December 2013
Marcelo Echague Pastore, Paraguay (PP’13), Junior Professional Associate, The World Bank Group, Paraguay
Marcelo obtained his Bachelors in Economics degree from the National University of Asuncion. Eager to spread his wings, he took advantage of the opportunity to work for eight months as a Foreign Language Teacher in the city of Toulouse, France, appointed by the French Ministry of Education. At his graduation from GRIPS in 2013 he received the Dean’s Award for being the best graduate of the Two-year Master’s of Public Policy Program. Marcelo was also very active as a member of the International Student Council and in the organizing committee of the GRIPS Summer Program, among others. While still in Japan, Marcelo was offered a contract with the World Bank in Paraguay where he started working as Junior Professional Associate in September 2013.
Shri Rajesh Kumar Khullar has over 23 years of rich experience in the Indian Administrative Service. He currently serves as Joint Secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance where, among others, he has been closely involved with PPPs and infrastructure issues at the national level. Mr. Khullar has served on various positions in the Government. While he was posted as Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Faridabad from July 2007 to June 2009, he was conferred an Award of Excellence under Jawahar Lal-Nehru Urban Renewal Mission by the Government of India for improving the city’s green transport mode and sustainable urban mobility. 
H.E. Sok Sopheak has been Director-General of the General Directorate of International Trade, Ministry of Commerce of Cambodia since September 2007. He joined the Ministry of Commerce, as Assistant to the Director of the Foreign Trade Department in 1992. From October 1997 till July 2004 he served at the ASEAN and International Organizations Department, first as Deputy Director and from August 1999 as Director. He was appointed Deputy Director-General of the General Directorate of Trade in 2004, in charge of the ASEAN and International Organizations Department, and the CAMCONTROL Department. He was promoted to Director-General of the General Directorate of International Trade in September 2007 and is as such responsible for trade policy formulation and negotiations. Mr. Sok has been a key member of many high-level trade negotiations committees.
Ayako is currently a Senior Adviser at DFDL, an international law firm in Southeast Asia, and a member of the Banking and Finance group and Japan Desk which is responsible for supporting Japanese investors in Southeast Asia, especially the Mekong region. Prior to joining DFDL, she worked at the Ministry of Justice in Cambodia as a Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) expert for two years since 2011. She was seconded from a Japanese law firm, Atsumi & Sakai (Tokyo) to DFDL in May 2013 and started her new career. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Hokkaido University, Japan and a Master of International Development Studies from GRIPS. She is admitted to bar in Japan (Tokyo- Daiichi Bar Association) and a member of the International Legal Assistance Group.
Ms. Deborah Koh is Centre Director (based in Chicago, Illinois) for the Singapore Economic Development Board, and is responsible for working with Midwest-based multinationals and fast-growing companies to explore opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region. Prior to this position, she was part of the Consumer Businesses division, where she promoted and developed the Household and Personal Care industry in Singapore. She holds a Bachelor of Science (graduated with Distinction) in Biology and Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Master of Public Policy – graduated with Distinguished Academic Performance – from GRIPS.
Ms. Aya Thidar Myo is currently First Secretary of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar to Association of South East Asia Nations in Jakarta. She joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1997 as a career diplomat and has held various positions within the Political and the International Organization and Economic Departments within the Ministry. From 2005 till ’08 she was posted at the Permanent Mission of Myanmar to the United Nations, New York. Ms Aya Thidar Myo holds a B.Sc. (Hons) in Chemistry from the Yangon University, Myanmar and a Masters of Public Administration from GRIPS.
Hiroki Hayashi was elected as Diet member for “Minna no To” (Your Party) at the latest general elections in December 2012. After his graduation from the International Development Studies Program in March 2004, he started working at the Finance Department of Sony Corporation. After two years, an opportunity came up to become a TV newscaster and radio DJ and Hiroki spent the next six years working for several broadcasting companies in the Kanto region. Being born and raised in the Tohoku area, the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami was another turning point in his career that made him decide to go into politics and put his energy into the reconstruction and revitalization of the affected areas.
Until her recent posting as Counsellor at the Embassy of Laos in Kuala Lumpur, Mrs. Phongsamouth Anlavan served as Deputy Director General for the Economic Affairs Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prior to that, she had held various positions within the same ministry focusing on economic affairs since 1999. In parallel to her established position within the Department of Economic Affairs, Mrs. Anlavan also served in the Ministry of Commerce as Chief of Division for Information and Public Relations in the Export Promotion Department from 1994 until 1999. Mrs. Anlavan holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration in Foreign Trade from the College of Foreign Trade in Budapest, Hungary and received her Masters Degree in Public Policy from GRIPS in 2008.
Kento has just started working at Nippon Koei, Japan’s leading consulting firm in the field of technical assistance to developing countries. As President of the International Student Council, Kento was very active with student activities and played an important role as a bridge between the Japanese and international students. During his studies at GRIPS Kento had the opportunity to participate in a number of international exchange programs, including at Tsinghua University in Beijing and the Korea Development Institute School in Seoul. He was also selected to take part in the Change Course Conference hosted by the Club of Rome in Switzerland and the North East Asian Youth Conference organised by the UNDP in Seoul.
Since March 2008, Mr. Boaz Nimpe has been working at the African Development Bank in Tunis, Tunisia in the Office of the Executive Director representing the “Central Africa Group” in the Board of Directors. Until his appointment at the African Development Bank, Boaz had more than 14 years experience in public policy formulation and tax administration within the Burundian Public Administration in various Departments of the Ministry of Finance. 
Datuk Loo Took Gee was appointed the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water, Malaysia in August 2010. She has almost 34 years of experience in the civil service. Prior to her appointment as the Secretary-General, she was the Deputy Secretary-General (Energy) since April 2007. In her current capacity, she is responsible for the planning and formulation of policies for the energy, green technology and water sectors of Malaysia. She was also involved in the formulation of the National Renewable Energy Policy and Action Plan 2009 and the drafting of the Renewable Energy Act 2011 to enhance the role of Renewable Energy towards energy security in Malaysia. 
Reiko Hayashi graduated from the University of Tokyo with a Masters degree in Health Sciences (’90) and a Bachelors degree in Architecture (’92). After working for some years at Kimura Structural Engineers in Tokyo, she set up Linz co. ltd. in 1996, a company dealing with consulting in health care, population, architecture and urban planning, through which she participated in a number of of ODA projects, especially in African countries. In 2002, she started her doctoral research at GRIPS on historical global urban population trends for which she received her Ph.D. in 2007. Reiko went back to Senegal where she worked a few more years before assuming her current position in April 2012.