Damien Shiels is a Global Product Specialist for the services sector in the Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation Global Practice (FCI) of the World Bank Group. He is responsible for delivering solutions for FCI’s operations in skills, tourism, IT enabled services, and creative industries.  Prior to joining FCI he held a variety of positions within the World Bank Group including Program Manager for the International Finance Corporation, supporting sector-driven economic development in agribusiness, manufacturing, and services operations, and Investment Policy Officer for the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency assisting countries and sub-national regions to reduce regulatory barriers to investment,  establish proactive investment promotion programs, and develop strategies to attract and grow FDI.

He has delivered and supported projects in East Asia and the Pacific, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. Previous to his joining the World Bank Group, Mr Shiels worked in both private sector and non-profit corporations involved in rural development and international disaster relief. Earlier in his career he held positions as a court-appointed mediator, a business development consultant, and a legal adviser.

An Irish national, Mr. Shiels has an MSc from Georgetown University and is a graduate University College Dublin’s School of Law. He has also undertaken studies at De Paul Law School, the London School of Economics, and Harvard University. He is an alumnus of the IFC’s Corporate Leadership Program.