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The Organisers and Jury

The Prosperity & Inclusion City Seal and Award is brought to you by D&L Partners in association with the Basque Regional Government of Biscay. 

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To assess and rank 113 global cities according to their level of inclusive prosperity, the organisers have also sought the contributions of an international jury of experts and business leaders from a range of private and public organisations.

Jean Francois Rischard

Jean-Francois Rischard

Former Vice-President of the World Bank, author

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Norm Anderson

Norm Anderson

CEO, CG/LA Infrastructure, USA

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Irene Mia

Irene Mia

Global Editorial Director, Economist Intelligence Unit, United Kingdom

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Susan Goeransson

Susan Goeransson

Director for the Infrastructure Europe team in the Sustainable Infrastructure Group at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

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Katharina Schneider Roos

Katharina Schneider-Roos

President, Global Infrastructure Basel Foundation, Switzerland

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Jonathan Reckford

Jonathan Reckford

CEO for Habitat for Humanity International

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Antonio García Zaballos

Antonio García Zaballos

Lead Specialist, Telecommunications, IADB

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Jean Philbert Nsengimana

Jean Philbert Nsengimana

CEO, Idex Africa and Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School of Government

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Hiroo Ichikawa

Hiroo Ichikawa

Executive Director, The Mori Memorial Foundation, Japan

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Abha Joshi Ghani

Abha Joshi-Ghani

Senior Adviser, Public Private Partnerships, The World Bank

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Learn more about the PICSA Index

Inaugural PICSA Ceremony & Dinner

Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao

16:00 CET  21 November 2019

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Jean-Francois Rischard

Former Vice-President of the World Bank, author

Since retiring from the World Bank in 2005 following a 30 year-long career, Jean-Francois Rischard has been addressing policy makers and keynoting across the world on the urgent need for new, out-of-the-box approaches to global problem-solving. He has also been working with a half-dozen organizations comprising some 10,000 schools across the world to inspire curriculum changes and inter-school student links designed to expose students more systematically to urgent global issues and help them develop more of a global-citizen-first mindset. He strongly believes that nothing less than the combination of new methods of global problem-solving and new mindsets will get the world out of its paralysis in the face of the dangerous pile-up of unresolved global problems. Much of this work is based on his book “High Noon: 20 Global Problems, 20 Years to Solve them” (Basic Books, NY, 2003), published in 15 languages.

He also gives frequent presentations in public, corporate or international venues on globalization with its upsides and downsides, the big trends in the decades to come, the innovation imperative, the financial crisis, the new roles of business beyond its traditional borders, the rules of the new world economy, and other such topics.

As an international consultant, he works with governments on how to go about re-thinking the future of their countries as knowledge-based economies and on how to stage nation-mobilizing, rapid results implementation campaigns. His most recent assignments were mostly in the Middle-East and N.Africa region.

From 1990 to 2005, while at the World Bank, he was successively Head of the Trading Room (1990-1992), Vice-President for Finance and Private Sector Development (1992-1998), and finally Vice-president for Europe (1998-2005).

Norm Anderson

CEO, CG/LA Infrastructure, USA

As CEO, Norman F. Anderson focuses on infrastructure project creation, aimed at increasing the level of infrastructure investment, and the performance of existing infrastructure stocks, in developed and developing countries alike. He has overseen the development and execution of CG/LA’s proprietary analytic models, including: The Global, Latin American and now US Annual Infrastructure Capacity Rankings; The “Eight Criteria for Assessing a Country’s Infrastructure Capacity,” and CG/LA’s 5 year (through 2015) and 20 year (through 2030) infrastructure demand models. He leads the CG/LA team that develops infrastructure projects globally; and provides high level strategy assessment for the public (cities, states, countries, MDB’s) and private (finance, E&C, equipment/technology) sectors.

Among other positions he is a visiting professor in the Politecnico de Madrid, a regular contributor to AmericaEconomia, and the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the Future of Sustainable Construction. He is also an Advisory Board Member of The Center for Transformation and Strategic Initiatives (London/Washington). Mr. Anderson began his career as a Peace Corps volunteer in Paraguay, serving for a total of five years — including the last two as a grantee of the Inter-American Foundation. He has a graduate degree from Harvard University, and an undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia. He is married to Ingrid Sckell – they have two children, Norman Gabriel and Janina Victoria. He speaks fluent Spanish, Portuguese and Guarani

Irene Mia

Global Editorial Director, Economist Intelligence Unit, United Kingdom

Irene is Global Editorial Director at the Economist Intelligence Unit’s thought leadership division. In her role, she is responsible for leading and growing the Thought Leadership business globally according to the Economist Group’s standards of editorial quality, creativity and independence. She also develops and oversees large global client relationships from an editorial perspective, delivering high quality content. She plays a key role in disseminating and presenting the Economist Group’s views and work to clients and other high-level audiences around the world. Previously, Irene was regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), where she provided intellectual and strategic leadership to the regional editorial team within the EIU’s Country Analysis division.

Before joining the Economist Group, she was director and senior Economist within the Centre for Global Competitiveness and Performance at the World Economic Forum, where she was also responsible for competitiveness research on Latin America and Iberia. She has written and spoken extensively on issues related to national competitiveness and development, serving as lead author and editor on a number of regional and topical competitiveness papers and reports; notably, she was the editor of the Global Information Technology Report series for six year, one of the flagship publications of the World Economic Forum. Before joining the World Economic Forum, she worked at the headquarters of Sudameris Bank in Paris for a number of years, holding various positions in the international affairs and international trade divisions. Her main research interests are in the fields of development, international trade, economic integration, innovation, ICT, competitiveness, cities and Latin America. Irene holds an MA in Latin American Studies from the Institute for the Studies of the Americas, London University, and a PhD in International Economic and Trade Law from L. Bocconi. She speaks Italian, French, English, Spanish and Portuguese.

Susan Goeransson

Director for the Infrastructure Europe team in the Sustainable Infrastructure Group at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Susan Goeransson is the Director for the Infrastructure Europe team in the Sustainable Infrastructure Group at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. In this capacity, she is responsible for delivering EBRD’s municipal and transport projects in Central Europe, the Baltics, Western Balkans, and Ukraine.

Prior to this position, Ms Goeransson was head of EBRD’s Municipal and Environmental Infrastructure team, which financed both public and private sector investments in the water and wastewater, district energy, solid waste, facilities management and urban transport sectors. In 2018, EBRD provided nearly EUR 1 billion in financing to municipal clients in EBRD’s countries of operation.

Ms Goeransson joined EBRD in 1993 and has worked in a variety of sectors, including infrastructure, agribusiness and general industry. Prior to joining EBRD, Ms Goeransson worked at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation as a senior banker and the Securities and Exchange Commission as a financial analyst. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. She has a joint Bachelor’s Degree in Urban Studies and History from Northwestern University.

Re cities in the new categories, it would be helpful if one could be a city in an EBRD country of operation.  EBRD is doing a lot of interesting things in Lviv, Tirana, and Izmir.

Katharina Schneider-Roos

President, Global Infrastructure Basel Foundation, Switzerland

Katharina is President of the Global Infrastructure Basel Foundation, having been involved in the organisation’s development for four years now. During her time with Global Infrastructure Basel, Katharina has selected some 200 sustainable infrastructure projects around the world based on their levels of sustainability and financial appeal, and then gone on to present them to investors. She also has experience of event management in both the infrastructure and cultural sector. Her expertise in multi-stakeholder management has proven a real asset in developing the GIB Grading scheme into the voluntary sustainability standard it has become. Having lived in China for 12 years, Katharina speaks Chinese and is comfortable communicating within multi-cultural contexts. Her past roles have seen her work as a television producer, journalist and documentary director – a background that means she is confident when it comes to working with different means of communication. She believes that every act of communication involves an element of translation, even when only one language is being used.

In terms of qualifications, Katharina has a Master’s degree in Sinology and Gender Studies and she has also completed a certified training course on Corporate Responsibility and Social Management.

Jonathan Reckford

CEO for Habitat for Humanity International

Jonathan T.M. Reckford is chief executive officer of Habitat for Humanity International, a global Christian housing organization that has helped more than 22 million people construct, rehabilitate or preserve their homes.

Since 2005, when Reckford took the top leadership position, Habitat’s more than 1,200 U.S. affiliates and over 70 country programs have grown from serving 125,000 individuals each year to helping more than 8.7 million people annually build strength, stability and self-reliance through shelter.

Reckford graduated from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill where he was a Morehead Scholar. He was also the recipient of a Henry Luce Scholarship, which enabled him to do marketing work for the Seoul Olympic Organizing Committee and coach the Korean rowing team in preparation for the 1988 Olympics.

He earned his Master of Business Administration degree from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business before spending much of his career in the for-profit sector, including executive and managerial positions at Goldman Sachs, Marriott, The Walt Disney Co., and Best Buy. Following his tenure as executive pastor at Christ Presbyterian Church near Minneapolis, Minn., he was appointed CEO of HFHI in 2005.

He serves on the boards of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and the Duke Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Urban Steering Committee for the World Economic Forum.

Reckford was named the most influential nonprofit leader in America in 2017 by The NonProfit Times. He and his wife, Ashley, have three children and live in Atlanta.

Antonio García Zaballos

Lead Specialist, Telecommunications, IADB

Antonio García Zaballos leads the practice of telecommunications in Institutions for Development and he is also the leader of the broadband initiative. Additionally, Antonio is member of the steering committee at the IEEE on connectivity and the Internet for All Initiative at the World Economic Forum. He has an extensive experience in the telecom sector where has been working in different positions of responsibility. At Deloitte Spain led the practice of regulation and strategy for Latin America and the Caribbean, and previously he was the Chief Economist of the Cabinet for Economic Studies of Regulation in Telefónica of Spain, before joining Telefonica, Antonio was Deputy Director of Economic Analysis and Markets at the Spanish Telecom Regulator (CMT). During his career, Antonio was providing advisory services to Regulators, Telecom Operators and Governments in countries such as Saudi Arabia, China, Ecuador, Argentina, Dominican Rep., Paraguay, Polonia, Czech Rep. among others.

Antonio also serves as a member and expert in a number of Committees, including the World Economic Forum’s Future of the Internet Initiative, the Broadband Commission. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University Carlos III of Madrid and is an associated professor of applied finance to Telecommunications at the Instituto de Empresa Business School and econocmic regulation at American University and Johns Hopkins University. He is author of several publications on economic and regulatory aspects for the sector of telecommunications.

Jean Philbert Nsengimana

CEO, Idex Africa and Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School of Government

Jean Philbert Nsengimana is the Founder and CEO of Idex Africa, a digital strategy and investment practice, focused on helping African tech startups grow exponentially. He is a strong believer in the combined power of leadership, partnerships, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship to drive Africa’s digital transformation. Most recently, Phil worked for Smart Africa as Special Advisor. Prior to that, he served as the Minister in charge of Youth and Information and Communication Technology in the Government of Rwanda for 6 years. In that capacity, he spearheaded several flagship initiatives including Smart Africa and YouthConnekt Africa. He led the design and implementation of the Smart Rwanda Master Plan with policies, strategies and investments in Broadband for all, Smart Cities and Communities, Digital Skills, Cybersecurity, Digital Health, Digital Governance, Digital Trade and Finance.

During his tenure, Rwanda embarked on strategic Public Private Partnerships that resulted into several World’s and Africa’s firsts, such as Africa’s first national 4G LTE network that covers 95% of the population and the world’s first commercial use of drones for delivering emergency medical supplies. Phil’s 16 years’ career includes successful stints in the private sector and international development as well as academia. He serves on multiple international boards including the Alliance for Affordable Internet where he is the honorary chairperson.

He holds an MBA from Singapore’s SP Jain School of Global Management and a Master’s of degree in Software Engineering from the University of Rwanda. In his spare time, Phil enjoys reading, writing, playing chess and golf.

Hiroo Ichikawa

Professor Emeritus, Meiji University
Executive Director, The Mori Memorial Foundation, Japan

Hiroo Ichikawa is a former Dean at the Professional Graduate School of Governance Studies, Meiji University, Tokyo, Japan. He is also Executive Director of The Mori Memorial Foundation and President at Institute of Metropolitan Policy. He is an expert in urban policy, urban and regional planning and crisis management. He is also a member of the steering committee and a chairman of the working committee for the Global Power City Index (GPCI). Dr. Ichikawa has been engaged in a wide range of urban and regional planning and research projects both in developing and industrialized countries. Most of his work in Japan has been dedicated to Japanese central and local governments, such as Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation, Japan International Cooperation Agency, and exclusively Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG). Presently he is appointed as Chairman of Urban Planning Council in Tokyo Bunkyo-Ward Government as well as Tokyo Chuo-Ward Government. He has been advising a variety of policy making for TMG more than thirty years. One example of his work for the TMG is compiled in “the Future Vision for Tokyo Urban Planning”, others include: · 

  • Global Power City Index (GPCI) among forty four world leading cities
  • Future Growth and Infrastructure of New York, London and Paris
  • Concentration of Urban Function in Metropolitan Region in Britain and Germany

Dr. Ichikawa has contributed to the development of master plans making in developing countries, such as:

  • Baghdad Integrated Comprehensive Development Plan, Iraq
  • The Greater Carajas Region Comprehensive Development Plan, Brazil
  • Hainan Island Comprehensive Development Plan, China

Abha Joshi-Ghani

Senior Adviser, Public Private Partnerships, The World Bank

Abha Joshi-Ghani is the Senior Adviser, Public Private Partnerships at the World Bank. Prior to this role, she was Director for Knowledge and Learning in the Change Knowledge and Learning Vice Presidency. She headed the Urban Development and Local Government Practice in the World Bank’s Sustainable Development Network from 2007-2012 where she oversaw the Bank’s work on Urban Policy and Strategy and Knowledge and Learning. She led the World Bank’s Urban Strategy in 2010. She also headed the Global Urbanization Knowledge Platform from 2011-2012. She is the Chair of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Urbanization. She has worked primarily on infrastructure finance and urban development at the World Bank in South and East Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Before joining the World Bank she worked for the Reserve Bank of India. She holds an MPhil from Oxford University and a Masters from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

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