Former Director of OperationsWorld Bank
WORDE Specialist Ziad Alahdad’s areas of expertise include international development, energy policy and management, Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, Turkey, Central Asia, East Africa, Nigeria, and Pakistan. He is proficient in English and Urdu; French (intermediate); Turkish and Russian (basic). He has received advanced degrees in engineering (Shell Scholar, University of Technology, Loughborough, UK), and management (Executive Education, Harvard Business School). He underwent an R&D apprenticeship at Rolls-Royce Aero-Engine Division, UK. He is a Chartered Engineer (UK).
BIOGRAPHY
Ziad Alahdad has over 38 years of work experience; the last 25 with the World Bank. Prior to the Bank, he worked in private and public sectors. His private sector experience, in natural gas transmission and refining, included operations management and engineering design. In the public sector, he engaged in production engineering, project management and general management – serving as the General Manager, CEO, and Board Member of a large corporation in Pakistan.
Mr. Alahdad has served the World Bank in a number of capacities: as an energy specialist, in-country and program management, and in senior management. He was the Task Manager for the World Bank on a large number of energy operations, the most significant of which were: (i) the $1.1 billion Russia Oil Rehabilitation Project, the largest ever investment operation of the Bank and its first in Russia: and (ii) the $1 billion Oso Condensate Project for Nigeria, which produced and exported over 100,000 barrels of oil per day.
He has also established, managed, and coordinated various programs for the World Bank including: the global Energy Sector Management Assistance Program; a regional energy network in Central and Eastern Europe which laid the foundations for extensive energy investment in the region; and the Bank’s energy program for Central Asia.
He has worked as World Bank advisor on energy in South Asia and Africa, as Deputy Chief of the World Bank’s Regional Mission in Central Asia, and Chief of the Bank’s Field Offices in Turkey and Romania. In Turkey he managed the turnaround of one of the Bank’s largest country portfolios (US$3.5 billion). In Romania, he helped the country reverse its economic decline thereby securing its path to European integration.
As Director of Operations, in addition to managing the implementation of the World Bank Institute’s significantly expanded strategy, he was a member of two of the World Bank’s top management committees: the Operations Committee and Operations Policy Committee. After retirement in 2006, he continued his work with the World Bank as a consultant advisor to senior management.
Ziad Alahdad is a board member of the Institute of Public Policy in Pakistan, which he helped establish; a founder member of the Pakistan-American Foundation; and a sponsor of the Pakistan Studies Program of the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC. He also moderates and chairs conferences at a number of think tanks in Washington DC.
Mr. Alahdad has authored several professional and technical publications and represented the World Bank in many international events. During his four years working in Eastern Europe, he made over 200 public speeches and media appearances.
His educational qualifications consist of advanced degrees in: engineering (Shell Scholar, University of Technology, Loughborough, UK), and management (Executive Education, Harvard Business School). He underwent an R&D apprenticeship at Rolls-Royce Aero-Engine Division, UK. He is a Chartered Engineer (UK). His professional affiliations include Membership of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (UK) and Chartered Management Institute (UK). Language skills: English and Urdu (proficient); French (intermediate); Turkish and Russian (basic).
MONOGRAPHS
“Pakistan Energy Sector: From Crisis to Crisis-Breaking the Chain” (published by PIDE, and available for purchase in Pakistan)
ARTICLES
“Countering Violent Extremism,” in “A Multi-Disciplinary White Paper in Support of Counter-Terrorism and Counter-WMD. Published by the US Department of Defense, September 2011 (Read Ziad Alahdad’s contribution on p. 94)
“Countering Violent Extremism: Shifting the Emphasis towards the Development Paradigm.”
The Significance of Ramadan and the Importance of Religious Dialogue (Speech given at Rumi Forum)
BOOKS
“Turning Energy Around” in Pakistan: Beyond the Crisis State, edited by Dr. Maleeha Lohdhi, C. Hurst (UK), Columbia University Press (US), Oxford University Press (Pakistan) and Penguin (India); April 2011.
“Pakistan’s Energy Sector: The Way Forward” in Pakistan’s Economy: Edging Toward and Abyss or Pulling Back? Co-authors: Shahid Javed Burki, Pervez Hasan, and General Jehangir Karamat, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; forthcoming 2011.
Ziad Alahdad is also currently working on two books about Romania and his efforts to reverse the country’s economic decline.