Grand Opening – Western Hemisphere

Matthew A. McMillan is an accomplished international political & public affairs consultant that has worked in 30 regions, countries and territories around the world. He has won dozens of political consulting awards, has organized large-scale events and has advised Heads of State, Opposition Leaders, Governors, major political parties and well known corporate brands around the world.

In the Caribbean, Mr. McMillan has worked on high profile political, corporate and public affairs campaigns in Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago and the Turks & Caicos Islands.

Mr. McMillan holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and history from Columbia University. He is based in Washington, DC.

Sessions: Grand Opening - Western Hemisphere | Democracy in the Islands: Political, Issue & Public Affairs Campaigns.

Anil Srivastava, chief executive officer of Leclanché, is a highly successful and experienced executive with a strong track record of building global businesses. His quarter-century experience spans the clean energy, digital technology and telecommunications markets.

He joined Leclanché in June 2014 and has engineered a turnaround of the 100-plus year-old battery manufacturer into a top tier provider of energy storage solutions serving the utilities and mobility/transportation industries.

Previously, Srivastava served as executive partner of Climate Holdings for two years. Prior to that, he was chief executive of Areva Renewables and a member of the Areva Group’s executive committee from January 2009 to December 2011.

For three years, he was the chief executive of a large offshore wind business in Germany. Earlier positions include senior roles in TomTom group, Alcatel-Lucent and AVAYA.

He obtained a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, India, and graduated with an Executive MBA from the Wharton School of Business in the United States.

Srivastava is married to his wife and friend of 30 years, Jean Gonsalves, and reside near Lausanne, Switzerland. They have two young adult sons.

Session: Grand Opening - Western Hemisphere.

Dr. The Honourable Ralph Everard Gonsalves, Political Leader of the Unity Labour Party (ULP), was appointed by His Excellency the Governor-General to the Office of Leader of the Opposition with effect from October 1, 1999. Dr. Gonsalves succeeded the distinguished statesman, the Honourable Vincent Ian Beache, who voluntarily demitted that Office. On December 6, 1998, Dr. Gonsalves was elected Political Leader of the ULP in succession, to Mr. Beache. He is now into his third term as Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, his Unity Labour Party (ULP) having successfully contested the General Elections of 2001, 2005 and 2010.

Session: Grand Opening - Western Hemisphere.

Dr. Hon. Mohamed Irfaan Ali is a Guyanese politician, sitting Member of Parliament and a former Minister of Housing in Guyana. Ali was elected Presidential Candidate for the People's Progressive Party on January 19, 2019.

EARLY LIFE & EDUCATION
Ali was born in Leonora, a village in the West Coast Demarara region of Guyana. The child of two educators and one of two sons, Ali also spent much of his formative years on the island of Leguan. He is a past student of the Leonora Nursery and Primary schools and Cornelia Ida Primary. Ali completed his secondary education at St. Stanislaus College in Georgetown, Guyana. He holds a doctorate in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of the West Indies.

PROFESSIONAL CAREER
Ali served as Project Manager of the Caribbean Development Bank's Project Implementation Unit in the Ministry of Finance and Senior Planner in the State Planning Secretariat.

POLITICAL CAREER
Ali became a member of the National Assembly of Guyana in 2006. He was subsequently appointed to the portfolios of Minister of Housing and Water and Minister of Tourism Industry and Commerce.

During his tenure as Minister, Ali performed the functions of President and Prime Minister on separate occasions. In 2015, the People's Progressive Party (PPP/C) went into opposition during which time he served as chair of the Public Accounts Committee and co-chair the Economic Services Committee of the Parliament of Guyana.

Session: Grand Opening - Western Hemisphere.

Ms. Fekitamoeloa Katoa ‘Utoikamanu is the Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States. She assumed her role in May 2017.

Ms. ‘Utoikamanu is responsible for monitoring and following up on the implementation of all three Programmes of Action under the purview of UN-OHRLLS. She is also called on to advocate for the issues and concerns of these vulnerable countries as well as to ensure their integration into and coherence with global processes, including those related to the 2030 Agenda and other global development frameworks. Ms. ‘Utoikamanu also coordinates advocacy work related to the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in forums and platforms outside the United Nations.

Prior to joining the United Nations, Ms. ‘Utoikamanu was Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Tourism, Tonga; Acting Pro-Chancellor and Chair of the Council of the University of the South Pacific (2015); Deputy Pro-Chancellor and Deputy Chair of the Council of the University of the South Pacific (2009-2016); Deputy Director General and Director of Education, Training and Human Development of the Secretariat of Pacific Community (2009-2015); Permanent Representative and Ambassador of the Government of Tonga to the United Nations, United States of America, Cuba and Venezuela and High Commissioner to Canada (2005-2009); and Secretary for Foreign Affairs and European Commission’s National Authorizing Officer for Tonga (2002-2005).

A Tongan national, Ms. ‘Utoikamanu speaks Tongan and English. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Economics (1980) and a Masters in Commerce in Economics (1983) from the University of Auckland in New Zealand.

In her current capacity as Director, she has represented the CARICOM Secretariat at various fora and currently overseers the Environment/Sustainable Programme.