Zaza Chelidza, Georgia (PF ’03); Deputy Minister, Ministry of Finance

Zaza completed the Master of Public Finance Program at GRIPS in 2003. In addition, to the required subjects of public finance, macroeconomics, and international taxation at GRIPS, Zaza completed a nine-month practicum at the National Tax Administration of Japan. Prior to entering the workforce, Zaza obtained a degree in Economics from the Tblisi State University. Zaza started his working career at the Committee on Economic Policy of the Parliament of Georgia in 1997. He moved on to become State Advisor at the Office of Finance and Budget under the President of Georgia in 2001 and held various positions at the State United Social Security Fund of Georgia, the Anticorruption Bureau, and Financial Monitoring Service respectively, before being appointed as Deputy Minister of Economic Development in March 2005. In that capacity he was actively involved in Georgia’s economic policy-making process. He supervised the Department of Economic Policy, the body responsible for making economic policy, conducting macroeconomic policy analysis, planning and forecasting, and addressing fiscal and monetary policy tasks. After his resignation as Deputy Minister in November 2006, he worked as Manager of the Business and Economic Centre at the Parliament and then as consultant for the 3 Year (2009-2011) Strategic Plan of Institutional Development of the Ministry of Finance and Economics of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara. Zaza joined the Ministry of Finance of Georgia in July 2009 as Chief Adviser to the Minister, and was appointed Deputy Minister in August ‘09

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Delgermaa Gira, Mongolia (TE ’98); Board Member & Director International Department, Bank of Mongolia

After completing the Bachelor in Banking degree with honors at the Mongolian National University, Delgermaa joined the Bank of Mongolia in 1995, working first as State Supervisor and Examiner in the Banking Supervision Department and then promoted to Director of the Banking Division in 1996. In that latter role she was in charge of 22 off-site bank examiners, and was responsible for a wide range of issues. Among others, she developed most policies and procedures that are currently in place to regulate Mongolia’s banking and financial system and was one of the key players in banking system restructuring process. In 2000, Delgermaa transferred to the Agricultural Bank of Mongolia, working as Credit Executive in charge of ensuring efficient lending operations of the bank. After the successful privatization of the Agricultural Bank in 2003, Delgermaa briefly worked as Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Xac Bank – a private bank specialized in micro-financing – overseeing its day-to-day operations. While being employed in the banking sector, Delgermaa participated in many courses, seminars, and short-term training programs. Her extensive academic preparation includes the completion of the Transition Economy Program with a Master in Public Policy at GRIPS’ predecessor GSPS in 1998 and the Outreach Program with a Master in Business Administration at Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands, in 2005. She has regularly received advanced technical training in courses provided by leading American, Asian and European financial institutions. She also studied at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics in 1997, and interned at Wells Fargo Bank in the areas of marketing, lending, and human resource management in 2001. Now a highly-trained professional banker with considerable experience, Delgermaa founded Neule Co. Ltd, Mongolia’s first, and highly successful, professional private company specializing in banking and business training and consulting in April 2005. In January 2008, Delgermaa accepted an offer to rejoin the Bank of Mongolia, as Board Member and Director of the International Economic Department. In addition to her Board Member duties, Delgermaa is, among others, overseeing Mongolia’s international reserve management, the operation and development of the local FX Market and compilation of external sector statistics of Mongolia. She is also responsible for formulating Mongolia’s foreign exchange rate policy, in line with the country’s overall macroeconomic policy stances.

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Abdul Qadir Memon, Pakistan (PP ’02); Deputy Secretary (Foreign Trade), Ministry of Commerce

Qadir has been particularly interested in the field of trade and sustainable development since 2001 when he was selected for an Asian Development Bank’s scholarship to study in the Public Policy program in GRIPS. He graduated with a Master of Public Policy in 2002 with a focus on globalization, international trade, political economy, barriers to trade and industrial competitiveness. In 2004, Qadir proceeded to the University of Washington, Seattle USA on Hubert H Humphrey Fellowship and completed Graduate Certificate in Global Trade, Transport and Logistics Studies (GTTL). His main area of interest was the impact of trade liberalization of non agriculture sector under the WTO and its implications on the productive competitiveness of the developing countries. While studying at University of Washington, Qadir led the team of the Evans School of Public Affairs in the Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition (GSEC). The Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition (GSEC) invites students from around the world to find creative, unorthodox solutions to problems of poverty in the developing world. The project proposal developed by Qadir won second place in the competition. At present Qadir is working as Deputy Secretary (Foreign Trade), Ministry of Commerce, Government of Pakistan, where he is involved in negotiating trade agreements with the partner countries. Qadir was a member of Pakistan’s negotiating team that concluded Free Trade Agreements with China and Malaysia. He is also member of the SAFTA Committee of Experts that has been mandated by the SAARC members to oversee the implementation of SAFTA Agreement. Presently he is involved in negotiating trade agreement with Indonesia, Jordan, Afghanistan, Singapore, GCC and Developing 8 (D-8). Qadir’s work has taken him around the world and he likes to capture his travels in photographs which he shares with his friends on Facebook. Qadir is married to Frida, also a civil servant in Pakistan and they have two children – Hassan and Aisha.

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Masato Hayashikawa, Japan (IDS ’03); Policy Analyst, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Paris, France

Having lived more than ten years in the USA, two years in both the UK and the Philippines and currently in France, Masato Hayashikawa has spent much of his adolescent and adult life abroad. He received a B.A. and M.A. degree from the Boston University Centre for Energy and Environmental Studies. Upon the completion of his master’s degree in 1996, he accepted a post at the OECD in Paris through a program sponsored by the Japanese government, where he conducted research on the development of international environmental management system (EMS). In 1998, Masato moved to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), where he worked initially at its headquarters in Tokyo and from 2000 as Aid Coordination Advisor to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) in Manila. Masato enrolled in the International Development Studies Program at GRIPS in 2002. After graduating in 2003 and working for a year in a development consulting firm, Masato joined the Development Cooperation Directorate (aka DAC Secretariat) of the OECD in Paris in 2004 through the young professionals program. An Economist and Policy Analyst his work has focused on the development impactAid for Trade and making aid programs more effective. Masato has co-authored two publications (Aid for Trade: Making it Effective & Trade-Related Assistance: What Do Recent Evaluations Tell Us) and the joint OECD-WTO Aid for Trade at a Glancereport, the second editionof which was launched at the WTO Global Aid for Trade Review on 6-7 July 2009 (a high-level gathering of the heads of major development agencies like the World Bank, IMF, UNDP, etc. + ministers and heads of donor agencies from WTO member countries – see the 2009 Global Review website). He will soon start working on the Peer Review of Japanese Aid Policy as well.

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Nguon Sokha, Cambodia (TE ’97); Deputy Director General, The National Bank of Cambodia

Nguon Sokha received her higher education overseas, in both Europe and Japan. In 1988, she obtained a Diploma in Economics from the Leipziger Business University in former East Germany. She continued her graduate education at the same university and received a Doctor in Economics degree in September 1992. Upon her graduation from the Leipzig Business University, Sokha returned to Cambodia. She joined the Balance of Payments Division of the National Bank of Cambodia in 1993 where she worked until her enrollment in the Transition Economy Program at GRIPS’ predecessor GSPS in October 1996. She completed the Master in Public Policy in 1997. When rejoining the National Bank in 1997, Nguon Sokha was appointed Chief of the International Economics Studies Division. In this capacity she studied the macroeconomic development of Cambodia and its main trading partners and reported her results to the Bank’s management. She was promoted to Deputy Director in charge of the Statistics and Economic Research Department in 1999, and to Director of the same Department in 2002.

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JJ Samuel A Soriano, Philippines (PP ’88); President and CEO, PROJECT Corporation

JJ Samuel A. Soriano earned the degree of Master of Policy Science from GRIPS’ predecessor GSPS in 1988. He founded PROJECT Corporation (Philippine Resource Organization on Japanese Enterprise, Capital and Technology) upon finishing his studies in Japan. PROJECT is a management, business consultancy and project development firm that acts as a boutique investment banking company in promoting investments from Japan and encouraging meaningful Filipino-Japanese joint ventures. Being a seasoned entrepreneur with extensive cross-border experience in business development, finance, marketing, property and information technology, JJ has successfully brought together Japanese and Filipino businessmen & companies as well as other international entities for meaningful investments and joint ventures in manufacturing, transportation, tourism, real estate and telecommunications, among others. Furthermore, JJ Soriano is Chairman of In-store Digital Display International (IDDI) which has an investment from Tokio Marine Insurance’s venture fund. He is also the CEO of TLC Group (NY, USA). In addition, he is a member of the Board of Directors and business development adviser to other significant businesses in real estate, tourism, sales & distribution, life and non-life insurance, manufacturing, transport and logistics, among others.

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Gao Shan-wen, China (TE ’01); Chief Economist, Essence Securities Co. Ltd

Gao Shan-wen was admitted to Peking University in 1988 and graduated there in 1995 as a Bachelor in Science and Master in Economics. He started his working career at The People’s Bank of China in 1995. While working for the Bank, Gao joined Grips in 2000 and gained a Master in Policy Science degree in 2001. In 1999, Gao was also admitted to the graduate school of The People’s Bank of China from which he graduated in 2005 with doctoral degree in International Finance. In 2003, Gao accepted a position as Chief Economist at Everbright Securities where he steadily gained a reputation as one of China’s chief business economists. When he announced his departure in May 2007, the media referred to his move as a “shock resignation“! After leaving Everbright Securities, it did not take long for Gao to be hired by Essence Securities, where he has been working as Chief Economist since 2007.

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Alhassan Iddrisu, Ghana (Ph.D. ’06); Ag. Director Economic Planning Division, Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning

Upon the successful completion of the master’s program in International Development Studies (IDS) at GRIPS in 2003, Alhassan proceeded to the doctoral program. Together with his supervisor Prof. Tetsushi Sonobe he engaged in empirical-based research on cluster-based industrial development in Ghana and obtained his Ph.D. degree in 2006. Prior to his studies in Japan, Alhassan completed a Bachelor of Arts (BA Hons) programme in Economics and Statistics at the University of Ghana in 1996. He joined the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning as Assistant Economics Officer in 1997 and continued his studies while working in the Ministry. He received an MPhil in Economics from the University of Ghana in 1999. Alhassan has gradually worked his way up in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and is currently working as Ag. Director of the Economic and Planning Division. His responsibilities include preparing, formulating and analyzing economic and energy policies, and providing policy advice to Ministers and Chief Director of the ministry.

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Warren King, Australia (PP ’98); Director Japan Section, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Warren completed the Master of Policy Science Program at GSPS in 1998, while he was employed in the Australian Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. He chose as his thesis topic an assessment of Japanese strategic policy since the end of the Cold War. Warren joined the Australian Public Service in 1990, working first as an analyst in the Department of Defence and then moving to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet in 1991. In that latter role he worked on a wide range of foreign and security policy issues, including Australia’s relations with North Asia and the 2000 Defence White Paper. Warren transferred to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 2001, working mainly on the China political desk, in which role he was closely involved in complex and sensitive diplomatic tasks such as the annual the bilateral human rights dialogue with China and managing high-level visits. In 2004 he was posted to Washington, working initially as an exchange officer in the US State Department, later as First Secretary and then Counsellor at the Australian Embassy. In that role he was responsible for reporting and advocacy on US Asia policy – with a focus on North East Asia and regional architecture issues. When he returned to Canberra in mid-2007 he was appointed Director of the Japan Section, covering both political and economic aspects of the bilateral relationship with Japan.

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Samrit Yossomsakdi, Thailand (PP ’90); Dean, Faculty of Political Science and Law, Burapha University

Samrit was appointed as Dean of the Faculty of Political Science and Law at Burapha University in 2008. He started his career in 1978 as commercial officer at the Department of Foreign Trade in the Ministry of Commerce where he stayed until moving to Burapha University – one of Thailand’s major public universities, located around 100 kilometers east of Bangkok – in 1992, where he has been working since. Prior to assuming the position of Dean, Samrit has held many different positions at Burapha University, including lecturer, assistant professor, associate dean of Academic Affairs, associate dean for Research and International Affairs – Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Chair of the Department of Political Science and the Department of Law, respectively. Before coming to Japan, Samrit completed his Bachelor in Political Science and Master of Public Administration at Chulalongkorn University, as well as a Bachelor of Law at Thammasat University. He received his Master in Policy Science at GRIPS’ predecessor, the Graduate School of Policy Science (GSPS) in Saitama in 1990 and then pursued further studies in the US where he earned a Ph. D. in Political Science from Northern Illinois University in 1999. As a scholar in residence under the Fulbright Scholarship, Samrit spent two semesters teaching at two American universities in Georgia in 2007-8. A scholar and a teacher, Samrit has published several books in Thai on public administration, human resource management and integrated perspectives on Thai society.

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Samat Konokbaev, Kyrgyz Republic (TE ’04); Member of Executive Board, National Bank of Kyrgyz Republic

Samat started his professional career in 1998 as economist, and later leading economist, at the Settlement & Savings Company, where he was responsible for preparing financial market reviews and assisting in the development of the annual business plan. In 2000, Samat started working for the Parliament of the Kyrgyz Republic as consultant to the chairman of the budget and finance committee and later head of economist at the fiscal analysis unit of the Legislative Assembly. Until his present appointment, Samat was also involved as advisor and economist in various reform projects for USAID, the Asian Development Bank, and Bearing Point LLC/KPMG. Prior to obtaining his Masters degree from GRIPS in 2004, Samat studied Information Technology at the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University and received his bachelor’s degree in 1999. He then pursued further studies in the same university and graduated from the economics faculty with a major in Banking and Finance in 2002.

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Aya Suzuki, Japan (IDS ’02); Assistant Professor, GRIPS

Aya Suzuki is the first GRIPS alumnus to have been appointed as faculty at GRIPS. She currently teaches Introductory Mathematics & Economics and Microeconomics to the International Development Studies (IDS) Program students. She is also conducting research on agricultural and industrial development, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Aya has a special interest in analyzing the market structure of high-value agricultural commodities that are increasingly becoming important in Sub-Saharan Africa. For her Ph.D. dissertation, she studied the pineapple industry in Ghana, with a particular focus on the marketing structure and production organizations. Aya previously worked at the Center of International Cooperation for Computerization under the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, dealing with development assistance in the field of IT. She entered the IDS program in October 2000 as one of the first-batch students. During the program, Aya worked as an intern at the United Nations Development Programme in Lusaka, Zambia for six months. After completing her master’s degree at GRIPS, she pursued further studies at the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of California, Davis, where she obtained her Ph.D. degree in June 2008. She worked as a research fellow at the Foundation for Advanced Studies on International Development (FASID) and as a visiting lecturer at GRIPS from October 2007. Aya was appointed as assistant professor at GRIPS from October 2000.

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