Peter Leonard is presently the World Bank’ Regional Safeguards Adviser for the East and Southern Africa Region. Since 2006 he has held several positions within different departments and management teams of the World Bank Group based in Washington DC and in Beijing, China. Throughout his career, he has worked or collaborated with several leading international organizations such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Japanese International Cooperation Association (JICA), Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as well as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
He has been involved in international development and high-risk complex infrastructure as well as community-based development projects for over three decades in Canada and in multiple countries throughout East Asia and the Pacific, South Asia, North and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.
Mr. Leonard has a strong teamwork ethic and recognized collaborative working skills within the World Bank Group as well as with borrowers and civil society. He has also developed though his career a strong ability to lead and supervise a diversified team, high-volume workload, multiple tasks and prioritize to meet demanding deadlines. He has excellent oral and written communication skills in English and in French and has working experience in Latin America in Spanish and Portuguese. Mr. Leonard has degrees in Social Sciences, Law, and a master’s in Urban Planning. He is a past President and Board Member of International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA).