As an experienced policy professional, I work on identifying policy solutions to tech, connectivity and infrastructure policy and regulatory challenges in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. 

 

My core competencies include strategic planning, policy analysis, communication and advocacy, stakeholder management. I have over 15 years of experience in delivering high-quality policy strategy, analysis and insights, developing, leading and managing communications and advocacy strategies and plans, and engaging with a wide-range of stakeholders, including Government agencies, civil society organisations, academics, and industry stakeholders.  

 

I am passionate about leveraging my skills to influence tech/digital transformation and development through policy reforms in the APAC region. 

Nutan Zarapkar is a dynamic and passionate leader with over 30 years of experience in the Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) and sustainability domains. She currently serves as Managing Director at Protiviti Global India, where she leads the firm’s ESG practice. Protiviti operates across 90 offices in 25 countries, enabling Nutan to work with a diverse range of clients and geographies. 

Her expertise spans sustainable finance, ESG strategy development, decarbonization pathways, GHG footprint assessments, ESG reporting (including IFRS S1 and S2), and digital ESG tools implementation. She has led ESG transformation programs for financial institutions across Central Asia, including Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, helping them integrate ESG into core operations and reporting frameworks. 

Nutan’s work is deeply rooted in leveraging data-driven approaches to enable green transitions. She has supported banks in calculating financed emissions, developing green taxonomies, and implementing ESMS systems. Her experience includes working with IFC – World Bank, where she led climate finance advisory for financial institutions across South Asia, and supported central banks in setting green targets and regulatory frameworks. 

Her sectoral knowledge spans energy, renewables, water, wastewater, solid waste, climate change, circular economy, and more. She has worked across Asia, MENA, Africa, and the Americas, including countries like Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Colombia, Egypt, Morocco, Ghana, and the U.S. 

Nutan’s approach combines policy insight, technical expertise, and strategic advisory, making her a strong advocate for using data and digital innovation to unlock sustainable finance and drive systemic change. 

Paolo helps set up geospatial initiatives and has worked on cloud-based integration of EO, GIS, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Timor-Leste, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Georgia, Armenia, Mongolia and other ADB Developing Member Countries.

Paolo has co-authored several knowledge products and is currently working on a project deploying  satellite imagery and AI for land use and coastal planning. To ensure financial sustainability in ADB  Developing Member Countries, Dr. Manunta promotes ADB digital solutions in collaboration with several 

potential European donors as part of a joint initiative with the World Bank and the European Space Agency (ESA).

Paolo joined ADB as a secondee from the European Space Agency (ESA). His Asia experience started in 2014 with a transport project in Papua New Guinea that led to a full-time secondment to ADB in 2017 and eventually became a staff in 2022. After completing his PhD, Paolo Manunta worked in Canada for the Provincial Government of Alberta on climate change modelling. He has also worked extensively in the private sector in Italy.

Chris Hollifield is head of business development at Luxembourg for Finance, where his work involves advising FinTech and financial companies looking to develop cross-border activity through Luxembourg-based platforms. He also advises on the development of the ecosystem in Luxembourg and on synergy creation with other key financial centres, with a focus on East Asia.

Prior to working at Luxembourg for Finance, Chris worked in the strategy department of Clearstream Banking SA, an International Central Securities Depository that facilitates the settlement of interbank transactions in over 50 markets worldwide. Here, his work focused particularly on strategic projects concerning distributed ledger technology and other FinTech topics.