The following persons will be a part of the Annual Conference of Swiss Development Cooperation 2018 through round tables or keynote speeches.
Speakers
Manuel Sager, ambassador, director-general of the SDC
Ambassador Manuel Sager, born in 1955, obtained a doctorate in law from the University of Zurich and subsequently a Master of Laws and Letters (LL.M.) from Duke University Law School in United States. He joined the diplomatic service in 1988 and held various positions at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. In 2005 he became an executive director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London and was subsequently Swiss ambassador to the United States from 2010 to 2014. Manuel Sager has been director-general of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) since November 2014.
Raymund Furrer, ambassador, head of the Economic Cooperation and Development Division at SECO and delegate of the Swiss Government for Trade Agreements
Ambassador Raymund Furrer, lic.phil. l. was born in 1960. Since 1 October 2015 he is the head of the Economic Cooperation and Development Division at SECO and delegate of the Swiss Government for Trade Agreements. Before this, he was head of the Swiss Business Hub in the Gulf Countries and since 1 April 2014 additionally consul general of Switzerland in Dubai. Between April 2008 and August 2012 he was heading the Multilateral Cooperation Division. Before this, Raymund Furrer was senior advisor of the executive director at the World Bank in Washington, head of the Bilateral Economic Relations with Asia at SECO, head of a WTO section at the Federal Office for Foreign Economic Affairs, first secretary of the Swiss Delegation of the OECD at Paris, as well as holding employments at the Asian Development Bank and at the private Sector.
Tatjana von Steiger, deputy head of Domain Global Cooperation
Tatjana von Steiger is the deputy head of Domain Global Cooperation at the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation since July 2017. Before, she was the head for Sustainable Development & Humanitarian Affairs at the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations, which she joined in late 2012. She was the main coordinator of the various processes leading to the 2030 Agenda on Global Sustainable Development, as well as facilitator of intergovernmental processes, including the consultations on the Global Sustainable Development Report.
Between 2009 and 2012, she served as head of the Swiss Cooperation Office to Macedonia. From 2003 to 2008, she worked at the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, in the United Nations Development Unit, where she also served as deputy head of the division.
Born in 1971, Tatjana von Steiger has a Master’s Degree in Russian and Slavic Literature and Journalism; besides Tatjana von Steiger is a trained mediator. She joined the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) in 2001 after working in journalism and teaching.
Océane Dayer, founder Swiss Youth for Climate and co-chair SDSN Switzerland
Océane Dayer, born in 1989, studied environmental sciences at ETH Zurich. In 2015, she founded Swiss Youth for Climate, to give a voice to Swiss youth on climate issues. She also initiated the first Swiss youth delegation to the Conference of the Parties. Since 2017, she has been co-chair of Switzerland's Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN Switzerland). She currently also works at WWF Switzerland in Zurich.
Nora Wilhelm, catalyst, collaboratio helvetica
Nora Wilhelm, born in 1993, obtained her Bachelor's degree in International Affairs from the University of St Gallen. She currently fulfils the role of catalyst at the collaboratio helvetica initiative, which aims to facilitate the establishment of sustainable development objectives in Switzerland. From the age of five, she grew up in the atmosphere of International Geneva, which fostered in her a growing interest in international cooperation and enabled her to carry out a number of internships in non-governmental organisations. She later joined the European Youth Parliament, which she chaired from 2014 to 2015. In 2016, she was project manager of the 83rd international session of the European Youth Parliament in Laax, the flagship event of the non-partisan association of education for active and European citizenship, which took place under the auspices of former Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter.
Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch, State Secretary, SECO Director
Born in 1961, Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch holds an MBA and a degree in law. She has held multiple positions in Switzerland and abroad, including assistant to Switzerland’s executive director at the World Bank in Washington DC from 1992 to 1993, and head of the WTO sector from 1999 to 2007. In April 2011 she was appointed state secretary and SECO director. She is also the director of the Foreign Economic Affairs Directorate.
Sabine Döbeli, CEO Swiss Sustainable Finance
Sabine Döbeli has worked in the field of sustainable finance for over 25 years in different roles. After building up Swiss Sustainable Finance (SSF), she took over the role as CEO of SSF in 2014.
Previously, she was Head of Corporate Sustainability Management at Vontobel where she was responsible for coordinating sustainability topics at group level and for preparing sustainable investment services. At Zürcher Kantonalbank she built up the sustainability research unit within the financial analysis department and was involved in the launch of various sustainable investment products.
Sabine holds a Masters in Environmental Sciences from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich and completed a post-graduate degree in business administration and marketing at the University of Basel. She is a member of the research advisory council of the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) and a member of the advisory councils of ProClim, the Swiss Academy of climatet scientists, and of “Stiftung Drittes Millenium”.
Thomas Breu, professor, director of the Centre for Development and Environment (CDE) at the University of Bern, executive director of the International Graduate School North-South (IGS)
Thomas Breu, born in 1962, is professor and director of the Centre for Development and Environment (CDE) at the University of Bern and executive director of the International Graduate School North-South (IGS). He studied geography and economics and has over 25 years of research and practical experience in developing countries. From 1997 to 2001, he was chief technical adviser to the Mekong River Commission on transboundary water management. Upon his return to Switzerland, he coordinated the North-South National Centre of Competence in Research. Since 2018 he has chaired the Commission for Research Partnerships with Developing Countries (KFPE) of the Swiss Academy of Sciences.
Rochus Mommartz, CEO responsAbility Investments AG
Rochus Mommartz is CEO of responsAbility Investments AG, a leading asset manager in the field of development investments whose investment portfolio includes 540 companies across 90 emerging economies. Rochus Mommartz has 30 years of experience in financial sector development, banking and emerging market private debt and equity and has been a member of supervisory boards of financial institutions and funds for over 10 years. With an academic background in economy and mathematics, he designed the legal framework for the microfinance sector in 8 countries and worked as consultant to governments and regulators in over 40 emerging markets.
