NPIO Summit 2023: Navigating Trends, Risks, & Opportunities in the Digital Age

As Managing Director and World Bank Group Chief Administrative Officer since February 2016, Shaolin is responsible for a number of critical functions of the institution including organizational strategy, budget and strategic planning, information technology, enterprise risk, shared services, corporate procurement, general services, corporate security, health and safety, ethics and business conduct, the Sanctions System, and the Internal Justice System. In these responsibilities, Shaolin leads the development and review of the World Bank Group’s strategic agenda through 2030, including the Forward Look, overseeing the alignment of resources with corporate strategies and commitments, including the 2018 capital package and IDA replenishment. He is responsible for the departments overseeing the health, safety, and security of the Bank Group’s global staff across 140+ offices, as well as for steering World Bank Group decisions on investments and delivery of information technology and internal services to meet operational demands across the institution.

Kenny heads the World Bank Group’s procurement and vendor management effort globally across 140+ locations and has successfully modernized the function to improve its efficiency, governance, value generation and sustainability of its 34,000-vendor base. His current focus is to broaden procurement’s value contribution in World Bank Group’s strategic priorities, including Fragility, Conflict and Violence; Country Services; Disruptive Technologies; Gender and Minority inclusion. Before joining the Group, Kenny was the Executive Director and Global co-Chief Procurement Officer at Goldman Sachs, responsible for the delivery industry leading commercial, vendor risk management, and sustainable supply chain initiatives across 97 cities and 35 countries. Kenny also had a long career with the National Australia Bank Group and ExxonMobil Corporation where he spent much of his time in procurement transformational roles. Kenny has an Executive MBA from the Australian School of Management and Honors in Engineering from the University of Melbourne.

Steve Gemmel is a Technology Strategist within Microsoft’s Tech for Social Impact team. With over two decades of experience, Steve has been at the forefront of driving digital transformation across many industry sectors including Education, Manufacturing, US Federal/State Government, and IGOs. For the past seven years, Steve has worked exclusively with UN Agencies, Funds, Programs, and International Financial Institutions in harnessing the power of cloud technologies. His expertise lies in aligning these cutting-edge tools with the unique missions and priorities of these organizations, enabling them to achieve their objectives more effectively.

Anne-Claire Howard joined UNOPS in 2022 as Director of the Procurement Group, she became the chair of the Sustainable Procurement working group in the United Nations High Level Management Committee Procurement Network in May 2023. Anne-Claire has over 20 years of experience in heavy industry and raw materials sustainability, good governance and responsible supply chain management. Prior to joining UNOPS, Anne-Claire advised multiple organizations on sustainable supply chains including the International Finance Corporation, Adam Smith International and Shell. Most recently she was the CEO of ResponsibleSteel, a global multi-stakeholder standard and certification initiative that aims to maximize the role of steel in building a sustainable society. A graduate of Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and Science Po Paris, she is also a member of the first cohort of the Franco-British Young Leaders Network.

Prior to the World Bank, Tim was the Vice President of Supply Management for Sodexo North America, leading the team that sourced the $2.4 billion in non-food spend categories.  Major supply categories included packaging, chemicals, paper supplies, food service equipment & disposables, IT, professional services, travel, and outsourced facility services and subcontracting for Hard and Soft FM.

Tim spent 11 years at McCormick & Co. Inc., with global leadership and category experience across the Agricultural and Indirect Procurement Teams.  While at McCormick, he created the North American manufacturing sourcing organization to focus on operational needs in Indirect and was responsible for the establishment and leadership of the global Indirect organization at McCormick.  He spent one year based in the UK EMEA headquarters to implement a category-based team for the EMEA zone.  After his UK assignment, he developed the framework for and led the global Indirect procurement organization.

Tim earned a BS in Meteorology as well as an MBA in Supply Chain and Strategic Leadership from the Pennsylvania State University.  He began his career as a buyer and planner with the May Company Department Stores in Washington DC and later Macy’s.  During his graduate experience, he was a graduate fellow for the Center for Supply Chain Leadership at Penn State.

Julia Schellhaas is a Senior Adviser in the Office of the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings responsible for the work on supply chains. She works with governments, international organisations, and the private sector to prevent business-related human rights abuses and provides practical tools for integrating human rights due diligence into legislation and public procurement activities. Prior to joining OSCE, Julia spent six years working in sustainable procurement, as well as energy and climate policy at the United Nations Secretariat in New York and Nairobi, and the German Government in Berlin. Julia holds law degrees from Germany, Spain, and Australia, and worked as a corporate lawyer before moving to the public sector.

Magda has worked as an international trade lawyer and public procurement expert for more than two decades. She is currently the Assistant Director for Procurement, Contracts, Travel, Missions and Events with the International Criminal Police Organizations in Lyon, France (INTERPOL). Prior to joining INTERPOL in May 2022, she was the Director for Procurement & Contracts with Global Executive Trade Consulting Ltd., a Belize & Florida-based consulting firm that leads trade development and procurement project implementation in the Caribbean and Latin America. She previously worked in private practice as a commercial trade lawyer, and in leading procurement roles with the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, D.C. and the Caribbean; the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris, France; and the World Bank’s General Services Department and Africa Region. Ms. Theodate holds a Juris Doctor degree (JD) in U.S. common law from the American University Washington College of Law (WCL) and a Master’s degree in International Trade Law (LL.M) from the University of Turin in Italy. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Communications from the University of Miami in Florida. She has authored several publications related to the intersection of trade and procurement, and is a recognized public speaker in the sustainable trade movement.

Adam Rubinfield is the Sustainability and Supplier Diversity Program Lead for Corporate Procurement at the World Bank Group. In this role he mainstreams sustainability considerations into about $1.7 billion of annual purchases for the World Bank Group’s global offices. Prior to his current role, he oversaw the World Bank’s Corporate Responsibility Program, working with internal stakeholders to reduce the Bank’s environmental and social impacts by focusing on energy efficiency, waste reduction, and staff behavior changes. Adam holds a BA in Anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis, and an MSc in Biological Conservation from Oxford Brookes University in the UK.

Philipp Rathgeber, aircraft engineer by trade and procurement professional by heart with an MBA from Kühne Logistics University, has witnessed and shaped restructuring of procurement organizations in large MNEs, familyowned businesses, start-ups and international organizations. Therefore, he can speak from practice on the challenges and opportunities of moving to digitally supported procurement processes and the setup needed for the team in this change.

Lily’s progressive procurement career record of over 20 years spans a full range of sourcing commodities and licensing intellectual property for public transit, Fortune 500 companies, start-ups and purchasing consortiums and IFI. Lily’s primary category focus at the World Bank Group is with professional / consulting services, labor and staff augmentation programs, financial and health services. Prior to joining World Bank, Lily was a Procurement Manager at Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). While at WMATA, Lily managed procurements for Technology, Safety, Marketing and Advertising, Human Resources, Metro Police, Legal, Risk, Office of Management and Budget, Internal Audit, Treasury and Supply Chain. Lily earned her Juris Doctorate (JD) from Suffolk Law School, in Boston, and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Knox College in Illinois.

Scott is a Specialist Executive with Deloitte Consulting. He brings strengths and experience curated during a 32-year career in federal acquisition and procurement, including 8 years as a procurement executive. Scott held various contracting positions at the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), notably leading major system source selections and guiding dozens of procurement offices and over 700 procurement professionals as the Deputy Head of the Contracting Activity. He served as a procurement SME to the Federal On-Scene Coordinator during the response to the Deepwater Horizon explosion in 2010. As a member of the Senior Executive Service, Scott led transformation efforts at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), building cohesive teams, improving procurement systems and expanding client and industry collaboration. He leverages his deep understanding of contracting organizations, procurement regulations and source selection best practices to enable Deloitte to ensure mission success for our federal partners during project delivery.

Alex Grahammer is the Director of the Department of Procurement and Management Oversight under the Secretariat for Administration and Finance of the General Secretariat of the Organization of the American States (GS/OAS). He has over 25 years of procurement and supply chain management experience in international organizations and the private sector, with a focus on procurement policies and practices, procurement management, process re-engineering and strategy development. He manages the team responsible for fulfilling corporate procurement and oversees all procurement actions related to the execution of GS/OAS project and field operations in 34 countries, including all travel operations and the corporate credit card programs. In addition to that he also oversees the operations related to formulation, monitoring, evaluation, oversight and support to project and programs across the GS/OAS. He has an MBA from George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in business management from the Universidad del Pacifico (Peru).

Rajiv Parankusam is the Head of Category for Corporate Services and Real Estate with Corporate Procurement at the World Bank. The team works with WB offices across 140+ locations sourcing goods and services for travel; construction; facility management; security; health services, food, conference and events; printing and publication; language services; logistics and other corporate services. Rajiv has over 20 years of experience in the field of procurement working in the Engineering Procurement and Construction industry; Energy industry; and International Development.

Daniel Rodríguez is the Director of the Procurement & Supply Management at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). With a passion for driving excellence in supply chain strategies, team leadership, operations, and leveraging the use of emerging digital technologies, he has made significant contributions to international and public organizations across Latin America & The Caribbean, by increasing service levels and operational efficiencies. In his current role, Daniel spearheads a dynamic team dedicated to the strategies and execution of procurement operations for the PAHO Revolving Fund for Access to Vaccines and the PAHO Strategic Fund for Essential Medicines.  Through the adept utilization of economies of scale, these efforts ensure the efficient access to health supplies for public health programs of 42 countries & territories in the Americas. Daniel holds a degree in Industrial Engineer, complemented by a master’s degree in business administration and another master’s in international logistics and supply chain strategy from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech).  

Miranda is the Technology & Innovation Lead within the World Bank’s Corporate Procurement unit where she has been for 18 years. In 2020, she was named the Cognitive Procurement Chair for United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB) High-Level Committee on Management. Miranda’s portfolio includes Intelligence Automation where she spearheaded initiatives that revolutionized procurement practices. The initiatives consisted of cutting-edge technologies and best practices to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and streamline operations. Miranda holds two degrees including an MBA from Bowie State University. She also holds a Master’s Certificate in Project Management from George Washington University, and a Strategic Diploma in Public Procurement (Level 4) from CIPS.

Faith is Head of Governance and Third-Party Risk Management in Corporate Procurement at the World Bank. She has decades of experience working in finance and procurement in both the private and public sector, always with a focus on driving effective delivery to meet business objectives while managing risks for the organization. Faith has an MSc in Accounting from the University of the West Indies and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of London.

Over 20 years of diverse experience in procurement, project management, product planning, and marketing functions in Automotive industry and Multilateral Development Banks. Leading IT Category team in Corporate Procurement at the World Bank, located in Washington D.C. Primary responsibility is focused on developing long term strategies and capacity within the team for IT sourcing in areas as diverse as hardware and software for business applications for accounting, finance, human resources, treasury, and general services, including collaboration tools, core IT applications, cloud infrastructure and Information security services etc. Key interests are sourcing of Disruptive Technologies such as blockchain, AI, IoT, driving greater value for the institution while balancing information security, data privacy risks, and growing ESG risks.

Angela is the program lead for Change Management, Capacity Building and Communications in Corporate Procurement at the World Bank.  She has over two decades of experience in the development of communications strategies, managing transformational change initiatives, and building training and development programs that enable organizations and individuals to improve performance, increase impact, and sustain results over time. Angela has a master’s in Finance from the Universidad Externado de Colombia, and a bachelor’s in economics from the Universidad Santo Tomas de Aquino. She is a certified change practitioner and knowledge manager, and has a master’s certificate in Project Management from George Washington University.

Maria Abroskina currently serves as the Head of Sofia and EMEA Client Relations in the Corporate Procurement division at the World Bank. She has extensive experience in Global Procurement, Sales, Marketing, and Customer Marketing across private-sector organizations. Before joining the World Bank, she held the position of Procurement Director at Teva, a global pharmaceutical manufacturer. Prior to that, Maria spent nearly two decades in various procurement positions, including leadership roles such as overseeing the global Center of Excellence and managing CAPEX sourcing at Mondelez. Maria holds a master’s degree in psychology and a Bachelor of Business Administration. 

Roberto Samayoa is the Policy and Compliance Specialist for the Procurement and Supply Management Department of the Pan American Health Organization, the Americas Regional office of the World Health Organization. He also serves as focal point for: Special projects such as Decarbonization project in PAHO’s Supply Chain, digitization of the department to ensure a green office and the implementation of BOTS in the procurement function. Monitoring of risk and act as a resource in the negotiation of multilateral agreements with International Financial institutions. Review and implement actions related to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in the Procurement Department.

Shrimant Tripathy is the Head of IT Risk and Security Advisory at The World Bank Group out of Washington, DC. As part of the Office of Information Security (OIS) he is responsible for several functions such as Application Security, 3rd-party Risk, IT Risk, Sourcing and Vendor Management – overseeing management of security and risks within the adoption and integration of new and emerging technologies including Cloud, Mobile and AI for the World Bank Group. Additionally, Mr. Tripathy oversees the IT Sourcing and Vendor Management function that manages a diverse pool of augmented workforce both, onsite and offshore, to complement IT staff in delivering their work program. One of the goals of the Bank Group is to leverage the power of technology to help client countries improve the lives of the poor and vulnerable by delivering innovative and secure solutions, drive results on the ground. Aligned with this goal, Mr. Tripathy leads the World Bank Group’s cybersecurity risk management efforts, primarily in the areas of identifying emerging threats, assessing risks to digital assets and solutions, help prepare response plans conforming to the institutional risk appetite and raising awareness among key stakeholders.