Global Best Practice Group Founding Principles
GBPG was founded on the core concept of delivering high-quality project deliverables. Whether implementing strategic organizational processes, performing comprehensive analyses, or advising authorities and managers with a holistic and seasoned perspective, GBPG leaves no stone unturned in the quest for the highest standards of performance and optimal project results. This is not only a promise; achieving these objectives is infused in the professional DNA of each of our diverse array of development experts.
We have the depth of experience and appropriate knowledge to both grasp and address operational challenges across the development field, in its many sectors. We are also proud to possess the emotional intelligence and human respect to ensure meaningful bonds with project staff, clients, stakeholders, and beneficiaries. We consistently pursue an inclusive, "no one gets left behind" philosophy in project implementation and service delivery.
Our working principles are centred on moving forward positively, and building on momentum and successes. This process is enhanced by consistently applying globally-recognized benchmarked standards, by listening to, learning from and understanding our clients, and being systematic and methodical in decision-making at all levels to complete tasks and attain objectives. Global Best Practice Group focuses on endeavour combined with practical agility, stability and persistence in the midst of challenges, continuous innovation at all times, and tenacity and courage in overcoming real-life obstacles. These are the core principles to which we fully commit.
Malcolm De Silva
Group Chairman Global Best Practice Group
Senior Management Team
Malcolm De Silva
Group Chairman
Malcolm is a leading international development expert with more than 25 years of experience in the field. Uniquely, he has served on the staff of the Asian Development Bank, European Space Agency, European Spallation Source, European Southern Observatory, International Atomic Energy Agency and Mercy Corps.
His experience in high-level management scenarios has been developed by his presence on various executive management teams in globally changing science, engineering and infrastructure projects and facing frontline humanitarian challenges. From these varied experiences, he has been a global innovator in shaping project design and pioneering and forging institutional implementation processes, including building robust organizational structures, strengthening procurement systems, and providing targeted advisory services to governments, multilateral organizations, national development agencies and NGOs engaged in pathfinder projects, institutional reform and performance optimization.
He is the founder of Global Best Practice Group which was driven by his passion for a better, brighter and more relevant future for the international development sector driven by impact, attainment and performance.
Kewal Thapar
Managing Director
As the Managing Director of Global Best Practice Group, Kewal has purview over GBPG’s project portfolio and is the Principal Expert for institutional strengthening activities, innovative financing mechanisms, climate finance, infrastructure development, food security, natural resource management, and utility sectors together with project management.
Kewal has 40 years of combined international consulting, executive and professional experience as a practitioner, consultant and decision-maker. He has been an independent specialist consultant to international financing and development institutions like the Asian Development Bank, United Nations and the World Food Programme at the country level for loan and technical assistance projects. He has undertaken several strategic planning and knowledge management assignments as a senior advisor in the Middle East, South Asia and South East Asia.
Kewal began his professional career as a member of the Indian Civil Services, and worked with both central and state governments in a number of positions and departments including the Under Secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, Government of India. As a senior consultant with consulting firms in India (Tata Consultancy Services) and subsequently, in the UAE (KPMG) he project managed a range of challenging assignments for large privately-owned groups and government entities.
Senior Advisors
Our Senior Advisors provide their vision, focus and dedication to attain best of class results by utilizing their broad knowledge, big personas and extensive project expertise to bring realistic strategic guidance to organizational development and critical path direction. They improve management for best performance and enhance global development projects at strategic levels.
Colin Carlile
Senior Advisor
Colin is one of the rare individuals who has created and led a major international organization, the European Spallation Source (ESS) - a 2 billion Euro scientific research greenfield infrastructure project, in Lund, Sweden. As its founder and Director General, Colin built ESS from a single office into a 300-person, 13-member state operation and one of the largest science and technology infrastructure projects in the world. In recognition of his achievements, he was awarded the Royal Swedish Order of the Polar Star. Previously, he was the Director of the International Research Centre, the Institut Laue Langevin, located in Grenoble, France. He brings the highest levels of experience and knowledge in person- management, science and technology and leadership to achieve high-risk organizational challenges.
David Baxter
Senior Advisor
David is a global expert in Public Private Partnerships and a renowned global influencer in procurement and global anti- corruption initiatives. During 30-plus years of consulting, his work has had an impact in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and North and South America. He has collaborated on infrastructure policy, project development, and project procurement for the leading development institutions such as World Bank, Islamic Development Bank, African Development Bank, USAID, DAI, Booz Allen, and the Millennium Challenge Corporation. He has supported several public sector capacity-building initiatives to help governments move boundaries and perceptions to improve governance and procurement national practices. A specialized focus has been promoting Public-Private Partnerships through the World Association of PPP Units and PPP Professionals (WAPPP) championing international PPP best practices where he has helped donor institutions and development banks providing technical and capacity-building support in sectors such as water and sanitation, transportation, healthcare, education, and tourism.
Alejandra Voigt
General Counsel
Alejandra is a highly experienced comparative law attorney, with a specialization in European Union and Public International Law. She is currently the Vice President and Head of Mission of the AURA Observatory in Chile, where AURA constructs, maintains, and operates world-class ground-based optical and infrared telescopes for the National Science Foundation (NSF) of the United States. She joined AURA from the Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA), where she served as the Executive Officer since 2014 and was involved in the transformative impact of this incredible facility on global astronomy. Previously she worked extensively in the Chilean public sector, where she worked as Deputy Chief of the Legal and Legislative Division of the General Secretariat of the Presidency, advising the President of Chile and his Cabinet on legal and legislative matters, including relevant international affairs. Previously, she was the Head of the Legal Research Service in the Library of the National Congress. In her early career as an International Lawyer, she coordinated several multinational cooperation projects for the development of social cohesion in Latin America in collaboration with prominent multilateral funding agencies, aiming to improve and strengthen the rule of law in the region. She is currently also a Presidential Appointee to the University of Aysén Council, with the aim of promoting higher education quality in Patagonia (her home region).
David Kinley
External Relations Advisor
Publicizing the real-life impacts of multilateral aid programs has been a principal focus of David’s prolific writing, editing and publishing career. He’s served on the staffs of the World Bank, UNDP, and IAEA for over three decades, and with several educational NGOs and Columbia University. David has brought to life events from agribusiness initiatives in the African Sahel and Central America to water supply, sanitation and agriculture modernization projects in Asia. Synthesising data, publishing and promoting major organizational findings through worldwide print and electronic media, and advising on the public information activities of U.N. agencies and multilateral development banks, David has reached out and influenced policymakers, legislators, taxpayers, aid donors, academics and citizens globally.
Nihal de Run
Special Envoy to Sri Lanka
Nihal counts on 40 Years of experience in Sri Lankan Commerce, Trade and Development. After a successful career in the Sri Lankan tea industry he emigrated to Australia where he was active in the fields of purchasing, supply and logistics management with companies such as LM Ericsson, Mobil Oil and Bowater Scott. Nihal has been involved in a series of high-level fundraising and implementing initiatives to support local development in Sri Lanka and assist those most at need, liaising with stakeholders and raising awareness for initiatives both in Sri Lanka and abroad. He was fundamental actor in the construction and opeartion Accident & Emergency Trauma Department at the Teaching Hospital in Batticaloa. He also supports a range of causes and leads a new initiative virtually partnering rural Sri Lankan school children with volunteer tutors, to enhance their English skills and employment prospects.
Indrajith Fernando
Regional Director
Global Best Practice Group Asia
Indrajith is a thought leader with over 30 years of experience in business and the accountancy profession. He is a past president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICA), Member of International Federation of Accountant (IFAC) Developing Nations Committee, President–South Asian Federation of Accountants, Advisor/Chairman SAFA Committee on improving Transparency, Accountability and Governance (CiTAG). He is a fellow of the ICA-SL, CIMA UK and CMA Sri Lanka and a Senior Member of CPA-Maldives, He serves as a Chartered Institute of Securities Investments (CISI) Advisory Committee member in Sri Lanka and as a Non-Executive Director, Chairman of the Audit Committee and the Integrated Risk Management Committee of listed companies. He is also a member of the Audit Committee of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. Indrajith serves as a Director on the Board of Hatton Plantations Plc, Lotus Hydro Power Plc, Strategic Insurance Brokers Pvt Limited and Beyond Wealth Pvt Ltd. He holds an MBA from the University of Queensland, Australia.
Abhik Sen
Advisor on Innovation
Abhik is a leading international Innovation and Youth Policy expert, with an extensive experience in creating synergies and negotiating partnerships among local governments, donor governments, multilateral institutions including the United Nations, multinational companies and international NGOs to achieve development goals. As Head of Innovation and Partnerships for the Commonwealth Secretariat, he was responsible for making innovation and digitalisation key pillars of the transformation and sustainable development agenda for the multilateral organisation and its member states. He has designed policies and strategies, and delivered transformation programmes in partnership with governments, developed digital products and services and led thought leadership projects to identify and incubate innovative solutions to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of governments and public sector organisations in critical areas.
Lead Experts
Goncalo Serra
Innovation and Digital Transformation
Gonçalo has over 15 years of professional experience leading projects in the areas of procurement, innovation strategy, open innovation, digital transformation, and sustainability in Private, Public and Social Sectors in Europe (Portugal, Spain, Netherlands, UK), Africa, South America, Middle East (Jordan, Tunisia, Lebanon) and the USA.He has held senior roles in consulting firms, such as EY and CGI, in Brazil, Angola, and Spain regarding procurement strategy and innovation projects.As an independent consultant, he developed open Innovation and start-up engagement programs and public procurement projects. He has also been an advisor for innovation and sustainability at the Lisbon Municipality a leading procurement driver in Portugal, leading a strategic plan to scale sustainability by developing open innovation, procurement innovation, data analytics and AI/ML, and e-Procurement projects. He is a member of the Portugal Innovation in Public Procurement and the 20230 Green Procurement Strategy team. Gonçalo acts as a Public Procurement and Innovation Expert at the European Commission and is a member of the European Innovation Procurement Awards (EUIPA) jury.
Mohan De Run
Lead Expert for Logistics and Supply Chain Management
Mohan specializes in logistics and supply chain services for clients from both the public and private sectors. Mohan's illustrious career spans over three decades, during which he has spearheaded exceptional supply chain management endeavours for renowned enterprises. His achievements are noteworthy, particularly his instrumental role in leading projects related to international shipping and logistics involving constructing a sea bridge to Vostoshny for Mars Confectionery Australia, facilitating their entry into the Russian market. Additionally, he orchestrated global sea freight negotiations on behalf of Heinz International, successfully establishing a Liner service connecting Melbourne to Napier. Mohan's astuteness in introducing esteemed brands like Black & Decker, DeWalt, and Karcher to emerging markets is a further testament to his proficiency in this domain. Moreover, he possesses comprehensive knowledge of shipping operations, gleaned from his prosperous entrepreneurship in the field. Currently, Mohan generously imparts his wisdom by mentoring small and medium-sized enterprises on matters of business development and negotiation concepts.
Kate Ramil
Gender
Kate specializes in Gender and Development and works as the Director for Strategic Partnerships of SPARK Philippines, a premier women's NGO in the Philippines. She also currently lectures at De La Salle University Manila for undergraduate students. She is the Chair and Founder of Campus Erasmus Mundus, an NGO that focuses on higher education, internationalization, and student mobility, as well as co-founded YMCA Rinali, an NGO for social innovation and inclusion. Kate holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Literature from De La Salle University Manila and a European Master’s in Women’s and Gender Studies from the University of Hull in the UK and Universidad de Granada in Spain under the Erasmus+ scheme. She is a current fellow at the Salzburg Global- Asia Peace Fellowship.
Andre Murdock
Enterprise Architecture and Big Data
Andre has extensive experience managing developers and engineers, as well as being a data and system architect. He has over 17 years of being in the data management space focusing on creating master data management & driving value from data led solutions. Leveraging data with technology for insights into advancements in business became his speciality. He is an expert with implementing customer, vendor, and product master data management while utilizing supporting systems ERP, ETL, and eCommerce. He has a proven track record of using a three tiered approach to solutions keeping people, process, and technology a priority. As a result, he has delivered strategic solutions by collaborating and coordinating with clients to have a high return on investment. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from Morgan State University in Engineering Physics and Master’s degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Systems Engineering, USA.
Gary Monk
Digital Health
Gary is an acclaimed pioneer in digital health with over two decades of distinguished experience in biopharma and strategic consulting. Known for consistently orchestrating innovative digital programs, he has effectively leveraged technology to deliver measurable results. Gary's expertise and passion have positioned him as a respected thought leader and innovator in digital therapeutics, embodying his steadfast commitment to enhancing lives through advanced health technology solutions.
Simon Lowe
Virtual Reality
Simon has over a decade of experience as a VR expert in strategic partnerships and design thinking in the private and public sectors, particularly in the Asia-pacific region. He applies his expertise in systems change, user experience, and behaviour change theory to develop innovative digital solutions addressing systemic and individual issues. He specialised in the use of VR for capacity building initiatives, focusing on making training more impactful, effective, scalable, and enduring through co-designed immersive human-centered virtual reality (VR) experiences. His hi-tech VR projects currently focus on preventing or adjusting to discrimination and bias which are prevalent globally, whether intentional or unconscious. He builds on his diverse background spanning government, non-government, academic, and for-profit sectors, to facilitate partnerships across these domains.
Lulzim Morina
Humanitarian Assistance Capacity Development Expert
Lulzim is a long standing humanitarian and development professional with over 25 years of experience in the field, overseeing program operations management, organizational development, and learning and leadership. He has vast experience in administration and capacity development in aspects of planning, project management, HR, procurement and finance primarily through being Head of Operations for Mercy Corps in Turkey and other locations such as Sudan. Among others he has successfully applied income generation, market system developments, multi sectoral response approaches and resource capacity building to impact on local communities. Throughout his career he has encountered a variety of challenges and hurdles, to which he has provided context specific and innovative solutions, that provide him with the tools to pass on these critical insights to gain maximum leverage and optimal success ratios.
