Subnational Business Ready

Norman Loayza is Director of the Global Indicators Group at the World Bank. Previously, he was a Lead Economist in the Development Research Group and managed the Asia hub of the Research Group, based in Malaysia. He was director of the World Development Report 2014, Risk and Opportunity: Managing Risk for Development. His research has dealt with various areas of economic and social development, including macroeconomic management, economic growth, microeconomic flexibility, private and public saving, financial depth and stability, natural disasters, and crime and violence. His advisory experience at the World Bank has also ranged across different topics in various regions and countries. A few examples include business environment and economic performance in Latin America; informal and formal labor markets in the Middle East and Northern Africa; public infrastructure gaps in Pakistan and Egypt; savings for macroeconomic stability and growth in Sri Lanka, Georgia, and Egypt; and pro-poor growth in Indonesia and Peru. On external service from the World Bank, he was a Senior Economist at the Central Bank of Chile (1999-2000), where he advised on financial and monetary policy. Norman has edited 10 books and published dozens of papers in professional journals and edited volumes. A Peruvian national, he holds a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University (1994).

Valentina Saltane has been a Senior Private Sector Development Specialist at DECIG where she has worked for the Business Ready (B-READY) project. Over the past ten years, Ms. Saltane has managed several projects in both World Bank and IFC, including Actionable Regulatory Indicators in the European Union, Migration and the Law, Global Indicators of Regulatory Governance, Doing Business in Agriculture, Open Government Project, Market Assessments under AIMM, and Capital Markets Indicators. In addition, she co-authored three Access to Finance reports, an Open Governance Partnership report, Sweden’s Business Climate report, Consumer Protection and Financial Literacy report series as well as seven research papers in the areas of access to finance, business regulation, and capital markets. Before joining the World Bank Group, Ms. Saltane worked at the Law and Economic Consulting Group (LECG) in New York City and prior to that she served as a program coordinator at the World Resources Institute in Washington D.C. Ms. Saltane holds a BA in economic development and international studies from Colby College and an MPA with a concentration in economic development from the Cornell Institute for Public Affairs.

Razvan Antonescu worked at the World Bank for nine years in various capacities and on multiple projects across several units—both at HQ and in CO—working mostly on business environment assessment, private sector development, regulatory management, digital policy, innovation policy.  He joined the Subnational Doing Business team in March 2016. Before joining the World Bank, he worked at the United Nations Development Program and the Ministry of Information Society of Romania. He holds a MSc Degree in Management of Business, Innovation and Technology from the University of Sheffield and a Political Sciences BA degree from the University of Bucharest. He is native Romanian and speaks English, French and Italian.

Edgar Chavez joined the World Bank’s Global Indicators Group in 2013. He is a Regulatory Specialist working on subnational business climate assessment projects. His work focuses on the analysis of best practices in the regulatory environment to encourage private sector development at the subnational level. Previously, he worked with the global Doing Business team where he covered the Registering Property topic and led the Getting Credit - Credit Information team. He holds a master's degree in international relations and international economics from Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a bachelor's degree in international relations from the Tecnológico de Monterrey (Mexico). Prior to joining the World Bank Group, Mr. Chavez worked at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and at the commercial section of the Canadian Embassy in Mexico. He speaks Spanish, French and is conversant in Russian.

Lilla Fordos, a Hungarian national, joined the Subnational team in 2016. She worked on the dealing with construction permits and getting electricity indicators. She has a master’s degree in international relations and economics from Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and an undergraduate degree in Political Science and German studies from Clemson University, SC. Prior to joining the World Bank, she worked as a researcher for the International Law Department at SAIS on business investment and it’s environmental impact in Africa and at the German Marshall Fund on democratization and civil society in Central Eastern Europe and the Balkans and North Africa. 

Marko Grujicic is a qualified lawyer with more than 14 years of experience covering a broad range of topics relevant to private sector development. Marko joined the World Bank and its Subnational team in 2017. His work focuses on the Dispute Resolution topic and the development of indicators pertinent to court litigation and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. Marko holds a law degree and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the University of Belgrade as well as a master's degree in international relations and international economics from Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Prior to joining the World Bank Group, Marko passed the Bar exam and practiced law in the Balkans.

Maksym (Max) Iavorskyi is a qualified lawyer with over 10 years of experience in private sector development and legal advisory, focusing on insolvency, dispute resolution, procurement, and the business environment. He joined the Subnational team in January 2021 and is currently on a 2-year DAIS assignment with the Insolvency and Debt Resolution team at FCI. Max holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the Geneva Law School and Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, and he speaks Ukrainian and Russian. Prior to joining the World Bank Group in 2015, Maksym worked as a lawyer in leading law firms in Ukraine and the United States.

Trimor Mici, a Kosovan national, has been leading research work and managing business regulation assessment projects across the globe for more than a decade. Currently he has a dual role managing projects for the subnational unit and supervising the taxation team for the Business Ready project. He joined the World Bank in 2008 working at the Investment Climate Department of the World Bank. Trimor holds an MBA in finance and investments from the George Washington University in Washington DC, where he was a recipient of the Global Leaders Fellowship, and a BA in business administration and finance from the American University in Bulgaria. Previously, he worked for the press office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe mission in Kosovo. Trimor speaks Albanian and Bulgarian. 

Madalina Papahagi has more than 15 years of experience leading and conducting research and assessments of local business enabling environments in countries around the world. She joined the World Bank in 2001, where she first worked on operational quality in Africa region and then on investment climate advisory projects at the IFC office in Belgrade. She is currently the coordinator of the Subnational Business Environment program in the European Union. Madalina holds an MBA from the American University in Washington DC, where she was a Fulbright scholar, and a BA from the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest. Before joining the World Bank, she worked in the banking sector in Romania.

Alberto Pellicano joined the Subnational Doing Business team in September 2018. He worked at the Italian Representation of Italy to NATO and the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris, as well as completed his legal traineeship in several Italian law firms, passing the Italian Bar in 2020. He also worked with several other World Bank units (External and Corporate Affairs office in Rome and Social Protection) on projects related to energy, public administration innovation, social policy reform, and inclusiveness. Alberto holds an Integrated Master of Arts in Law, with a major in Public International Law from Bocconi University in Milan, Italy, and an LL.M in Transnational Arbitration and Dispute Settlement from Sciences Po Paris.

Monique Pelloux, a Mexican national, joined Subnational Doing Business in 2013. She started her Bank career over a decade ago, as a Program Assistant in the Mexico Country Office, where she provided support to the Environment Team. She subsequently moved to headquarters to work with the Development Effectiveness (Safeguards Team) and regional IT Teams, where she provided operational support and project monitoring, prepared dashboard reports, and served as a transaction specialist, among other things. She holds a degree in chemical engineering, speaks Spanish, and is conversant in French.

Maria Camila Roberts, a Colombian national, joined the Subnational Doing Business team in August 2009. She holds a law degree from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Colombia, a diploma in Insurance law from the same university and an LLM from Indiana University-Bloomington School of Law where she was granted a merit scholarship. Prior to joining the World Bank she practiced law, focusing on insurance and banking law, for nine years. With the subnational team she has specialized in the Latin America and the Caribbean region.

Tommaso Rooms currently works at the World Bank as a Senior Private Sector Development Specialist. He has more than 10 years of experience producing analytical work on regional development, investment climate topics, and subnational government. He joined the World Bank in 2011 and since then led projects in different contexts, from OECD economies to developing and conflict afflicted countries. Tommaso holds a master's degree in Public Policy and Administration from the London School of Economics. He has also studied International Relations (M.A.) and Political Science (B.A.) at the University of Florence, Italy. Prior to joining the World Bank Group, he worked as Academy Coordinator at the Global Governance Program of the European University Institute.

Ana Santillana, a Spanish national, joined the Subnational Doing Business team in September 2017. Previously, Ana worked with the World Bank’s education global practice in the Europe and Central Asia region and with the global Doing Business team. Before joining the World Bank, she worked as a research associate at the OECD Development Center in Paris and as an economic and trade analyst at the Economic and Commercial Office of Spain in Ottawa. She holds a Master's Degree in Global Development Economics from Boston University, a Master's Degree in International Business Management from the Center for Economic and Commercial Studies (CECO) in Madrid and a Licentiate Degree in Economics from the Autonomous University of Madrid.

Mariline Vieira, a French and Portuguese national joined the Subnational Doing Business team in March 2013. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Studies and International Affairs from the Institute of Technology of Tralee (Ireland) and the University of Paris-Sud (France), and a Master’s degree in Development Economics from the University of Versailles (France). Prior to joining the World Bank Group, she worked in microfinance and micro-business development, sustainable development, and international cross-cutting issues for PlaNet Finance and The Global Fund among others.

Julien is a Team Lead in the subnational unit and a Supervisor in the global Business Ready unit.  He has been leading business regulation assessment projects in Central Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and Western Europe. Before joining the subnational team in 2015, Julien led the Employing Workers topic and the Enforcing Contracts topic of the Doing Business project, a former flagship report of the World Bank Group. Julien holds law degrees from the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (France), the University of Lille 2 (France), and the Georgetown University Law Center (Washington, D.C.). Mr. Vilquin also received a master's degree in Management from EDHEC Business School (France). Prior to joining the World Bank Group, he practiced European and antitrust law at the law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP in Paris. Julien is admitted to the New York bar, and is qualified in Paris. He speaks French.

Burak Turkgulu joined the Global Indicators Group in April 2024 as a data specialist in the Subnational Business Ready team (DECSN). Prior to joining DECIG, he worked as a consultant at the World Bank for various analytical projects in infrastructure economics and finance. He is a co-author of the Infrastructure VP’s flagship report Off the Books: Understanding and Mitigating Fiscal Risks of Infrastructure as well as of several research articles. Burak’s other areas of expertise include political and institutional economics and macroeconomics. He holds MA degrees in Economics from the University of Maryland, College Park and Boğaziçi University (in Istanbul, Turkiye), and a BS degree in Industrial Engineering from Boğaziçi University. He speaks Turkish.