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
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 master's degree in sociology from Moscow State University and a master's degree in international business from the Fletcher School in Boston, Massachusetts.Karim Belayachi
Karim Belayachi works on the Starting a Business indicator. He holds a master's 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. Mr. Beye has a broad background with business development and investment policy programs, both in the United States 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. Mr. Beye holds a bachelor's degree in food industry management from Michigan State and a master's in international business and political economy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He is fluent in French and Portuguese.Penelope J. Brook
Penelope Brook took on the role of Director of the Indicators Analysis Department, responsible inter alia for Doing Business, in April 2008. Throughout her time at the World Bank Group, Penelope has focused on private sector development and infrastructure sector reform, with a particular emphasis on the pro-poor aspects of reform processes and sector policies. Earlier in her career, Penelope was engaged in the reform process in New Zealand, working in both the public and the private sectors on issues ranging from utility and labor market reform to the settlement of indigenous land and resource claims. She holds a DPhil in economics from Oxford University. 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). Mr. Bustelo 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's degree in 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, Mr. Coma-Cunhill 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.Santiago Croci
Santiago Croci joined the Doing Business team in 2008 to work on the Getting Credit - Legal Rights indicator. Prior to joining the team, he worked on an insolvency and creditor rights initiative at the Legal Vice-Presidency of the World Bank. He also worked on development issues at the Competitiveness Capacity Building Initiative of the Organization of American States. Mr. Croci holds a law degree in corporate law from Montpellier I University (Montpellier, France) and a master’s degree in international law from Paul Cézanne University (Aix-en-Provence, France). He is fluent in French and Spanish.Marie Delion
Marie Delion was born in Mauritius. She studied international commerce and has a CGE "O" Level from Cambridge and a bachelor's degree 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's degree in international commerce and policy, as well as a bachelor's degree 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, Mr. Dennis 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, United Kingdom. Mr. Dennis 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. Mr. Djankov 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 a legal assistant and translator and interning with the Embassy of Canada and Conservative Central Office in London. He holds a master's degree 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.Carolin Geginat
Carolin Geginat, a German national, is an economist with the Doing Business team. She joined in October 2006 to develop the new Infrastructure indicator for the Doing Business report. Ms. Geginat 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 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. Previously, 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 degree 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 Eastern 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 bachelor's and master's degrees in economics and master's degree 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. Mr. Lobet 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). He 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 degree 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.Andres F. Martinez
Andres F. Martinez, an Argentinean attorney, joined the Doing Business team in April 2008. He holds an honors degree in law from the Universidad de Buenos Aires. He also completed a two-year master’s degree program in commercial law at the Universidad Austral (Argentina), which included being a visiting scholar at the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver, Colorado. Before joining the Doing Business team, Mr. Martinez practiced litigation and corporate law at Estudio Beccar Varela in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he was a senior associate representing domestic and international clients. He is fluent in Spanish.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's degree 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 - Legal Rights indicator. 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. She 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's degree in science and technology in international affairs and has a master's 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.Nadia Ram
Nadia Ram joined the Doing Business team in May 2008, and is currently working on the Infrastructure indicator. Her prior experience includes work at the Israeli Attorney General's office, and at a private law firm in Israel, where she focused on labor and employment law. Ms. Ram holds an LL.M. degree from Harvard Law School, and an LL.B. and bachelor's degree in economics from Haifa University in Israel. Nadia was born in the Ukraine and is an Israeli national. She is fluent in Hebrew and Russian, and is conversational in Arabic and Persian.Rita Ramalho
Rita Ramalho is a Portuguese economist. When she first joined the Doing Business team three years ago, she worked on the Dealing with Licenses indicator. 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's degree 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, Ms. Ramos worked at the Office of James Carville, DC Parentsmart, and Smith Barney. She is fluent in Portuguese, 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 master's 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 master's 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, Mr. Shavurov 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.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's degree 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, Ms. Srinivasan 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.Susanne Szymanski
Susanne Szymanski, a German national, joined the Doing Business team in 2008 to work on the infrastructure indicators. She holds a master’s degree in Business Administration and Economics from the University of Munich. Prior to joining the Doing Business team, she was Policy Analyst at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development working on trade policy and anti-corruption policy in public procurement. Ms. Szymanski also worked in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region of the World Bank on water infrastructure projects. She speaks German and French.Tea Trumbic
Tea Trumbic joined the Doing Business team in November 2006 to work on the Paying Taxes indicator. Her prior experiences include working on EU accession policy at the Ministry of Finance in Croatia and on macroeconomic and fiscal policy for Middle East and North Africa (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, the U.K., the U.S., and France.Caroline Van Coppenolle
Caroline Van Coppenolle joined the Doing Business team in 2005. She has been working on two indicators : Trade Across Borders and Starting a Business. She is also responsible for Doing Business data management and coordinates with the Doing Business web team. She holds a master's degree from SAIS (Washington, DC) in international relations and economics. She obtained her bachelor's degree in international business (EPSCI- Group ESSEC, France), and came to the U.S. as an exchange student at Georgetown University. She also lived in Spain, the U.K., and Italy. While she was studying, she worked for companies such as Arcelor, Publicis, and the UN Industrial Development Agency.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 indicator. 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 Enforcing Contracts indicator. After graduating with a law degree from the University of Leuven in Belgium and spending an intermediary year as an exchange student at the University of Salamanca in Spain, he obtained an LL.M. 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.