Meet the Team
Subnational and regional Doing Business reports are prepared by a diverse team of experts at the World Bank Group.Fernanda Almeida
Fernanda Almeida became a member of the team in 2006. Before joining FIAS she worked at the Inter-American Development Bank and the Organization of American States. She holds a law degree from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (Brazil) and a MS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University. She is a Brazilian national and speaks Portuguese, English, Spanish and some French.Diego Borrero
Diego Borrero joined the World Bank in 2006. He holds a masters of research degree in international economics and a masters in international business from Sciences Po Paris. Prior to joining the team, he worked at UNESCO and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A Colombian national, he is fluent in Spanish, French and English.Mierta Capaul
Mierta Capaul is the product leader for Subnational and regional Doing Business. Previously, she worked on enterprise restructuring and corporate governance. Before joining the World Bank, she was an investment banker with a global financial institution, focusing on emerging markets. Mierta holds a MBA from Deusto University in Spain, a masters in economics from the New School of Social Research in New York and a BA from Sarah Lawrence College in New York. Mierta is a Swiss and Spanish national.Claudia Contreras
Claudia Contreras, a Mexican national, joined the World Bank in 1998. She holds a BA in marketing from the Instituto Tecnológico de Chihuahua in Mexico and is currently studying for a masters in international commerce and public policy at George Mason University. Before joining the team, she worked in the Institutional Integrity Department of the World Bank (yes it is a WB unit) and the Bank's Mexico Country Office. Prior to joining the Bank, she worked in the private sector in Mexico City. She speaks Spanish, English, French and some Portuguese.Iva I. Ilieva Hamel
Iva Ilieva Hamel, a Bulgarian national, is a Private Sector development Specialist with the Doing Business Reform Unit. Ms. Hamel joined the World Bank in 2003 and has been working on business environment and SME development in Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. Iva also worked on the Doing Business project and was in charge of the Doing Business outreach campaign. Prior to joining the World Bank, Iva was a teaching fellow at Johns Hopkins University (SAIS) and a management consultant with Novell, Inc. She holds an MA in International Finance from Johns Hopkins University (SAIS), an accounting certificate from the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry and a BA in Economics and International Studies from Colby College.Manuel García Huitrón
Manuel García Huitrón has been a member of the team since August 2007. A Mexican national, he worked from 1996 to 1997 as an advisor to the Ministry of Finance of the Federal District in Mexico. He later joined Afore XXI, where he headed the project "Studies in the Economics of Mexican Cities." From 2002 to 2005, he was an associate research scholar at the International Institute for Corporate Governance at the Yale School of Management, where he helped construct the labor indicator for the Doing Business Project. From 2005 to mid 2007 he was an adjunct professor of economics at the Catholic University of Chile and the Adolfo Ibañez Business School. Manuel holds degrees in economics from Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México and international and development economics from Yale University. His previous work has been recognized in Mexico with the National Economics Award and internationally with the Interamerican Research Award, among other prizes. Katerina Leris
Katerina Leris joined the Subnational Doing Business team in November 2007. She holds a law degree from Kent University in the UK, an LPC from the Inns of Court School of Law, and an LLM in International Trade and Commercial Law from University College London. She is a member of the New York Bar. Katerina has worked in commercial law in London and Athens and joined the team from the Economic Policy and Debt Department of the World Bank. A Greek national, she speaks Greek, English and French.Jana Malinska
Jana Malinska, a Czech national, joined the team from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, where she specialized in government efficiency and investment policy as a member of the OECD Young Professional Program. Prior to that Jana worked with International Finance Corporation, with PSA Peugeot Citroen in Paris, and with CzechInvest, the Czech government agency for investment promotion and business development. She holds a masters degree in international trade from the University of Economics in Prague and a MSc. in local economic development from the London School of Economics and Political Science.Trimor Mici
Trimor Mici joined the World Bank in 2008. He holds an MBA in Finance & Investments from the George Washington University in Washington DC and a BA from the American University in Bulgaria. Previously, he worked for the press office of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo and later on joined a startup company in the U.S. private sector. Trimor comes from Kosovo and he speaks Albanian, English, Bulgarian and some Serbian.Luis Aldo Sánchez-Ortega
Luis Aldo Sánchez-Ortega, a Mexican national, has been a member of the team since 2006. Before joining FIAS, he worked for more than four years at the Federal Regulatory Improvement Commission (COFEMER) in Mexico City. He started at COFEMER as the chief of the Department of Special Studies and later became deputy director of Regulatory Impact Assessment. He holds an economics degree from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) where he was part of the Editorial Council of the¿Caeteris Paribus? Economics Magazine and at the same time was the management and finance coordinator of the nongovernmental organization Opción México, A.C.Madalina Papahagi
Madalina Papahagi joined the team in April 2008 from the FIAS Southern Europe regional office in Belgrade. Previously, she worked on operational quality and knowledge management for the Infrastructure and Private Sector Development unit of the World Bank Africa region. Before joining the World Bank, she worked in the banking sector in Romania. She holds an MBA from American University in Washington DC (where she was a Fulbright scholar) and a BA from The Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest. Madalina is a Romanian and Greek national.Zenaida Hernández Uriz
Zenaida Hernández Uriz has been a member of the team since 2005. She joined the World Bank Group in 2003 to work on the World Development Report 2005: A Better Investment Climate for Everyone. Her previous experience included management consulting at Accenture and trade promotion at the Spanish Trade Office in the Czech Republic. She holds an economics degree from the University of Zaragoza (Spain) and a MS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.