MASATO KANDA 
President
Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Masato Kanda is the President of ADB and the Chairperson of ADB’s Board of Directors. He was elected President by ADB’s Board of Governors and assumed office on 24 February 2025. Prior to joining ADB, President Kanda served as Special Advisor to Japan’s Prime Minister and Minister of Finance. With nearly four decades of experience, President Kanda has held key leadership roles at the Ministry of Finance of Japan, including Vice-Minister of Finance for International Affairs. He has been actively engaged in the G7, G20, and other international forums, addressing key policy challenges such as multilateral development bank evolution, pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, and debt sustainability and transparency. During his tenure as Vice-Minister of Finance for International Affairs, Japan made a record contribution of more than $1 billion to the Asian Development Fund 13th replenishment (ADF 14). Since 2016, President Kanda has served as Chair of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Corporate Governance Committee, overseeing the review of the G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance in 2023. President Kanda obtained his Bachelor of Laws from the University of Tokyo in 1987, and MPhil in economics from Oxford University in 1991. 

INDERMIT GILL 
Chief Economist and Senior Vice President for Development Economics
The World Bank Group 

Before starting this position in 2022, Gill served as the World Bank’s Vice President for Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions, where he helped shape the Bank’s response to the extraordinary series of shocks that have hit developing economies since 2020. Between 2016 and 2021, he was a professor of public policy at Duke University and a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Global Economy and Development program. Gill led the World Bank’s influential 2009 World Development Report on economic geography. He has published extensively on key policy issues facing developing countries. Gill has also taught at Georgetown University and the University of Chicago. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of Chicago.

TARIQ NIAZI 
Senior Director
Public Sector Management and Governance Sector Office
Sectors Department 3 (SD3-PSMG), ADB 

Tariq Niazi leads a team of over 80 professionals. He has been entrusted with the implementation of ADB’s New Operating Model and mainstreaming climate resilience and private sector development in PSMG. He has 30 years of professional experience, including 15 years in ADB. He has worked in various capacities in Southeast, East, and Central and West departments of ADB, and more recently as Director of Public Management, Financial Sector, and Trade Division in the Central and West Asia Department. He has worked in over 30 countries across Asia and Eastern Europe. He worked as a Public Sector Specialist in the East Asia Region’s Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Unit at the World Bank in Washington, DC. He holds a post-graduate and master’s degrees in public policy from Harvard University and economics from Columbia University in the United States. 

RUUD DE MOOIJ
Deputy Director
Fiscal Affairs Department
International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Ruud De Mooij has extensive experience in providing capacity development on tax policy issues in over 25 countries. Before joining the IMF, De Mooij was professor of public economics at Erasmus University in Rotterdam. He has published extensively on tax issues, including in the American Economic Review and the Journal of Public Economics. He is a research fellow at the University of Oxford, the University of Bergen, ZEW in Mannheim, and a member of the CESifo network in Munich. 

MODERATOR:

ÇIĞDEM AKIN
Director
SD3-PSMG, ADB

Çiğdem Akın has worked on a variety of areas ranging from public resource management and fiscal policy; SOE reforms; ICT applications in public finance and financial inclusion; decentralization and local governance; financial sector development; and micro, small, and medium enterprises development. Prior to ADB, she was teaching economics at George Washington University as a lecturer and at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies as an assistant professor. She was a researcher at the IMF and at the ADB Institute in Japan. She holds a PhD in economics from the George Washington University in the United States and MA in international development from the International University of Japan as a Monbusho scholar. She also holds a dual BA degree in international relations and political science, and sociology from Boğaziçi University in Türkiye.

JANET STOTSKY
ADB Research Consultant  

Janet Stotsky is a retired senior staff of the IMF where she led its macroeconomic program negotiating missions and technical assistance work on fiscal topics. She led the IMF’s first work on gender budgeting and prepared an ADB guide on the topic. She previously taught at Rutgers and American Universities and worked in the Office of Tax Policy at the U.S. Treasury. She is widely published and has received her PhD in economics from Stanford University.

MARIA HANNA CONCEPCION JABER
ADB Research Consultant  

Maria Hanna specializes in public finance and tax policy. Her work also explores urban development, innovation, and issues affecting women and children. 

MAX KETTLEY
Project Lead
Complex Individuals and Controlling Minds, RIS Offshore
His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC)

Max Kettley has worked with HMRC for four years and specializes in offshore tax compliance. He began as a data analyst identifying specific offshore risks posed by individuals to the United Kingdom tax system, as well as developing algorithms to ingest complex data. He is now a project lead, utilizing the Common Reporting Standards and Mandatory Disclosure Rules for individual-based compliance. He led groups of analysts, tax specialists, policy experts, and compliance caseworkers to ensure projects delivered value for money and challenged tax avoidance and evasion. 

NEESHA BAGA 
Compliance Project Support Officer
Complex Individuals and Controlling Minds, RIS Offshore
HMRC

Neesha Bagla is a dedicated civil servant with two decades of public service experience. Her HMRC tenure spans eight years, progressing from caseworker to her current leadership role. Prior to HMRC, she contributed to the Child Support Agency's Legal Enforcement department, gaining expertise in policy and legislation application. She holds a BA (Honors) in tourism and business management, where her interest in international business practices was cultivated. Throughout her career, she has remained committed to delivering efficient, effective services that make a meaningful difference to citizens and businesses alike.

YANSHENG ZHU
Professor
Law School, Xiamen University

Yansheng Zhu also serves as the Associate Director of the Centre for International Tax Law and Comparative Taxation and the Director of the China-OECD LLM Programme on Taxation in Xiamen University. He was a Fulbright Scholar at Georgetown University Law Centre (2011−2012). He is a member of the Standing Council of the People’s Republic of China’s Society of Fiscal Law and a member of the International Taxation Research Institute. His academic research focuses on international tax law, Chinese tax law, and company law. 

MODERATOR:

KEIKO NOWACKA
Principal Social Development Specialist (Gender and Development)
Gender and Equity Division, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Department, ADB

Keiko Nowacka focuses on women’s entrepreneurship and promoting the ADB’s gender mainstreaming mandate, including the gender transformative agenda in line with Strategy 2030’s Operational Priority 2. Prior to joining ADB, she led the gender program at the OECD’s Development Centre. She has also held positions at UNESCO, where she led the first Global Report on gender and culture (2014) and focused on gender mainstreaming in the cultural and creative industries. She has also worked as an Operations Manager at Camfed, an NGO supporting secondary girls’ education in sub-Saharan Africa. She has a PhD from the University of Cambridge and is a graduate from the University of Sydney.

MAZHAR WASEEM
Professor, Social Sciences
Economics Department
University of Manchester

Mazhar Waseem’s research focuses on public finance issues of emerging economies, especially on the behavior of economic agents to tax and transfer policies. He holds a PhD in economics from the London School of Economics. He is a Research Associate at the Institute of Fiscal Studies, Research Affiliate at the Centre of Economic Policy Research and a Research Network Fellow of CESifo. Before beginning his PhD, he worked for Pakistan’s revenue authority for more than 10 years. 

ULMAS JURAEV
Chief Specialist, Customs Policy and Revenue Forecasting
Department of Tax
Ministry of Economy and Finance, Uzbekistan

Ulmas Juraev has played a key role in shaping national fiscal and tax policies through close collaboration with international partners on initiatives such as tax reform, carbon taxation, tax expenditure analysis, and revenue forecasting. His professional focus lies in enhancing tax policy effectiveness, assisting the management with data-driven evidence-based policy analysis, and integrating international best practices into Uzbekistan’s fiscal framework. With a strong background in economics and finance, he is dedicated to advancing data-driven, modern, and transparent approaches to tax policymaking. 

ARSENA TEVDORASHVILI 
Deputy Head, Analytical Department
Revenue Service
Ministry of Finance, Georgia

Arsena Tevdorashvili has been with the Georgia Revenue Service for over 10 years. He holds a master's degree in business administration from David Aghmashenebeli University of Georgia.  He is a professional accountant and a member of two professional associations: the Georgian Federation of Professional Accountants, Auditors and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. He also gives lectures in the fields of finance, tax, and audit. 

WILLIAM DAY
Deputy Commissioner 
Policy Analysis and Legislation
Australian Taxation Office (ATO)

With over 25 years of experience in ATO, William Day leads the ATO’s contribution to the policy and law design of the systems the Commissioner of Taxation is responsible for administering. Prior to this role, he focused on helping small business owners get things right from the start by making it easier to comply with their tax and superannuation obligations, as well as helping to improve overall business literacy and skills through education. He has held previous senior roles focused on improving the quality of the ATO’s technical public advice and guidance, as well as roles supporting the integrity of the tax and superannuation systems. 

MODERATOR:

RACHANA SHRESTHA 
Senior Public Sector Specialist
SD3-PSMG, ADB

Rachana Shrestha provides policy advisory and technical assistance, including knowledge solutions in the areas of governance, public financial management, decentralization, institutional development, industry and trade, and localization of sustainable development goals in ADB’s developing member countries. Prior to working in ADB, she worked with the Netherlands Development Organization, the International Labor Organization, and Voluntary Service Overseas. She was a Fulbright Scholar and obtained her master’s degree in international development policy from Duke University in the United States, and a postgraduate in development management from the Open University in the United Kingdom. 

IRMA JOHANNA MOSQUERA VALDERRAMA 
Professor, Tax Governance
Law School, Leiden University 

Irma Mosquera is also the European Union (EU) Jean Monnet Chair Holder on the topic EU Tax Governance, and Lead Researcher of the European Research Council Funded Project that investigates Global Tax Governance. She received her PhD (cum laude) in 2007 in the Netherlands. Before joining Leiden, she was working as a tax adviser (PwC, Hamelink & Van den Tooren), lecturer (University of Utrecht, Erasmus University, the Hague University of Applied Sciences), and postdoctoral researcher (International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation, the Netherlands). 

YOGENDRA GARG 
Special Secretary and Member
Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs
Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, India

Yogendra Garg started his career in Ratnagiri in 1992 in an Anti-Smuggling formation and has held many positions in the last 33 years. He is currently a Member of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs looking after IT operations of indirect taxes in India besides Taxpayer Services, New Technologies. He is administrative in-charge of field formations in Western India (Maharashtra and Gujarat). He has spent long years in policy formulation in the Department of Commerce (SEZ Policy and Market Access Schemes) and in the Department of Revenue (GST Policy). He was conferred with the Presidential Award for Meritorious Service on Republic Day 2018. 

JÉRÉMY DUBOIS
Tax Attaché (Singapore)
Public Finances Directorate General (DGFiP), France 

As a senior manager and tax expert within the DGFiP, Jérémy Dubois possesses an extensive experience of national or international tax issues. He has worked as competent authority in the field of international cooperation in tax matters within the Eurofisc network, and later, as a national competent authority for simultaneous tax examination and tax examination abroad. As a regional tax attaché in Singapore, he represents the DGFiP to enhance cooperation between tax administrations.  

AGUSTIN MIGUEZ PEREZ 
Policy Officer
European Commission 

Agustin Miguez has 30 years of experience in the tax field. He is currently working in the Value Added Tax (VAT) policy unit of the European Commission, where he is the team leader of the digital reporting requirements and electronic invoicing in the VAT in the Digital Age Initiative. He has contributed extensively to the work of the VAT Committee, helping to clarify the interpretation of the rules in the VAT Directive. Before joining the European Commission, he worked for 15 years in the Spanish Tax Administration, where he was entrusted with important responsibilities such as the direction and investigation office the province of Seville. 

MODERATOR:

SUNITA BAINSLA  
Former Principal Director General
Income Tax Department
Ministry of Finance, India

Sunita Bainsla is a former Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax) officer with 36 years of service. She superannuated from the post of Principal Director General of Income Tax (Intelligence and Criminal Investigation). Her portfolio spans investigation, assessment, quasi-judicial functions, appeals, administration, and litigation management. She conceived and implemented the API based online National Judicial Reference System, India’s live database of income tax litigation, and issued Settled View Circulars. She led data-driven initiatives to widen and deepen the tax base and notably launched the E-Verification Scheme in 2021. Since 2012, she has been actively working with an NGO dedicated to rural youth upliftment and women’s empowerment. She has also authored a book promoting social reform. 

HOLGER BÄR
Head of Public Finance
Green Budget Germany

Holger Bär, M.A., is a Senior Researcher and Head of Public Finance at the Fiscal Policy ThinkTank Green Budget Germany (Forum Ökologisch-Soziale Marktwirtschaft), specializing in green fiscal policy and sustainable public finance. He has advised the German Government, as well as the European Commission, the United Nations Environment Programme, and the German Agency for International Cooperation for more than a decade. His work focuses on integrating environmental and fiscal policy, designing green taxes, and reforming environmentally harmful subsidies. Holger has contributed to studies on green fiscal reforms in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, supporting the transition to sustainable and inclusive economies through sound fiscal policy. 

RENATO RESIDE, JR. 
Undersecretary
Tax Research and Expenditure Monitoring
Department of Finance (DOF), Philippines

Renato Reside, Jr. oversees the National Tax Research Center. Prior to becoming the Undersecretary, he was teaching economics at the University of the Philippines. As an academician, he was frequently involved as a consultant and as a writer-researcher in many matters related to the DOF’s legislative concerns like the TRAIN Law, CREATE Law, TIMTA, and other acts giving rise to tax expenditures. He has been commissioned extensively by the government and by multilateral and bilateral agencies like the World Bank, ADB, and JICA to work and write papers on taxes, pensions, and other public finance and economics issues. He obtained his PhD in economics in 1996 from Fordham University and his AB in management economics in 1988 from the Ateneo de Manila University.

SHIVA SHARMA  
Director
Policy Analysis and Management Division
Inland Revenue Department, Ministry of Finance, Nepal

Shiva Sharma has over 20 years of experience in public finance management under the Ministry of Finance, Nepal. He is responsible for the formulation and implementation of Revenue Policy at the Inland Revenue Department. He holds a master’s degree in taxation policy and management from Keio University, Tokyo. He has a keen interest in the field of international taxation.

PRIMULA MAOKENI KINGMELE  
Director
Economic Reform Unit
Ministry of Finance and Treasury, Solomon Islands

With a master's degree in public policy and a foundational background in economics, Primula Maokeni Kingmele brings over a decade of specialized experience to her leadership role. For the past 10 years, she has been a key figure in the Economic Reform Unit, where she developed deep expertise in designing and implementing critical policy reforms. Her work has spanned a diverse portfolio, including macroeconomic modelling, tax policy reforms, and the reform of SOEs. She now leads the Economics Division, leveraging her extensive hands-on experience to guide evidence-based policy analysis and drive strategic economic initiatives of the Government of Solomon Islands.

MODERATOR:

NAEEDA CRISHNA MORGADO  
Principal Infrastructure Specialist
Green Finance Hub Unit, Southeast Asia Department, ADB

Naeeda Crishna Morgado works on advancing climate finance, green infrastructure, and regional cooperation. She coordinates ADB’s support to the Philippine government on Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) initiatives, particularly the 2026 chairship. Previously, she served as regional focal for climate operations in Southeast Asia and helped establish the ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility, mobilizing over $500 million in concessional funds. 

MA. TERESA HABITAN
Vice Chancellor
Local Government Finance Institute
Philippine Tax Academy

Ma. Teresa Habitan retired in October 2021 as Assistant Secretary at the DOF where her work of 44 years covered fiscal policy and planning initiatives, focusing on tax reforms and fiscal programming. She holds a master’s in development studies from the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, The Netherlands. From April 2001 to January 2003, she was seconded to the constituency office of the Philippines at the World Bank working first as an Executive Director’s Assistant and then as Alternative Executive Director. 

SIVAY VILAIHAN
Director of Division
International Tax Cooperation Division, Tax Department
Ministry of Finance, Lao People’s Democratic Republic

Sivay Vilaihan has over 22 years of experience in the Ministry of Finance, specializing in tax policy, fiscal management, and international tax cooperation. He holds a master’s degree in economics from the International University of Japan (2013) and a bachelor’s degree in law (2001) from the National University of Laos. He also completed advanced studies in business administration in Australia (2008). Throughout his career, he has played a key role in drafting and revising major fiscal and tax legislation, including the State Budget Law, VAT Law, Income Tax Law, Excise Tax Law, and Tax Administration Law. He has also represented Laos in negotiations of double taxation agreements with other countries and chaired the ASEAN Sub-Forum on Excise Tax hosted in Lao PDR in 2024.

PIYA HANVORAVONGCHAI 
Associate Professor
Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health
National University of Singapore

Piya Hanvoravongchai is a public health physician and expert in health policy and systems and a senior consultant at CMB Foundation. He began his career as a clinician and hospital director in rural Thailand before transitioning into research and policy. He recently served as Secretary-General of the National Health Foundation in Thailand. He has held academic positions as a lecturer in health policy at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and at the Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University. He was a founding Co-Director of the Equity Initiative, a regional leadership program supporting emerging leaders from the ASEAN countries and People's Republic of China, and the first Coordinator of the Asia-Pacific Action Alliance on Human Resources for Health. 

MODERATOR:

EMIKO MASAKI
Principal Health Specialist
Human and Social Development Sector Office, SD3, ADB 

Emiko Masaki has nearly 20 years of experience in program development, implementation, policy advisory, and regional cooperation in the health and social sectors in Asia. She leads ADB’s engagement on nutrition, healthy ageing, and long-term care from the Human and Social Development Department Office. Before joining ADB, she served as a Senior Economist at the World Bank, where she was engaged in lending operations and analytical work, including health taxes across multiple regions in Africa, Asia and the Pacific. She holds a PhD and a master’s degree in the field of health economics and demography from the University of California, Berkeley. 

SHAMSHAD AKHTAR
Former Finance Minister of Pakistan

Shamshad Akhtar served twice as the Federal Finance Minister of Pakistan (2018 and 2023−2024), holding multiple economic portfolios in the caretaker governments. She served as the Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan. At the global level, she served as the Under-Secretary General of UNESCAP and prior to that, as the UN Secretary General’s Senior Special Advisor on Economics and Finance/UN DESA and UN Secretary General’s G20 Sherpa for the Development track, while pursuing Finance and Central Bank tracks. She served as the Vice President, Middle East and North Africa at the World Bank, the Director General of ADB, and the Special Senior Advisor to the President of ADB. She has a PhD from the University of Sussex and completed a post doctorate (Fulbright) from Harvard University. In 2024, she was awarded the Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Highest Civil Award of Pakistan). She is a recipient of Asia’s Best Central Bank Governor from Emerging Markets and the Banker’s Trust. She is now serving as the chairperson of few boards in Pakistan. 

HAKIM HAMADI
Acting Head of the Capacity Building and Outreach Division
Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information (EOI) for Tax Purposes

Hakim Hamadi oversees the design and delivery of comprehensive capacity-building programs aimed at helping jurisdictions implement and benefit from international standards on transparency and EOI for tax purposes. He also spearheads the Global Forum’s regional initiatives across Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Pacific, and leads the regional dialogue with Caribbean jurisdictions. He joined the Global Forum Secretariat in 2015 as a tax policy advisor. Prior to that, he served as a senior tax advisor at the French Ministry of Finance from 2013 to 2015. He holds a PhD in private law and criminal sciences from the University of Sud Toulon Var. 

RUUD DE MOOIJ
Deputy Director
Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF

CHENG JONG PANG
Deputy Director
International Tax and Relations Division, EOI Branch
Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore

Cheng Jong oversees the administration of Automatic Exchange of Information. He leads a team that reviews its policy and ensures that systems and processes are in place to meet Singapore’s international obligations and have been heavily involved since the inception of Singapore’s Common Reporting Standards commitment. He is also Singapore’s representative to various OECD bodies such as the Working Party 10. 

SAMUEL LOI
Commissioner of Tax
Internal Revenue Commission (IRC), Papua New Guinea

With over 23 years of distinguished service in the IRC, Samuel Loi has held numerous senior roles, consistently advancing the nation’s tax administration framework. He is widely recognized as the IRC’s lead resource person on international taxation matters, having represented Papua New Guinea at various high-level forums, conferences, and workshops both domestically and abroad. He holds a master’s degree in international management from the International Management Institute in India, and a bachelor of commerce from the University of Papua New Guinea. 

MEKAR SATRIA UTAMA 
Director of International Taxation
Directorate of International Taxation
Directorate General of Taxes, Ministry of Finance, Indonesia

Prior to his current appointment, Mekar Satria Utama served as an Advisor to the Director General for Human Resources Development and Management Affairs since 2011. He became the Head of the Kalimantan Selatan and Tengah Regional Tax Office in 2012, and later as the Director of Tax Dissemination, Service, and Public Relations in 2015. In 2016, he was appointed as the Head of the Large Taxpayers Regional Tax Office. He earned his Bachelor of Economics from Padjadjaran University in Bandung in 1993, followed by a Master of Professional Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin in 1999. He obtained a Doctorate in Administrative Science from Brawijaya University. He was honored as the Tax Official of the Year at the Asia Pacific Award by the International Tax Review in 2022. 

ANURAG SHARMA
Commissioner of Income Tax (Investigation)
Department of Revenue
Ministry of Finance, India

Anurag Sharma is a member of the Indian Revenue Service and has given services within and outside the Department of Income Tax. In the last 20 years, he has worked in the field of tax assessments, tax evasion investigations, transfer pricing, advanced pricing agreements, negotiations of trade agreements, development and enhancement of border trade infrastructure, and policy formulation in relation to investigations, among others. As part of tax evasion investigation, extensive use of EOI has been made. Currently, he has engaged in the analysis of available data for identifying tax evasion practices and the formulation of policy for plugging such gaps. He was also engaged in the codification of new Income Tax Act 2025 and is currently involved in the development and modification of associated rules and compliance forms. 

MODERATOR:

SATHI MEYER-NANDI 
Tax Integrity Specialist 
SD3-PSMG and Office of Anticorruption and Integrity, ADB 

Sathi Meyer-Nandi is an international tax specialist with 13 years’ experience. Before joining ADB as the international tax specialist at the Office of Anticorruption and Integrity, she worked in various capacities on international tax issues. After receiving her LL.M in international financial law at the Kings College London in 2012, she worked for five years in private practice in Switzerland, as legal counsel of a bank, and as an international tax advisor at a Big Four. After leaving private practice, she worked as a technical advisor on international tax for the Swiss as well as the German Development Cooperation on the topics of tax treaties, Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, and the taxation of the digitalized economy. Prior to joining ADB, she worked as a tax policy advisor for the Global Forum on Transparency and EOI. 

MANAL CORWIN
Director
Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, OECD

Prior to her role at the OECD, Manal Corwin was principal-in-charge of KPMG’s Washington National Tax Practice and America’s Regional Tax Policy Leader; a member of the KPMG Board of Directors and Lead Director. During her time at the US Treasury Department, she served as International Tax Counsel in the Office of Tax Policy and as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Tax Affairs. She has also served as the United States delegate and Vice Chair to the OECD’s Committee on Fiscal Affairs and was actively engaged in the origination and development of the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting initiative. She also served as the US delegate to the Global Forum on Transparency and EOI for Tax Purposes. Manal has a bachelor of arts (cum laude) from Harvard University and a juris doctor (magna cum laude) from Boston University School of Law. 

RUUD DE MOOIJ
Deputy Director
Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF

SAMUEL LOI
Commissioner of Tax
Internal Revenue Commission (IRC), Papua New Guinea

PANDE PUTU OKA KUSUMAWARDANI
Director of Taxation Strategy
Directorate of Taxation Strategy
Directorate General of Economic and Fiscal StrategyMinistry of Finance, Indonesia

Pande Putu Oka Kusumawardani earned her bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Indonesia where she also obtained a master of finance in 2004. In 2009, she completed a master of public policy from Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo, Japan. She previously served as Head of the Center for State Revenue Policy (2024), Head of the Policy Analysis Program Division (2019–2020), and Deputy Director for International Taxation (2017–2019). Earlier in her career, she also held positions as Head of the International Tax Policy Division and worked at the Directorate General of Taxes.

MODERATOR:

SATHI MEYER-NANDI 
Tax Integrity Specialist 
SD3-PSMG and Office of Anticorruption and Integrity, ADB 

AGUSTIN REDONDA
Senior Fellow
Fiscal Policy Program, Council on Economic Policies (CEP)

Agustin Redonda is a Senior Fellow with the CEP where he focuses on fiscal policy, with a strong focus on tax expenditures and tax incentives. He is the founder and co-director of the Tax Expenditures Lab, which hosts the Global Tax Expenditures Database and the Global Tax Expenditures Transparency Index. Before joining CEP, he worked with the OECD and the Ministry of Labour in Argentina. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of Lugano in Switzerland, is a trained Tax Administration Diagnostic Assessment Tool Assessor and has worked as a consultant for different governments and international organizations.

 

ALLAN PARTINGTON
ADB Consultant

Allan Partington is an economist with a focus on tax and domestic resource mobilization. He is a Director with the Australian Tax Office (ATO) leading teams in its Tax Gap program. He also provides independent consulting services to various organizations including ADB, focusing on tax gap analysis, tax expenditures and tax capacity.

IQTIARUDDIN MD MAMUN
Commissioner of Taxes
Internal Resources Division
Income Tax Department, Ministry of Finance, Bangladesh

Iqtiaruddin Md. Mamun works at the Large Taxpayers Unit, National Board of Revenue. Prior to his current assignment, Mamun served as the First Secretary (Tax Policy) of the National Board of Revenue, and Additional Commissioner of Taxes, Large Taxpayers Unit in Dhaka. Mamun earned a PhD in economics from Monash University in Australia. He is a Fellow Cost and Management Accountants, ICMAB. He holds a master of public finance from the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo, Japan, a master of business administration from the Institute of Business Administration from Dhaka University, and a bachelor of science in Mechanical Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology. He has written several articles published in peer-reviewed journals.         

ARDSHER SALEEM TARIQ
Member (Reforms and Modernization)
Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Pakistan

Ardsher Saleem Tariq currently heads the Reforms and Modernization wing of the FBR. He oversees the reforms agenda with the help of international donors to achieve the goal of transforming FBR into an efficient, effective, transparent, and modern tax administration. He has an MBA from Warwick Business School in the United Kingdom. For over 30 years, he has served in the FBR where he works intensively on improving IT systems and works with international donors on projects in FBR. 

MODERATOR:

FARZANA NOSHAB
Lead Economics Officer
SD3-PSMG, ADB

With extensive experience in public sector management, Farzana Noshab has processed the design and implementation of policy-based operations across trade and export competitiveness, revenue mobilization, SOEs, and climate resilience, contributing to policy and institutional reforms. She has authored various ADB knowledge products, including for the biennial Asian Development Outlook. She holds a Master of Science in development economics from the University of Manchester and is a Chevening Scholar.

    

RICHARD HIGHFIELD
ADB Consultant

Richard Highfield is a consultant in tax system design and administration and holds a bachelor of commerce degree from the University of New South Wales. His professional career includes 12 years (2003−2015) as a division head/senior advisor with the OECD in Paris; five years (1997−2003) as a senior advisor with the IMF in Washington, D.C., USA and Moscow, Russia; and over 25 years with the ATO where he was a Second Commissioner of Taxation (1993−1997). He has served as a member of an expert advisory panel guiding the ATO’s tax gap research program since 2014 to the present time. Since 2016, Richard’s work has included assignments with the World Bank and ADB, and research projects with the University of New South Wales. 

  

KAZUHIKO TAKEDA 
Deputy Commissioner for International Affairs
National Tax Agency (NTA) of Japan

Kazuhiko Takeda also serves as the Chair of OECD Task Force on Tax Crime and other Financial Crimes. With over 30 years of professional experience, he has held senior positions in tax policy and administration, such as Director for Treaties and International Affairs, Tax Bureau of the Ministry of Finance (2011), Regional Commissioner of the Sendai Regional Taxation Bureau (2020), and Deputy Commissioner (Large Enterprise and Criminal Investigation) of NTA of Japan (2022). In addition to this role, he has actively engaged in international tax crime as the Chair of the task force. He holds a master’s degree in science (economics) from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor of economics from the University of Tokyo.

  

NATHAWAT ATUKYOTHIN

Tax Economist – Senior Professional
Tax Collection Standard Division
Revenue Department of Thailand, Ministry of Finance

Nathawat Atukyothin currently serves as Senior Professional Officer and Head of the International Tax Operation Section at Thailand’s Revenue Department, where he plays a key role in managing global tax cooperation and compliance initiatives. Over the course of his career, he has led the Mutual Agreement Procedure and EOI sections, facilitating international tax dispute resolution and cross-border information exchange. He holds a master of laws in taxation from the University of Washington (USA), a bachelor of laws from Ramkhamhaeng University (Thailand), and a bachelor of accounting with a major in accounting and a minor in finance from Thammasat University (Thailand).

MODERATOR:

  

KOZUE ICHIYAMA
Public Management Specialist (Taxation)
SD3-PSMG, ADB

Kozue Ichiyama is the manager of the Domestic Resource Mobilization Trust Fund at ADB where she supports developing members in Asia and the Pacific in strengthening domestic resource mobilization. Before joining ADB in 2023, she served in the International Operations Division of the NTA of Japan, focusing on initiatives of the Study Group on Asia-Pacific Tax Administration and Research and enhancing regional cooperation with tax authorities across Asia and the Pacific.

  

NAVENDU KARAN
Director
SD3-PSMG, ADB 

Prior to joining ADB in 2016, Navendu had worked with organizations such as the Reserve Bank of India and various consultancy firms. He has a doctorate in economics, a master’s degree in financial management, and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. He has more than 25 years of experience in public sector management, including expenditure reforms, domestic resource mobilization, debt management and sustainability, fiscal decentralization, macroeconomic modelling, and economic analysis. He has also structured complex public-private partnership transactions across various sectors, including urban development, transport, health, education, agriculture, tourism, and energy.

  

KATHERINE BAER
Deputy Director
Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF 

Katherine Baer oversees the Fiscal Affairs Department’s tax work; supervises capacity development delivery on fiscal topics to countries in the Middle East, North Africa, and Centra Asia; and oversees the IMF’s strategy to strengthen fiscal policies and institutions in Fragile and Conflict-Affected States. From 1995 to 2008, she advised Central Asian and Southern/Eastern European countries in modernizing their tax systems to transition to a market economy and prepare to join the EU. From 2012 to 2021, she led IMF’s capacity development programs to strengthen tax and customs administration in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. She has been an economist in the US Treasury’s Office of Tax Policy and an assistant commissioner in the Mexican Tax Administration. In the 1980s, she worked at the World Bank on public finance reforms in Latin America and the Caribbean at the height of the region’s debt crisis. She has many publications relating to public finance and holds a PhD from Cornell University.

    

MATTHEW LEWIS
Managing Director
Capability Wise Pty., Ltd.

Matt Lewis is an expert on tax modernization and digitalization and has been leading economy-scale digitalization around the globe for nearly 20 years. He consults with revenue administrations through the World Bank Group, IMF, and ADB. Recently, he has been working with ADB’s Asia Pacific Tax Hub in leading the development of multi-year digitalization roadmaps for countries in South and Central Asia across to the Pacific Islands. He has co-authored one of OECD’s foundational reports on Tax Admin 3.0 entitled, Unlocking the Digital Economy: A guide to Implementing Application Programming Interfaces in Government. He also co-chairs several regional technology working groups and participates in the development of global standards, including the Universal Business Language ISO Standard.

  

COLIN HUTCHINS
Deputy Secretary
Nauru Revenue Office
Ministry of Finance, Nauru

Colin Hutchins is the current Deputy Secretary of Revenue and heads the Nauru Revenue Office. Before taking up this role, he was engaged in various tax consultancy roles for the World Bank, IMF, and ADB in Eswatini, Georgia, Lesotho, Maldives, and Viet Nam, including four years in Myanmar. He worked for more than 30 years for the New Zealand Inland Revenue, including as Head of Legal and Technical Services, and the National Criminal Prosecutions.

  

LILIBETH MARANAN
Assistant Commissioner
Project Management and Implementation Service
Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Philippines 

Lilibeth Maranan is the Assistant Commissioner of BIR Project Management and Implementation Service, which oversees the Digital Transformation Program of the BIR. Her sterling 35 years of service in the BIR began in 1989 as a Management and Audit Analyst. She rose from the ranks and held various positions in the bureau, including being the Chief of Systems Standards and Technology Management Division, BIR Contact Center Head, and Chief of Staff of Information Systems Group. She has a bachelor’s degree in management and industrial engineering from the Mapua Institute of Technology and has a master’s degree in business administration from the Ateneo Graduate School of Business.    

  

WEN-HSI CHANG
Director General
Fiscal Information Agency (FIA)
Ministry of Finance, Taipei,China

Wen-Hsi Chang oversees the FIA data center and leads the development of tax-related information systems for the government. His expertise focuses on the application of machine learning in taxation, with particular research interests in abnormal transaction behavior analysis and the use of retrieval-augmented generation to enhance online tax regulation queries. He holds dual master's degrees in information management and industrial engineering and earned his PhD specializing in fraud detection using machine learning. In addition to his role at FIA, he serves as a board director of a state-owned bank and lectures on artificial intelligence and cloud services at a university.

MODERATOR:

  

HSU-JUAN HOU
Public Sector Specialist
SD3-PSMG, ADB 

Hsu-Juan Hou has over two decades of experience in tax policy, administration, and international cooperation. Prior to her current role, she served as Director’s Advisor at ADB’s Board of Directors, representing a diverse constituency of developing member countries. Her career spans key positions at Taipei,China’s Ministry of Finance, where she led initiatives on digital tax reporting and represented in international forums such as the APEC Finance Ministers’ Process. She holds an advanced LLM in international tax law from Leiden University and an MBA from National Cheng Kung University.

    

RICHARD HIGHFIELD
ADB Consultant

Richard Highfield is a consultant in tax system design and administration and holds a bachelor of commerce degree from the University of New South Wales. His professional career includes 12 years (2003−2015) as a division head/senior advisor with the OECD in Paris; five years (1997−2003) as a senior advisor with the IMF in Washington, D.C., USA and Moscow, Russia; and over 25 years with the ATO where he was a Second Commissioner of Taxation (1993−1997). He has served as a member of an expert advisory panel guiding the ATO’s tax gap research program since 2014 to the present time. Since 2016, Richard’s work has included assignments with the World Bank and ADB, and research projects with the University of New South Wales. 

    

NADEE DISSANAYAKE
Deputy Commissioner General
Customer Service and Promotion
Inland Revenue Department, Ministry of Finance, Sri Lanka

Nadee Dissanayake has worked with the Inland Revenue Department for almost 26 years. The University of Colombo in Sri Lanka awarded her a PhD in tax compliance in 2021, and California Intercontinental University in the United States awarded her a second PhD in entrepreneur leadership in 2022. She holds postgraduate degrees in psychology, international relations, business administration, economics, and human resource management from several universities. In addition, she obtained a Sangeeth Visharad Degree (Violin) from the Bhathkande University. She is the Founder/Secretary of the Children's Upliftment Programme, a community initiative with the aim of educating children.

    

PÄR BJÖRLUND
Project Manager
Office for International Projects
International Unit, Swedish Tax Authority

Pär is a Project Manager at the Office for International Projects at the Swedish tax agency. He is designing and managing capacity building projects. He has worked for the Swedish Tax Agency for 30 years, mostly in different managerial positions. 

    

JENNI HONKANEN
Programme Manager
Customer Relations Unit
International Relations Department, Finnish Tax Administration

Jenni Honkanen leads the international capacity building efforts and partnerships. With extensive experience in leading VAT process development and compliance risk management, she has held several key roles in steering strategic improvements and implementing EU and national legislation. Jenni combines deep expertise in tax administration with a strong background in project leadership and regularly contributes to international cooperation and knowledge exchange in the field of tax compliance. 

    

ØYVIND BAKKEN
Head of Section
Norwegian Tax Administration 

Øyvind Bakken holds a law degree from the University of Oslo and has extensive experience across a broad range of tax law matters. Over the past 25 years, he has held various tax, legal, and leadership positions within the Norwegian Tax Administration. He has worked extensively on legal cases, tax fraud, transfer pricing, and finance. Currently, he heads a section in the Large Business Department of the Tax Administration. This department manages the 800 largest corporate groups in Norway and handles complex national and international tax issues

MODERATOR:

    

YUHEI CHIBA
Public Sector Specialist (Taxation)
SD3-PSMG, ADB

Yuhei Chiba works on technical assistance for domestic resource mobilization, knowledge activities, and policy-based lending programs. His work covers income tax and VAT policy, digital transformation of tax administration, compliance risk management, tax administration diagnostic assessment tool, property tax management, the automotive tax system, non-tax revenue mobilization, and other aspects of revenue policy and administration. Prior to ADB, he gained experience in tax administration in Japan, including taxation of high-net-worth individuals, international tax strategies, anti-VAT refund fraud, and voluntary compliance programs for small and medium-sized enterprises at the NTA of Japan. He holds a master’s degree in public administration from Columbia University in the City of New York, with a concentration in international finance and economics

CLOSING PROGRAM:

    

FATIMA YASMIN
Vice-President (Sectors and Themes), ADB 

Fatima Yasmin joined ADB in September 2023 as the Vice-President for Sectors and Themes. Prior to joining the ADB, she had a distinguished civil service career spanning over 32 years with the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. She was also the first female Finance Secretary of the Government.