The DCED Executive Committee (ExCo) meets once a quarter, to oversee the work of the Secretariat and the Committee’s various thematic groups. Its three members and two co-chairs are elected for two year terms; elections are held once a year at the DCED Annual Meeting.
Corinna Küsel, Co-Chair
Corinna Küsel is head of the Section for Economic Policy and Private Sector Development in GTZ, the German Agency for Technical Cooperation. In this position she is in charge of coordinating GTZ’s work for conceptual development and knowledge management in this field, as well as the technical advice to GTZ projects and programmes. Between 2000 and 2005, Corinna Küsel managed a GTZ programme for private sector development in Vietnam, as well as GTZ’s network for economic development in Asia. Prior to moving to Asia, she was technical adviser at GTZ headquarters in the field of SME development (for 4 years), as well as in gender issues (for 3 years).
Before joining GTZ, Corinna Küsel worked for UNIDO as well as for a private sector consultancy company. She holds a Master’s degree in development sociology and has extensive working experience in Asia and Latin America.
Henk Jan Bakker, Co-Chair
Henk Jan Bakker is
Head of Business Environment in the Department for Sustainable Economic Development at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Between 2006 and 2010 he was Head of the Economic Division at the Netherlands Embassy in London. Previously, he was posted as Economic Councellor at the Netherlands
Permanent Representation to the OECD in Paris, where in 2004 he was
elected Chairman of the Working Party of the Trade Committee. During 2001, he worked at the Human Rights Department. For the previous 3 years he was seconded to the Ministry of Economic Affairs where he became responsible for Dutch bilateral economic relations with China. From 1995 to 1998 he was posted to the Netherlands Embassy in South Africa as Deputy Head of Development Cooperation, after having spend 3 years at the United Nations Department of the Ministry.
Before joining the Ministry in 1992, Henk Jan Bakker studied Political Science (International Relations) at Leiden University, where he graduated in 1991.
Anita Bhatia
Anita Bhatia was appointed Director, Advisory Services Operations in the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in 2011. In 2010, she
was IFC’s first Global Head of Knowledge, in which capacity she
oversaw the knowledge management efforts in the Corporation. Prior to this, she led IFC's Business Process Improvement efforts. She
was appointed the Advisory Services representative on the Global-Local “Vision
2010” Task Force in 2006 and came to IFC headquarters in 2007 to set up IFC’s first
change management office, the Global Local office, where she played a key role in
supporting implementation of IFC's decentralization and Vision 2010. From 2003 to 2006 she was General Manager of the Latin America Technical
Assistance Facility, based in Peru, where she oversaw the creation of IFC's
Advisory Services in Latin America and expanded
IFC’s Advisory Services footprint into new markets in the region. Anita joined IFC in June 2003 as a Senior Private Sector Development Specialist
in the Small and Medium Enterprise Department based in Bolivia.
Anita Bhatia holds a BA in History from Calcutta University, an MA in Political Science from Yale University and a Juris Doctor from
Georgetown Law School.
Markus Pilgrim
Markus Pilgrim manages the Small Enterprise Program of the International Labour Organization (ILO). The programme aims at improving the business environment, delivering entrepreneurship education and training, integrating small entrepreneurs into local and global value chains, and developing good workplace practices.
Prior to joining ILO, Markus worked as Manager of the Youth Employment Network (a partnership of United Nations, ILO, and World Bank generating knowledge on effective policies and programs to improve employment opportunities for youth) and as regional program manager for International Finance Corporation (IFC), World Bank Group, based in Cairo, Egypt, coordinating a portfolio of technical assistance projects on private sector promotion in the Middle East and North Africa. Other previous experience includes eight years as Managing Director of the Foundation for Economic Development and Vocational Training (SEQUA), a joint development agency of the German chambers and business associations. Markus holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Göttingen University, Germany.
Casper sonesson
Casper Sonesson is Deputy Director of the United Nations Development Programme’s Private Sector Division (PSD) in New York. Over the last decade he has been involved in leading the expansion of UNDP’s work with the private sector, including developing and overseeing numerous UNDP partnerships with private sector companies, pioneering UNDP’s work with the private sector around innovative inclusive business approaches, guiding UNDP’s role in establishing more than 40 of the Global Compact’s Local Networks, supporting numerous UNDP offices worldwide private sector initiatives and establishing UNDP’s worldwide community of practice on private sector issues. Casper Sonesson also played a leading role in developing UNDP’s 2007 private sector strategy on inclusive market development and has since then managed a global team to support turning this strategy into practical action at country and regional levels.
Before joining UNDP’s Private Sector Division, Casper Sonesson worked in different positions within the UN system (UNCDF, UN Secretariat and UNDP) on issues related to SME development, microfinance and business partnerships. He is a political scientist and economist by training with a degree from University of Lund, Sweden.