Spring Meetings

Manal Fouad, Division Chief, Fiscal Affairs Department

Ms. Manal Fouad, an Egyptian national, is currently chief of the Public Financial Management (PFM) II division at the Fiscal Affairs Department (FAD) of the International Monetary Fund. She is a public finance specialist and has provided fiscal policy and capacity building advice to governments across the globe on macrofiscal frameworks, fiscal transparency, and infrastructure governance. Currently, she oversees the PFM a vast capacity development program for the Francophone and Lusophone Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and the Western Hemisphere regions. Prior to that, she has held various positions in FAD and the IMF Institute for Capacity Development. She holds a PhD from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva.

Martin Lindpere, Advisor to the Executive Director, World Bank

Mr. Lindpere serves as the advisor to the World Bank Executive Director. Before that he was holding the position of the economic advisor to the Prime Minister of Estonia, but he has also been working for the IMF Board, advising the Executive Director. Between 1997 and 2012, Mr. Lindpere held a number of positions in the Bank of Estonia, being engaged with the macroeconomic analysis. Mr. Lindpere received the MA degree in economics from the Bowling Green State University and he earned his PhD degree in economics from the Bocconi University.

Mark Macdonald, Global Lead for Public Financial Management, Ernst & Young

Mark is EY Global Public Finance Management Leader. In this role, he leads the development of new public financial management services that can be rolled out around the world. He combines this role with two positions in the EY organization in Canada – National Public Finance Leader and Ontario Public Sector Leader.

Mark is an experienced leader of public sector reform, having worked with dozens of governments worldwide and in every major policy sector including health, human services, justice and security, finance and treasury, transportation, agriculture, trade and economic development, education and government services.

His primary experience is advising senior officials on designing and implementing whole-of-government and organizational programs to help improve performance, secure better operating results, and significantly improve customer service.

Mark has a PhD in public policy from Carleton University. He also has a master’s degree in political studies and a bachelor’s degree in toxicology from the University of Guelph.

Vivek Ramkumar, Senior Director of Policy, International Budget Partnership

Vivek Ramkumar joined the International Budget Partnership (IBP) in 2005 and currently is Senior Director of Policy. In this capacity, he oversees IBP’s research and advocacy efforts to expand the adoption of transparent and accountable budget systems around the world. As Senior Director, Vivek stands-in for the Executive Director, as requested. Vivek previously worked with the MKSS – an organization that pioneered the Right to Information movement in India. He also worked with a Mumbai-based nongovernmental organization called SPARC, which is part of the Shack/Slum Dwellers International. Vivek is a qualified Chartered Accountant and holds an MA from the London School of Economics.

Enrique Zapata, Principal- Data Intelligence and New Technologies, CAF-Development Bank of Latin America

Enrique Zapata is head of the National Anticorruption Digital Platform. Previously he was General Director of Open Data at the Office of the President. He has been responsible of Mexico’s strategy to include AI as a key component of the government’s digital agenda. He participated in the Study Towards an AI Strategy in Mexico, is part of the Open Data Charter’s Advisory Board, the OECD’s Joint Steering Group on global data principles, and co-authored the G 20’s anticorruption open data principles. Bachelor’s in international Relations and master’s in public policy from the University of Oxford.