loans to local authorities, municipally-owned utilities and companies as well as private sector financing.

Prior to joining EBRD in 2008, Mrs Vlad worked for the Romanian Ministry of Environment as Programming Director for European Funds; in this capacity she developed large scale programmes, leading to EUR 6 billion investments in the municipal and environmental infrastructure.

She is a double graduate of the Engineering University and the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest. She also holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration.

Christina Hubin

Christina Hubin, Head of Strategy & Communication, Upstream – next level mobility GmbH

Christina Hubin (*1982) currently works for Upstream - next level mobility GmbH she is head of Strategy & Communication. 2015 at the New Urban Mobility GmbH, innovation as well as partner management for digital mobility services where part of her responsibilities. Her career at the Wiener Stadtwerke GmbH began in 2006 at the controlling department of Wiener Linien GmbH & Co KG. Christina Hubin finished, the program for economics and public administration in 2009 as well as the program for marketing and management, organization and HR consulting.

Plamena Marinova

Plamena Marinova is a Vice Mayor of the city of Varna since 2013, the second major city in Bulgaria and a Bulgaria sea capital. She has a master degree for law and a bachelor for finance and has been working in areas of Corporate and Commercial law, Administrative law, Dispute resolution, Spatial and planning law for renewable energy sources. Since she joined the Mayor/s office she is engaged with strategic planning for EU funded and national programs preparation for Fit to 55 EU, international relationships, and stakeholder engagement in regional and international policy of the municipality.

Donjeta Sahatçiu

Donjeta Sahatçiu as a Deputy Mayor of Pristina, she is a professional with proven experience in the field of management, technology, strategic communication, and capacity-building, with an extraordinary energy for getting work done. She is a certified digital transformation consultant, a mentor, and a woman that prioritizes women empowerment in the society.

Ion Ceban

Mr. Ion Ceban was elected General Mayor of Chisinau Municipality, the capital of Moldova, following the 2019 Chisinau mayoral elections. As Mayor of Chisinau, Mr. Ion Ceban currently acts as the Vice-President of Congress of Local Authorities of Moldova and the Head of Moldovan Delegation to the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe.

Mr. Ion Ceban has held one of the 4 positions of the Deputy Chairman of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova in 2019, and has served as a member of parliament in 3 legislatures. He was formerly chairman of the fraction of the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova at the Council of the Chisinau Municipality from 2015 to 2019. In 2016–2018, he held the positions as the Counselor of the President for the internal policy; secretary, press secretary of the President of the Republic of Moldova.

He has held different positions at the governmental level starting from the head of a department to deputy minister. Mr. Ion Ceban has been proactively involved in the political life of the Republic of Moldova since 2009 to 2019.

Monica A. Altamirano

Monica serves as Infrastructure and Climate Consultant to WaterEquity. As independent consultant, she is associated to the NOW Partners alliance of experts and investors for a regenerative economy. With 18 years of global experience, she is a multidisciplinary leader who has advised governments and MDBs on how to catalyze private sector investments in infrastructure, water, climate adaptation, and NbS. She applies the economics of infrastructure provisioning and systems engineering to facilitate complex multiparty financing and is passionate about financing a just transition by adopting a mission driven nexus approach in the planning of infrastructure investments.

Nisreen I. Daoud

A senior architect, with about 25 years’ experience in the fields of design, technical coordination, strategic planning and project management. Nisreen Daoud is the Manager of Sustainable Development and Amman Resilience Unit holding the responsibility of Amman climate change, green city and resilience related planning and implementation follow-up. She previously held the position of the Acting Chief Resilience Officer. Nisreen joined GAM in 1999 where she held the responsibilities for some major projects, strategies and plans. Nisreen was born in March 1975 and holds B.E. degree in architectural design

Kurmanbek Moldokulov

Kurmanbek Moldokulov, Director of the Agency for Development of Bishkek and Investment Attraction.

He began his career as an assistant to a member of the Parliament of the Kyrgyz Republic, an assistant to the Minister of Labor and Social Development, and was later an assistant to the Minister of Finance of the Kyrgyz Republic. He also headed the Department for International Cooperation of the Ministry of Labor and Social Development, was the Head of the Department for the Development of Local Self-Government of the Bishkek City Hall, and Advisor to the Mayor of Bishkek. He was twice elected as Member of Parliament of the Kant City Council. He headed the working group on the development strategy for the City of Kant and was also a member of the working group on the development program for the city of Bishkek. He is the Graduate of the US Open World Program.

Sereina Capatt

Sereina Capatt joined the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in May 2021. She works on stakeholder engagement as part of the Green City Action Plans and leads the Green City Officers Network. Prior to joining EBRD, she worked for the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs as policy advisor and as research assistant for the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH). She has a BA in International Affairs and a MA in Political Science and Eastern European Studies.

David Tyler

Dr. David Tyler leads a team of sector specialist and engineers whom provide expert advice to the banking teams in the municipal, energy and urban transport sectors. David joined the EBRD in 2016 as the water sector specialist recently taking up the wider leadership role. David’s experience ranges from infrastructure design and delivery, operations, asset management, policy development and strategic investment planning having worked previously in the public and private sectors, for two water and wastewater companies, a water economic regulator and a specialist technical consultancy. David has a first degree in Civil Engineering majoring in water management, a Doctorate of Philosophy in applied hydraulics and a Diploma in Business Management.

Arnaud Fragnière

Arnaud Fragnière joined the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in 2021. Arnaud works on digital transformation and smart integration as a part of the Green City Action Plan. He is also participating in the development of sectorial digitalisation roadmaps for the Sustainable Infrastructure Group. Prior to joining the EBRD, Arnaud worked three years in Chile and Colombia for Ernst, Basler & Partner, a Swiss technical consultancy. He supported the development of the programme Energy Cities in Chile and co-founded the Energy Inclusion Programme with the University of Chile. Arnaud holds an MA in Development Policies from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva.