Meet the Team
The annual Doing Business reports are researched and written by a team of experts. This year's team is shown below.Contact: Doing Business
World Bank, 1818 H Street, NWWashington DC, 20433
Fax. (202) 473-5758
Email: doingbusiness@worldbank.org
Teymour Abdel Aziz
Teymour Abdel Aziz joined the Doing Business team in 2007. Mr. Abdel Aziz holds a masters degree in economics and business administration from the University of Zurich, and a masters degree in European economic studies from the College of Europe. Prior to joining the Doing Business team, he worked at UBS, monitoring political, regulatory, and economic developments relevant to the financial services industry. He also worked at Credit Suisse in their equity research team and interned at various civil rights organizations. A Swiss and Egyptian national, he is fluent in German, French, and Arabic.Svetlana Bagaudinova
Svetlana Bagaudinova, a Russian national, is a private sector development specialist with the Investment Climate Department. She joined the Doing Business team in 2006 from Booz Allen Hamilton, a global management consulting and technology firm, where she specialized in energy and infrastructure projects. Ms. Bagaudinova holds a masters degree in sociology from the Moscow State University and a masters degree in international business from the Fletcher School in Boston, Massachusetts.Karim Belayachi
Karim Belayachi works on the starting a business indicators. He holds a masters degree in policy analysis and economic development from Indiana University's School for Public and Environmental Affairs. He also holds a bachelor of arts degree from Wabash College. Prior to joining the World Bank, Mr. Belayachi worked in the monitoring and evaluation department at Grameen Foundation, focusing on the Middle East & North Africa region. He is a Moroccan and French national and speaks French, Spanish and Arabic.Mema Beye
Mema Beye joined the Doing Business team in January 2006 to work on the Closing a Business indicator. Mema has a broad background with business development and investment policy programs, both in the US and in Africa. He worked on the AGOA and MCA initiatives for African embassies coalitions and assisted in micro enterprise development in Angola, Mali, and Cote D’Ivoire. Mema holds a Bachelor of Science in Food Industry Management from Michigan State and a masters in international business and political economy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He is fluent in French and Portuguese. Frédéric Bustelo
Frédéric Bustelo, a Franco-Argentine national, joined the Doing Business team in 2006. He works on the Getting Credit indicator (Credit Information Index). Frédéric holds an industrial engineering degree from the Buenos Aires Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in public administration in international development from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, where he was a Fulbright scholar. Prior to joining the Doing Business team, he worked to improve efficiency and transparency in the Argentine public sector. He also worked with the Grameen Foundation in Buenos Aires and with the multinational steel group Techint. He is fluent in French and Spanish. Maya Choueiri
Maya Choueiri, a Lebanese national, joined the Doing Business team in 2007 to work on the starting a business and infrastructure indicators. She holds a master of science in electrical engineering and a master of science in management science and engineering, both from Stanford University. During her undergraduate studies, Ms. Choueiri spent a semester as a visiting student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She speaks Arabic, French, and some German. Roger Coma-Cunill
Roger Coma-Cunill joined the Doing Business team in September 2007. He leads the research on the registering property indicator for the Doing Business report. Roger holds a Master of Public Administration from Columbia University in New York, a Master of Arts in European Political and Administrative Studies from the College of Europe in Belgium and a post-graduate degree in International Relations from the Sorbonne University in Paris. Before joining the Doing Business team, Roger worked in the Sustainable Development network of the World Bank He has also worked as an EU policy consultant in Brussels in key regulatory issues affecting the private sector. Roger speaks French, Spanish and Catalan, and is conversational in Italian.Marie Delion
Marie Delion was born in Mauritius. She studied international commerce and has a CGE "O" Level from Cambridge and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from UMUC. She joined the Doing Business team in 2003, after six years working for the World Bank Institute. Prior to joining the World Bank in 1999, she worked for Siemens in Cameroon and KPMG in New Caledonia.Jacqueline den Otter
Jacqueline den Otter, a Dutch national, works on the Trading Across Borders indicator. Prior to joining the Doing Business team in 2006, she worked in the World Bank's Netherlands executive director's office where she worked with its constituency countries, ministries and embassies. Ms. den Otter lived in Italy and Brazil, and speaks Dutch, Italian, and Spanish. She holds a Master of Arts in International Commerce and Policy, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (finance) from George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia. Allen Dennis
Allen Dennis leads the Trading Across Borders component of the Doing Business project. He has worked on trade and investment climate issues since joining the World Bank as a Young Professional in March 2005. Prior to joining the World Bank, Allen served as an economic affairs officer with the World Trade Organization, where he co-authored the Trade Policy Review reports of Bulgaria, the European Union, and Nigeria. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of Nottingham, UK. Allen has published and presented papers at several academic and policy-oriented conferences.Simeon Djankov
Simeon Djankov is the creator of the Doing Business series. In his dozen years at the World Bank, he has worked on regional trade agreements in North Africa, enterprise restructuring and privatization in transition economies, corporate governance in East Asia, and regulatory reforms around the world. Simeon was a principal author of the World Development Report 2002. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and has published over 70 articles in academic journals, including in Quarterly Journal of Economics, American Economic Review, Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Public Economics, and Journal of Comparative Economics. Recent and published research by Simeon Djankov... Alejandro Espinosa
Alejandro Espinosa, a Colombo-Chinese national, joined the Doing Business team in 2007. He holds a degree in government and international relations from the Universidad Externado de Colombia, a certificate in economic policy from American University and a master’s degree in applied economics from Johns Hopkins University. Prior to joining the Doing Business team, Mr. Espinosa worked as a consultant in the World Bank’s African region, where he specialized in managing databases on trade and education. He also worked as a research assistant at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington DC. Mr. Espinosa is fluent in Spanish, and Chinese. Kjartan Fjeldsted
Kjartan Fjeldsted joined the Doing Business team in 2007 to work on the Trading Across Borders indicators. His previous work experience includes working as legal assistant and translator and interning with the Embassy of Canada and Conservative Central Office in London. He holds a Master of Arts in International Economics and European Studies from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC. He speaks French, Portuguese, Spanish and Icelandic.Elena Gasol Ramos
Elena Gasol Ramos joined the Doing Business team in 2006. Before that, she served as a legal advisor for international consumer protection at the US Federal Trade Commission, and as an adjunct professor on comparative privacy law at Georgetown University Law Center (Washington DC). She also worked on internet, privacy and intellectual property law issues in Brussels with the law firm Wilmer Cutler and Pickering and with the European Commission DG Information Society. She holds a law degree from Salamanca Law School (Spain), a Master's in European Union Law from the College of Europe (Belgium) and a Master's in Law from Georgetown University Law Center. Ms. Gasol Ramos is a member of the Salamanca and New York Bars. She's fluent in Spanish, German, and French.Carolin Geginat
Carolin Geginat, a German national, is an economist with the Doing Business team. She joined in October 2006 to develop new infrastructure indicators for the Doing Business report. Carolin holds a master's degree in economics from the University of Cologne and a post-graduate degree from the Institute of World Economics in Kiel. Before joining the Doing Business team, she worked in the PREM anchor of the World Bank on issues of debt and fiscal sustainability in low-income countries. Her work included the implementation of debt relief arrangements for African countries through the Heavily Indebted and Poor Countries Debt Relief Initiative.Cemile Hacibeyoglu
Cemile Hacibeyoglu joined the Doing Business team in 2007 to work on the property registration indicator. Previously Ms. Hacibeyoglu has worked with the U.S. Civilian Research & Development Foundation helping scientific entrepreneurs from Eurasia enter U.S. markets. She has also worked with the Cohen Group, a business consultancy, and the Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association on investment climate and risk assessment. Ms. Hacibeyoglu holds a bachelor of arts in applied languages from Bilkent University in Turkey and a master's degree from the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. A Turkish national of Russian and Azerbaijani origin, Ms. Hacibeyoglu is fluent in Russian, Turkish, and French, and is conversant in Azerbaijani, Bulgarian and German.Sabine Hertveldt
Sabine Hertveldt joined the Doing Business team in 2006. Before she practiced litigation/arbitration for seven years with Allen & Overy LLP in Brussels and White & Case LLP in Washington, DC. She obtained a law degree from Ghent Law School (Belgium), a DEA/DESE combined master's degree in European law and politics from the University of Nancy (France), and a Master's in Law from Columbia Law School (New York). Ms. Hertveldt is a member of the Brussels Bar and New York Bar. During her studies at Columbia Law School where she graduated as a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, Ms. Hertveldt was a Fulbright scholar and fellow of the Belgian-American Educational Foundation. Ms. Hertveldt clerked at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg and interned at the United Nations in New York. Palarp Jumpasut
Palarp Jumpasut joined the Doing Business team in 2007 to manage the Doing Business contributors list. She holds a bachelor of arts in economics from the University of Manchester and a master of science in financial markets from the Illinois Institute of Technology. Before joining the World Bank, she worked for SNL Financial, a financial information and research firm. Dahlia Khalifa
Dahlia Khalifa is a senior economist with the Doing Business project of the World Bank. She has 22 years of experience in economic and policy analysis, investment banking, and strategic communications. Ms. Khalifa has established and managed financial services companies offering corporate finance, brokerage, private equity investing, management consulting, and technical assistance advisory services with an African and Middle East regional focus. She works extensively with non-profit organizations, founded Egypt's International Economic Forum and served as Vice President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt. In addition to her B.A and M.A. in economics and M.A. in international law, she is currently finalizing a doctoral degree in international relations at Georgetown University. She has been an adjunct professor at the American University of Cairo and George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs.Jean Michel Lobet
Jean Michel Lobet joined the Doing Business project in 2006 and leads the "protecting investors" research effort. Prior to joining the World Bank Group, he held positions related to legal reform in other international organizations in Washington, DC. As a consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank, he worked on labor law issues and, for the Organization of American States, he led and developed the Mutual Legal Assistance Project. Jean Michel holds a law degree in corporate law from Montpellier I University (Montpellier, France) and a master’s in international law from Panthéon-Assas University (Paris, France). Mr. Lobet is fluent in French and Spanish.Oliver Lorenz
Oliver Lorenz is an attorney from Germany, having studied law in Jena, Berlin and Paris. He has worked with the enforcing contracts team at the Doing Business project since April 2007. Before joining the World Bank, Mr. Lorenz practiced corporate and EU regulatory law in Berlin and Paris. He graduated from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Paris and holds a degree in EU law from Sorbonne University.Valerie Marechal
Valerie Marechal joined the Doing Business team in November 2007 to work on the Getting Credit - Legal Rights indicator. She holds a double law degree from King’s College London and the Sorbonne (France). She obtained her Master’s in Law and Development from the School of Oriental and African Studies (U.K.). Prior to joining the team Ms. Marechal was researching judicial reform at the American Bar Association, focusing on Latin America and Africa. She also has work and volunteer experience in Ecuador. Ms. Marechal has lived in the U.K., France, Belgium, Spain and Ecuador. She speaks French and Spanish, and is conversational in Russian.Alexandra Mincu
Alexandra Mincu is a Romanian national who joined the protecting investors team in 2008. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Law from the Univeristy of Bucharest and the Maitrise from University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne. With a considerable focus on the European Union, a Master's Degree in European Union Law and a traineeship with the Legal Service of the European Parliament, Alexandra spent the last two years working for the Romanian administration dealing mainly with institution building EU funded programs. She speaks French and Spanish and has some knowledge of Hungarian.Sushmitha Narsiah
Sushmitha joined the Doing Business team in 2007 to work with the Doing Business gender initiative in collaboration with the World Bank Group’s Gender Action Plan. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from New York University. Prior to joining Doing Business, Ms. Narsiah worked with the Enterprise Analysis Unit at the World Bank. She has also worked for Credit Suisse and Bloomberg Tradebook in New York City. Joanna Nasr
Joanna Nasr was born and raised in Lebanon and Cyprus. She joined the Doing Business team in October 2007 to work on the Getting Credit indicator (legal right index). Ms. Nasr holds advanced degrees in economics and government from the American University of Beirut and the London School of Economics and Political Science, and has published several articles in the field of economics. Ms. Nasr speaks French and Arabic.Dana Omran
Dana Omran joined the Doing Business team in 2006. Ms. Omran works on the Protecting Investors and Dealing with Licenses indicators. Her prior experiences include working for the King Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau in Amman, Jordan and for the International Atomic Energy Agency, Office of External Policy Coordination. Ms. Omran holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Science and Technology in International Affairs and has a masters degree in international security from the Security Studies Program at the Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University.Caroline Otonglo
Caroline Otonglo came to the Doing Business team from KPMG Kenya, where she provided tax advisory and compliance services across diverse industries. Prior to that, she interned at Musyoka and Wambua Advocates in Nairobi and at Citibank, Nairobi. Ms. Otonglo holds a bachelor of laws degree from the University of Nairobi, a post-graduate diploma in law from the Kenya School of Law and a master of laws from Harvard Law School. She is a qualified accountant and a qualified corporate secretary, as well as being an advocate of the high court of Kenya and a member of the Kenyan bar. Ms. Otonglo speaks Swahili and has working knowledge of German.Rita Ramalho
Rita Ramalho is a Portuguese economist. Since joining the Doing Business team three years ago, she first worked on dealing with licenses. Currently Ms Ramalho works on Paying Taxes and is researching tax policy around the world. She has done research in several African countries. Ms Ramalho holds a PhD in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her recent research focuses on the impact of regulation on economic variables such as growth.Camille Ramos
Camille Ramos, a Brazilian national, joined the Doing Business team in 2006 to manage the Law Library. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and Sociology from George Washington University and spent a year of her studies at the Universidad de Buenos Aires and Universidad Catolica de Argentina, focusing primarily on economics. Prior to joining the World Bank, Camille worked at the Office of James Carville, DC Parentsmart, and Smith Barney. She is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish, and French.Ivana Rossi
Ivana Rossi joined the Doing Business team in 2007. She holds an masters of arts in comparative politics from New York University, where she was a Fulbright Scholar, and a degree in international relations from Universidad de San Andres in Buenos Aires. While in Argentina, she worked at the Center for Implementation of Public Policy for Equity and Growth on transparency and public sector reform initiatives. She has also worked on democratic governance projects with the Inter-American Development Bank, the Organization of American States, the Inter-American Dialogue and the World Bank Institute. Ms. Rossi is fluent in Spanish and French.Yara Salem
Yara Salem, a Palestinian national, joined the Doing Business team in 2007 to work on the "Starting a Business" indicator. Prior to joining the team, she worked for the Palestinian Ministry of Trade and Economy as the Director for Private Sector Development and Trade. Ms. Salem has extensive field experience working on private sector development issues in fragile states and post-conflict countries. She is a U.S. Presidential scholar and holds masters degrees in international commerce and trade from the Monterey Institute of International Studies and development economics and international studies from Birzeit University. Umar Shavurov
Umar Shavurov, a Kyrgyz Republic national, joined the Doing Business team in late 2006 and works on the Dealing with Licenses indicator. He holds a masters degree from the Universidad del Salvador (Argentina) in International Relations and Conflict Resolution. He obtained his diploma from the Kyrgyz State University in Foreign Policy. Prior to joining the team, he led the International Business Council in Kyrgyzstan promoting better business environment and investment climate. His experience also includes the Asian Development Bank, the Prime Minister’s Office of Kyrgyz Republic, and EuropeAid. He speaks Kyrgyz, Russian, and Spanish.Larisa Smirnova
Larisa Smirnova joined the Doing Business team in 2007. She previously worked with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Russia and Japan. Ms. Smirnova graduated from the Ecole Nationale d’Administration of France with a masters degree in public administration with honors. She also holds a joint master of international relations degree from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Paris and Moscow State Institute of International Relations. Ms. Smirnova is fluent in Russian, French and Japanese.Sylvia Solf
Sylvia Solf is a private sector development specialist on the Doing Business team and leads the business start-up project. Prior to joining the World Bank in 2003, she worked in portfolio management at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, DC. She also has experience working on private sector and social development in Mexico and Chile. Ms. Solf holds a Master of Arts from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in Boston, Massachusetts. A German national, she is fluent in French and Spanish.Jayashree Srinivasan
Jayashree Srinivasan, an Indian national, works on the Infrastructure indicator. Prior to joining Doing Business in 2008, she worked in the South Asia Region of the World Bank in the Sustainable Development Unit, where she was a part of the Urban and Water team. Before moving to Washington DC in 2002, Jayashree worked in the New Delhi office of the World Bank with the Rural Development Team. She holds a Master's degree in Community Resource Management and Extension from Delhi University and is fluent in Hindi and Tamil.Tea Trumbic
Tea Trumbic joined the Doing Business team in November 2006 to work on the Paying Taxes indicators. Her prior experiences include working on EU accession policy at Ministry of Finance in Croatia and on macroeconomic and fiscal policy for Middle East and North African (MENA) at the International Monetary Fund. Ms. Trumbic studied at Stanford University and the London School of Economics. She has lived in Serbia, Croatia, Romania, UK, France and the US.Caroline Van Coppenolle
Caroline Van Coppenolle joined the Doing Business team in 2005. She has been working on two indicators : Trade and Business start up. She is also responsible for Doing Business data management and coordinates with the Doing Business web team. She holds a masters degree from SAIS (Washington DC) in international relations and economics. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in International Business (EPSCI- Group ESSEC, France), and came to the US as an exchange student at Georgetown University. She also lived in Spain, Italy, and the UK. While she was studying, she worked for companies such as Arcelor, Publicis, as well as the UN Industrial Development Agency.Bryan Welsh
Bryan Welsh joined the Doing Business team in 2006. He works on the Closing a Business indicator and manages the Law Library. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Economy from Williams College. During his undergraduate studies, Bryan spent a semester in Granada, Spain. Prior to joining the World Bank, he worked in the international arbitration and antitrust groups of White & Case LLP.Justin Yap
Justin Yap is a private sector development specialist with the Doing Business team. Before joining the World Bank, he practiced international arbitration at the Washington, D.C. office of the law firm White & Case LLP. He received his bachelor's degree from Yale University and a JD from Harvard Law School. Mr Yap speaks Chinese and French.César Chaparro Yedro
César Chaparro Yedro, a Spanish national, joined the Doing Business team in May 2007 to work on the employing workers indicators. He holds a law degree and an economics degree from Carlos III University (Spain) and spent a year of his studies at the University of Perugia (Italy). Mr. Chaparro obtained a master's degree in European Studies from the College of Europe (Belgium). Prior to joining the World Bank, he practiced European and antitrust law at the law firm Garrigues Abogados y Asesores Tributarios in Madrid and worked as a legal advisor to the Colgate-Palmolive Company. Mr. Chaparro is fluent in Spanish, French and Italian.Lior Ziv
Lior Ziv, a Belgian national, joined the Doing Business team in 2007. He works on the contract enforcement indicators. After graduating with a law degree from the University of Leuven in Belgium, spending an intermediary year as an exchange student at the University of Salamanca in Spain, he obtained a Master of Laws from Harvard Law School. Mr. Ziv has volunteer experience in Israel, Guatemala, Ghana, Ukraine, Belarus and Azerbaijan. He speaks Dutch, French, Spanish, Hebrew, Russian and Portuguese.