Mr. Patel joined the Bank in January 1974 as part of the Young Professionals Program. Upon graduation from this program, he was appointed Urban and Regional Planner in the Transport and Urban Projects Department, where he was promoted to Deputy Division Chief in December 1979. In October 1984, he was promoted to the position of Program Coordinator in the Office of the Regional Vice President, Europe, Middle East & North Africa (MENA). In 1987, he was appointed Division Chief of the Infrastructure Operations Division in CD2 of the Asia Region. In February 1991, he was appointed Country Operations Division Chief in the Southern Africa Department. In May 1996, he became Director, Finance, Private Sector and Infrastructure, Africa Region. From this position, he was promoted to his current position as Regional Vice President, South Asia.

Prior to joining the Bank, Mr. Patel worked in Kenya in private practice and for the Housing Research and Development Unit at the University of Nairobi, and as Instructor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Mr. Patel's academic qualifications include Bachelors Degree in Architecture (1st Class Hons) University of Nairobi, with a final year program at Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen (1971); M.A.A.S. (Thesis on Urban Settlement Design in Developing Countries), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1973) and General Manager Program - Harvard Business School (1996).

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