Mr Paul Brenton is Lead Economist in the Trade and Competitiveness Global Practice of the World Bank. He leads analytical and operational work on trade and regional integration in Africa.

He is co‑editor of the books "De-Fragmenting Africa: Deepening Regional Trade Integration in Goods and Services" and "Africa can Help Feed Africa", as well as the World Bank Report "Women and Trade in Africa: Realizing the Potential".

Mr Brenton joined the World Bank in 2002, having previously been Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Trade Policy Unit at the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels. Before that, he lectured in economics at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom.

He has obtained a PhD in Economics from the University of East Anglia. A collection of Mr Brenton's work has recently been published in the volume International Trade, Distribution and Development: Empirical Studies of Trade Policies.

Mr. Akiwumi, a national of Ghana, joined UNCTAD in February 2017.

Before being appointed as Director of ALDC, he served as Director of the Economic, Social and Development Affairs Unit in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN). He and his team were responsible for advising the UN Secretary-General on the development pillar and supporting the activities of the UN's development-related departments, funds and programmes, fostering policy integration and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Istanbul Programme of Action, the Technology Bank for LDCs and the New Urban Agenda.

Prior to this role, Mr. Akiwumi held the position of Chief of Staff in the Office of the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, where he played a critical role in strengthening the development pillar in the Office of the Secretary General.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Akiwumi served with the United Nations Environment Programme, where he held the position of Chief of Staff, developing institutional policy, managing the action plans and conventions related to SIDS, Eastern and Western Africa, as well as the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. He also worked for the Food and Agriculture Organization, working on rural development projects, and the UN Economic Commission for Africa’s natural resources division.

Mr. Akiwumi has also served as Senior Advisor to the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Chief Executive Officer and Secretary to the GEF Council in Washington D.C.

Mr. Akiwumi holds a Master's Degree from the University of Southampton, United Kingdom. He is married and has two children.

Mr Daniel Blockert was born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1968.

He has a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Political Science, and a Master degree in International Relations, all from the University of Stockholm.

Parallel with his studies, Mr Blockert worked in the record business in Stockholm. After finishing his studies in 1999, he obtained a position as an EU Coordinator at the Ministry of Agriculture. After the Swedish Presidency of the EU in 2001, Mr Blockert then worked with trade‑related issues at the Ministry of Agriculture, mainly in connection with international organizations, such as WTO, OECD and FAO.

In 2003, Mr Blockert transferred to the Department of Trade Policy at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and in 2007, he became head of the WTO unit in the same department.

In 2009, Mr Blockert took up the post as Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission at the Swedish Embassy in Singapore.

Early in 2011, Mr Blockert returned to the Department of Trade Policy at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, where he served as a Director and Deputy Head of Department.

In September 2014, Mr Blockert was appointed Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sweden to the WTO in Geneva. He is the current Chairman of the EIF Steering Committee and Chairman of the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements in 2016. In 2015, he chaired the Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration.

Mr Blockert is married and has a son.

Mario brings more than 15 years of international experience in communications and operations management in the humanitarian and development fields. Before joining the EIF, Mario worked with the World Food Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, serving in Afghanistan, Congo-Brazzaville, Italy, Rwanda, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Switzerland and Tunisia. Mario holds a M.A in Poltical Science and International Affairs from the University of Milan and a M.Sc. in Communications Management from the University of Lugano, Switzerland.

Simon is the Head of Monitoring and Evaluation for the EIF and the focal point in the EIF for thematic issues related to the 2030 Development Agenda, Agriculture and SPS/TBT issues. Bringing more than 15 years' experience in trade and development across Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Simon has worked as an advisor with the Government of Lao PDR and as a director of an international development firm based in the UK and South Africa. Having spent most of his life in Africa, studying in South Africa and Canada, Simon has a Masters' degree in Economics focused around award winning research on industrial development and trade. Amongst other areas, Simon has worked on regional integration, sustainability certification, and practical trade support. He continues research in areas such as the future direction for Aid for Trade.

Mbaye brings more than 30 years of experience in trade-related issues and private sector development. Before joining the EIF, he served as trade negotiator at the Permanent Mission of Senegal in Geneva, Secretary-General of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Dakar, Director-General of a software development start-up company and senior civil servant at Senegal's Ministry of Trade.  Mbaye holds a M.A. in Business Law from Dakar University, a Diploma from Senegal's National School of Administration, a Diploma from the French National School of Competition and Consumption and a Master of Business Administration from the American University in Washington, D.C.

James has more than 15 years of professional experience in managing for results across levels of government, international organisations and private sector. Previously he worked as Principal Evaluator in the Operations Evaluation Department at the African Development Bank and before that was a Professor of Evaluation and Public Policy at the Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska Anchorage, USA.  He was also a Planning Officer in the Ministry of Development and Economic Planning and then Deputy Project Manager in European Union Agricultural Project in Sierra Leone. He was Chairman of the Economics Task Force of West Africa.  James holds a PhD from Purdue University.

Mr Ratnakar Adhikari has been serving the Executive Secretariat for the Enhanced Integrated Framework at the World Trade Organization as its Executive Director since October 2013.

Prior to this assignment, Mr Adhikari was the Chief Executive Director of South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE), a Kathmandu-based regional think tank. Previously, he served, among other things, as a Senior Adviser to the National Planning Commission, Government of Nepal, and as a Trade Programme Specialist for the United Nations Development Programme, Asia Pacific Regional Centre in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Mr Adhikari has conducted extensive research as well as published in the areas of international trade, regional economic integration, Aid for Trade, competition policy and intellectual property rights, particularly from the perspective of the LDCs.

He obtained his PhD from the University of Warwick, United Kingdom; his Master of International Law and Economics from the World Trade Institute, Switzerland; and his Master of Commerce from the University of Delhi, India.