Mara K. Warwick is the World Bank Country Director for Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand.  Trained as an environmental engineer, Ms. Warwick has expertise in flood management, urban development, urban environmental services and disaster risk management.

She manages a portfolio of more than USD 3 billion in loans, grants and trust funds in these countries. She also leads the World Bank analytics and advisory services – including technical assistance and reimbursable advisory services – to support poverty reduction and promote shared prosperity in said countries.

She oversees the World Bank Group Global Knowledge and Research Hub in Malaysia – a unique partnership with Malaysia and other development partners – that shares the country’s development experience with the rest of the world, conducts cutting-edge research, and provides advisory services to support Malaysia’s vision of becoming a high-income economy.

In the Philippines, the World Bank Group supports the country’s efforts to sustain high growth that creates more and better jobs and reduces poverty through financial assistance and advisory services. The Bank supports a large program of activities in Mindanao, including providing social protection to poor families, empowering communities through community driven development, promoting social cohesion and strengthening institutions, upgrading of infrastructure, improving the quality of education, increasing the productivity of farmers and fisherfolk, and peace-building in conflict-affected areas.

In Thailand, the World Bank Group’s engagement is centered on knowledge sharing, and policy and technical advisory services, as well as support for private sector development financing, and grant funding to support environmental sustainability and community driven development in conflict-affected areas in Southern Thailand.

Prior to her current role, Ms. Warwick served as the Portfolio and Operations Manager for China, Mongolia and Korea. In this role, she supported programs and projects in climate change mitigation and adaptation, infrastructure development and social service reform in China and Mongolia. She was Sector Coordinator for Sustainable Development in Ankara, Turkey, coordinating the World Bank’s development policy and investment lending in the energy, environment, urban and rural development and transport. 

Before joining the World Bank in 2003, she worked as an engineer in the private sector. An Australian national, Ms. Warwick received her B.E. in Civil Engineering from the University of Adelaide, Australia and her M.S. and Ph. D. in Environmental Engineering from Stanford University in the US. In her free time, Ms. Warwick pursues her passion for textile arts, especially those unique to the countries in which she lives and works.