Obiageli Katryn Ezekwesili

Vice President

Oby began her career as an auditor and management consultant, where she focused on financial planning, SME financing, audit and regulatory compliance. From 1994 to 1999, she served as one of the founding members of Transparency International where she held the position Director, Africa. In 2000, Oby went on to serve as Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria on Budget Monitoring, and the Price Intelligence Unit, where she spear-headed institutional reforms through the establishment of due process mechanisms and strategies. In this capacity, Oby achieved previously unheard of success by markedly reducing both procurement costs to the Government and turnaround time for completion of Government projects, while improving transparency. Oby subsequently served as Minister of Solid Minerals Development, with emphasis on reforming Nigeria's mining sector to internationally recognized standards, especially in the area of policy transparency, with the purpose of increasing levels of global investment, and investor confidence, in the sector. She provided leadership in the drafting of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, establishing the Nigerian Mining Cadastre Office and opening up Nigeria’s mining sector to private participation. Oby has also served as the Chairperson for the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative since 2004 and pioneered the voluntary sign-on of Nigeria to the EITI Principles, as well as the first ever audit of the oil and gas sector.

Since June 2006, Oby has been the Minister of Education where she was tasked with leading the country's on-going comprehensive reform strategy within the education sector. She has restructured and refocused the ministry for the attainment of EFA targets and MDGs, introduced Public Private Partnership models for service delivery, revamped the Federal Inspectorate Service as an improved quality assurance mechanism and introduced transparency and accountability mechanisms for better governance of the budget. The track record attesting to Oby's innovative success in this area culminated with the Nigerian stock exchange launch of "Adopt-A-Public School Initiative" earlier this year.

Oby's unique blend of first-hand experiences, especially in the more challenging and complex areas of energy sector reform and education, position her as the ideal candidate to serve as the Vice President for Africa. A critical factor in Oby's leadership style is her ability to achieve client "buy-in" no matter how extensive the reform strategy presented. Oby's life is a testament to her dedication to Africa as is the high degree of respect in which she is held by the international community. Oby's passion for and commitment to Africa, her high degree of integrity and her optimism will bring invaluable strengths to our organization. Oby holds a Masters in International Law & Diplomacy from University of Lagos, along with a Masters of Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard. She is also a chartered accountant.

Hartwig Schafer has worked for over 15 years in professional and managerial positions in the World Bank and the European Commission. His academic background is economics (PhD) and agricultural economics (MA and MSc) and he has strong operational experience within Africa as well as other regions.

As Director of Operations in the Africa Regional Vice President's Office, Mr. Schafer will: (i) lead the implementation of the Africa Action Plan, with its focus on results; (ii) direct the work currently underway on decentralization, the role of the country offices and country managers, strategic staffing and budgetary trade-offs required to implement the Action Plan; and (iii) work jointly with the other Operations Directors to maximize the Bank's external and internal effectiveness.

As former Chief Administrative Officer for the Africa Region he gained experience in resource management and corporate strategy. From 2003 to 2006 he served as Country Director for Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe — leading the Bank's overall relationship and program delivery in the three countries.

Michel Wormser

Director, Operations and Strategy

Mr. Wormser has been in the World Bank Group since 1978. After assignments in IFC East Asia Department, the World Bank South Asia Industrial Finance Division, and the World Bank’s Energy Projects Department, Mr. Wormser joined the Africa Region as Private Sector Development and Financial Sector Specialist. Mr. Wormser then became Unit Chief, Industry and Finance, South Asia, and subsequently was nominated Manager of the Energy and Economics Division in the Africa Technical Department. In 1996, Mr. Wormser joined Société Générale (SG) under the World Bank staff exchange program. As Director in SG’s Project Finance Department, Mr. Wormser was responsible for advising and arranging limited recourse financing of power projects, including Azito, a 220 MW Independent Power Producer in Cote d’Ivoire, using a combination of IFC instruments and the first IDA partial risk guarantee to catalyze private financing for this infrastructure project. Following his return to the World Bank Group in 1998, Michel Wormser was appointed Senior Advisor to the Vice President, Private Sector Development, and then in 2000 became Director of the Project Finance & Guarantees Department. In September 2003, Mr. Wormser was appointed as Sector Director, Finance, Private Sector and Infrastructure Group for the Africa Region, the position he currently holds. The department is responsible for a portfolio of $9 billions and lending of $1.8 billion (2004) in support of projects in energy, urban development, water supply, water resource management, transport, financial sector and private sector development. Mr. Wormser is a French national. He has a diploma from Ecole Superieure de Sciences Economiques et Commerciales (France) and an MBA from UC Berkeley.

Shanta Devarajan

Chief Economist

Mr. Devarajan, a US national, joined the Bank in 1991 as a Principal Economist in the Country Economics Department, Public Economics Division. He has since held various positions, his most recent being Chief Economist, South Asia Region.

Khaled Sherif

Chief Administrative Officer

Mr. Sherif, an Egyptian national, joined the Bank in 1990 as a Young Professional. He has since held numerous positions, the most recent assignment being CAO of the Human Development Network (HDNVP).

Dirk Reinermann

Acting Country Director
South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland, Madagascar, and Mauritius

Mary Barton-Dock
Country Director
Cameroon, Chad, Gabon, C.A.R., Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe

Ms. Barton-Dock, an American national, joined the Bank in 1993 in the Young Professionals Program and was assigned as an Economist to the Agriculture and Environment Division in the Central and Indian Ocean Department. Since then, she has held various positions, her most recent assignment being Sector Manager for Environment, Rural and Social Development in the Africa Region.

Ishac Diwan

Country Director
Burkina Faso, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea (AFCW1), Effective September 1, 2007
Based in Accra, Ghana

Mr. Diwan, a Canadian national joined the World Bank in 1987 through the Young Professionals Program as an Economist in the Debt and International Investment Division of the International Economics Department. He has since held various positions, his most recent assignment being Country Director, Ethiopia and Sudan .

Colin Bruce

Country Director
Kenya, Somalia, Eritrea, Comoros, Rwanda and Seychelles

Mr. John McIntire

Country Director
Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda
Based in Washington, D.C.

Mr. McIntire, a US national, joined the Bank in 1989 as an Agricultural Economist in Agriculture Operations in the Latin America and Caribbean Region. He has since held various positions, including Country Director for Senegal, Cape Verde, the Gambia and Guinea-Bissau, and Sector Director, ESSD. His most recent assignment was Senior Adviser for Sustainable Development in the Africa Region.

Michael Baxter

Country Director
Angola, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Based in Maputo, Mozambique

Mr. Baxter, an Australian national, joined the Bank in 1977 through the Young Professionals Program. He has since held various positions, his most recent assignment being Senior Manager, Leadership and Organization Effectiveness, Human Resources Vice Presidency. In his new position, Mr. Baxter's top three priorities are to (a) steer the Bank's support to our client's sustainable development strategies and, within this, to apply the results-oriented approach of the Africa Region; (b) further strengthen close and effective partnerships with clients and donor counterparts; and (c) manage the country office staff, including recruitment evaluation and career development.

Madani Tall

Country Director
Senegal, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Gambia, Niger
Based in Dakar, Senegal

Based in Dakar, Senegal, Mr. Tall, a Malian national, joined the Bank in June 1989 as an agricultural economist in the West Africa Agriculture Division. He has since held various positions, his most recent assignment being Country Manager, Cameroon, and Central African Republic (CAR) in the Africa Region. Mr. Tall was the recipient of the Staff Association Good Manager Award in 2003.

In this new position Mr. Tall’s top three priorities will be to (a) steer the Bank's support to our client's sustainable growth and poverty reduction strategies and apply the results-oriented approach of the Africa Region; (b) further strengthen close and effective partnerships with clients and donor counterparts; and (c) manage country office including staff and budget.

Mark Tomlinson

Director
Regional Integration

Mark Tomlinson joined the World Bank Group as a Young Professional in 1984 after which he was assigned to the Industry Department as an Economist. In 1987, he transferred to the Africa Technical Department's Industry and Energy Division. A year later he took up the position of Economist in Asia Country Department IV, and in 1990 was assigned to the New Delhi Resident Mission, where he was promoted to Senior Country Economist in 1991. At the end of 1991, Mr. Tomlinson joined the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) as Senior Project Manager. While with EBRD, he was promoted to Director, Energy Utilities and subsequently appointed as Country Director for Ukraine, Georgia and Armenia. In September 1997, Mr. Tomlinson returned to the Bank as Sector Manager of the Africa Region's Infrastructure and Energy Family, Energy Unit. On July 1, 2000, Mr. Tomlinson assumed the position of Country Director for Nigeria.

Kenichi Ohashi

Country Director
Ethiopia and Sudan

Mr. Ohashi, a Japanese national, joined the World Bank in 1979 through the Young Professionals Program as an Economist in the Investment Department, Investment Strategy Division. He has since held various positions, his most recent assignment being Country Director, Nepal in the South Asia Region.

Marilou Uy

Sector Director
Finance and Private Sector Development

Ms. Uy, a Filipino national, joined the Bank in 1985 as a Young Professional. She has since held various positions, her most recent assignment being Senior Adviser in the Financial & Private Sector Development Vice-Presidency.

In her new position, Ms. Uy’s top three priorities will be to: i) provide strategic vision for the Africa Region’s work in the areas of financial and private sector development; ii) lead FPD's contribution to the implementation of the Africa Action Plan with particular emphasis on strengthening analytical and multi-sector aspects of the operational work and deepening collaboration with development partners; and iii) lead and motivate the regional FPD management team and staff, both Washington- and country-based.

Antonella Bassani

Acting Country Director
Cote D'Ivoire, Benin, Togo, Mauritania, Mali
Based in Antananarivo, Madagascar

Marie-Francoise Marie-Nelly

Country Director
Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo

Ms. Marie-Nelly, a French national, joined the Bank in August 1994 as a Public Enterprise Specialist in the West and Central Africa Industry & Energy Operations Department. She has since held various positions, her most recent assignment being Senior Program Manager of the Chad-Cameroon Pipeline in the Africa Region Vice Presidency (AFRVP).

Onno Ruhl

Country Director
Nigeria

Mr. Ruhl, a Dutch national, joined the Bank in June 1993 as Country Officer for Moldova and Armenia in the Europe and Central Asia Region. Since then he has held various positions in the Bank, the most recent assignment being Manager, Results and Learning in the Africa Region’s Operational Quality and Knowledge Services Department.

Sudhir Shetty

Sector Director
Poverty Reduction and Economic Management

Eric Chinje

Manager
External Affairs

Mr. Chinje, a Cameroonian national, joined the Bank in 1992 as a consultant in the Africa External Affairs Unit. He has since held various positions in the Bank, his most recent assignment being an External Assignment in the African Development Bank where he was Head of External Affairs and Communications.

Gerard Byam

Sector Director
Quality Control and Knowledge Management

Mr. Byam, a Trinidad/Tobago national, joined the Bank in 1988 as a Public Sector Management Specialist in Africa's Technical Department, Public Sector Management Division. Since then he has held various positions, his most recent assignment being Financial Sector Manager in the Africa Region.

In his current position, Mr. Byam's priorities are to (a) lead the AFTQK management team and staff in the quality and knowledge sectors in diverse locations; (b) mobilize the commitment of staff and managers across the Region to improve and maintain the quality of the Bank's operations; and (c) play a key role in bringing innovation to the formulation and implementation of the Region's business strategy and overall work program.

Yaw Ansu

Sector Director
Human Development

Yaw Ansu, a Ghanaian national, is the Sector Director for Human Development of the Africa Region. In this position, he provides a strategic vision for the Region’s work in the areas of education, health, nutrition and population, and social protection; drives an analytical work program and operations to effectively pursue the sector’s goals, including the applicable Millennium Development Goals; and leads and motivates the Sector Leadership Group. Prior to taking this position, he was the Director of Economic Policy in the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management (PREM) Network for two years. Earlier, Mr. Ansu was Country Director for Zambia and Zimbabwe, and before that of Nigeria. He has also been an Economic Advisor in the Office of the Senior Vice-President Development Economics and Chief Economist of the Bank. Mr. Ansu joined the Bank in 1984 as an Economist in the Development Research Department, Development Strategy Division. His work in the Bank has focused on macroeconomic management and reforms as well as economic growth, diversification and competitiveness.

John Stein

Acting Sector Director
Sustainable Development