Pankaj Vashisht is a Senior Fellow at Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER). He specializes in the field of Labour Economics and Applied Econometrics. He has more than 12 years of experience in policy oriented research. He has worked closely with policy makers in India both at center and state level.

Ryutaro Takaku is a Principal Water Resources Specialist in Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Division, Southeast Asia Department, Asian Development Bank. 

Cindy Malvicini has held numerous lead positions in operations and communications in ADB. Prior to her appointment as Country Director, she was ADB’s Deputy Country Director and Officer-in-Charge for Uzbekistan. From 2007 to 2014, she worked as a Water Resource Specialist in ADB’s South Asia Department, and until 2017, she served as Project Management Unit Head. She graduated from Cornell University in New York in 2000 and Wheaton Graduate School in Illinois in 1988. She has master’s degrees in agriculture (water resources management) and intercultural studies.

Ahsan was associated with ADB for over 26 years, with 11 years at the field offices in Sri Lanka and Pakistan. His working experience included developing and managing projects, primarily in agriculture and rural development in South Asia, South East Asia, and Central West Regions.

Earlier in his career, he worked with the United Nations Office for Project Services as a Portfolio Manager and was responsible for a range of rural development initiatives in Pakistan, Lao PDR, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Philippines, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Marzia has more than 20 years of professional experience in project, program and portfolio related work in the development field, including extensive field work. After working with consulting firms (in Salvador and Eritrea), NGOs and the United Nations (in North Korea), Marzia joined ADB in 2000. For 10 years, she led multidisciplinary teams throughout the project cycle, from identification to design and self-evaluation, in South Asian countries.

Marco Leidel works as an expert for environmental and social due diligence for projects of the KfW development bank and the KfW IPEX Bank.

Mr. Yoshiaki Kobayashi is a national of Japan. He obtained his master’s degree in environmental science (urban and regional planning) from Tsukuba University, Japan. Mr. Kobayashi has over 30 years of professional experience, including 19 years with ADB.