​Plenary Panel on “Moving Beyond Foreign Assistance”

Plenary Panel on "Moving Beyond Foreign Assistance"
9:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.
 

This year's plenary session will be on "Moving Beyond Foreign Assistance," and the need for aid-recipient countries to become self-reliant. Self-reliance entails a capacity to plan, finance, and implement solutions to local development challenges. As countries gain greater self-reliance, they are able to chart their own development paths and navigate obstacles on them.

Featuring:

Mamadou Beye
Mamadou Marcel Blondin Beye is general manager of Policy, Government and Public Affairs for Chevron Africa and Latin America Exploration and Production Company, based in Houston, Texas, a position he assumed in January 2016. Beye joined Chevron in 1997 as a business analyst and has amassed nearly 20 years of progressive, diversified experience with Chevron encompassing Corporate Policy, Government Affairs, International Development and Business Development. He has also worked in Angola, South Africa and the United Kingdom, and has been instrumental on key company projects such as the West Africa Gas Pipeline and the Chad-Cameroon Pipeline. In Angola, Beye was Corporate Responsibility manager, where he played a lead role in the design, implementation and evaluation of the Angola Partnership Initiative. This initiative was recipient of USAID’s Global Development Alliance Partner of the Year award and runner-up of the U.S. Government Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence in 2006. Just before his current assignment, Beye was manager of International Affairs based in Washington, D.C., where he implemented the company’s Government Affairs strategy for Africa. In that role, he managed all Africa-related international policy and advocacy efforts with key public stakeholders and provided strategic guidance, advice and counsel in support of the company’s new business opportunities in Africa. Beye is a frequent speaker on African oil and gas, doing business in Africa, and corporate responsibility issues. He is chairman of the Niger Delta Partnership Initiative; has served on the board of directors of AFRICARE; has been chairman of the U.S.-Angola Chamber of Commerce; and has represented Chevron on the boards of the Corporate Council on Africa and the Africa-America Institute. He holds a bachelor of business administration degree from HEC Montreal and an MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. Born in Mali, Beye is fluent in Bambara, English, French and Portuguese.

 

Alexander de Croo
Alexander de Croo, Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium, is currently the Minister of Finance and of Development Cooperation. He was the political leader of the Liberal Democrats in Flanders (Belgium). Prior to that he worked as a strategy consultant at The Boston Consulting Group and founded his own company in the field of intellectual property rights. As Minister of Development Cooperation, he focuses on strengthening human rights and promoting local economic growth in Belgium’s partner countries. Alexander De Croo is a staunch promotor of women’s rights and organized the first She Decides-conference in Brussels (March, 2017). In 2018 he published his book “The Age of Women: How Feminism Also Liberates Men”, in which he explains how the disruptive challenges of the 21st century will require more than ever more gender equality in the workplace, and society as a whole. The book, originally written in Dutch, was translated in French and English, and presented in Brussels, Londen, Austin (TX), and will be presented in Washington DC on 10 April at American University. Alexander De Croo sits on the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Europe and was selected Young Global Leader in 2015. He graduated in Business Engineering and completed an MBA at the Kellogg School of Management (Northwestern University, Chicago, IL).

 

Stephanie von Friedeburg
As the Chief Operating Officer for IFC, Ms. Stephanie von Friedeburg leads all IFC investment operations and advisory services, delivering private sector capital and solutions to create jobs, positive development outcomes, and opportunities in the world’s poorest and most fragile countries. In addition to overseeing new business, she manages IFC’s $55 billion debt and equity portfolio across 104 offices. Ms. von Friedeburg began her World Bank Group career at IFC, spending more than two decades in IFC investment operations where she developed strong regional expertise in Africa and Central and Eastern Europe, as well as in numerous industry sectors, including telecom, media, general manufacturing, and technology. With extensive experience in business development, transaction execution, and portfolio management, Ms. von Friedeburg has helped deliver significant private sector impact in emerging markets, including the growth of mobile throughout the developing world and IFC’s first large financings in Russia and Eastern Europe in the post-Soviet era. She is Director Emeritus of the Board of the Bank Fund Staff Federal Credit Union. In addition to an MBA from the Wharton School, Ms. von Friedeburg holds a Master of Arts from the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania and an undergraduate degree from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

 

Ambassador Mike Froman
Mike Froman serves as vice chairman and president, Strategic Growth for Mastercard. In that role he is responsible for growing strategic partnerships, scaling new business opportunities, and advancing the company’s efforts to partner with governments and other institutions to address major societal and economic issues. He and his team drive financial inclusion and inclusive growth efforts and work to develop new businesses key to the company’s strategic growth. Mike oversees the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and is a member of the company’s management committee. Prior to joining Mastercard, Mike was affiliated with the Council on Foreign Relations and continues to serve as a distinguished fellow. In September, 2018, Mike joined the Board of Directors of The Walt Disney Company. From 2013 to 2017, Mike served as the U.S. Trade Representative, President Barack Obama’s principal advisor and negotiator on international trade and investment issues. During his tenure, Mike worked to open foreign markets for U.S. goods and services, reach landmark trade agreements and enforce the rights of American workers, farmers and firms. From 2009-2013, he served at the White House as assistant to the President and deputy national security advisor for international economic affairs. Prior to joining the Obama Administration, Mike held several executive positions at Citigroup, including CEO of its international insurance business, COO of its $50 billion alternative investments business and head of its infrastructure investment business. He helped shape the company’s strategy in China, India, Brazil and other emerging markets. Earlier in his career, during the Clinton Administration, he worked at the White House and the Treasury Department. Mike received a bachelor’s degree in public and international affairs from Princeton University, a doctorate in international relations from Oxford University, and a law degree from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.

 

Moderator: Daniel Runde
Daniel F. Runde is senior vice president, director of the Project on Prosperity and Development, and holds the William A. Schreyer Chair in Global Analysis at CSIS. His work centers on leveraging American soft power instruments and the central roles of the private sector and good governance in creating a more free and prosperous world. Previously, he led the Foundations Unit for the Department of Partnerships & Advisory Service Operations at the International Finance Corporation. His work facilitated and supported over $20 million in new funding through partnerships with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Kauffman Foundation, and Visa International, among other global private and corporate foundations. Earlier, Mr. Runde was director of the Office of Global Development Alliances at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). He led the initiative by providing training, networks, staff, funds, and advice to establish and strengthen alliances, while personally consulting to 15 USAID missions in Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. His efforts leveraged $4.8 billion through 100 direct alliances and 300 others through training and technical assistance. Mr. Runde began his career in financial services at Alex. Brown & Sons, Inc., in Baltimore and worked for both CitiBank and BankBoston in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He received an M.P.P. from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and holds a B.A., cum laude, from Dartmouth College.