M.Sc. Bojan Kumer, MBA, graduated from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the University of Ljubljana and completed his MBA at the Faculty of Economics in Ljubljana. He started his career in 2001 at Elektro Celje. In 2009, he joined the company GEN-I, where he was in charge of business development abroad. He actively participated in the successful penetration of the company into foreign markets. A year later, he became the head of sales to key customers, when together with his team he achieved GEN-I became the largest supplier of electricity in Slovenia. In 2013, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia appointed him State Secretary at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Space, for the field of energy. In 2014, he was appointed director of the company Elektro energija and turned it from a loss-making company into a very profitable company and strategically connected it with the GEN-I group. In September 2018, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia appointed him again as State Secretary of the Ministry of Infrastructure. Under his leadership, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted an extremely important strategic, environmentally assessed, and actionable National Energy and Climate Plan (NEPN). Upon his return to the GEN-I Group in 2020, he took on several management and managerial functions, of which he has recently devoted most of his attention to the field of ESCO and the group's strategic initiatives. On June 1, 2022, he became Minister of Infrastructure, and in 2023 he took over the newly created Ministry of Environment, Climate and Energy.

Adrian Crompton was recommended by the Welsh Parliament/Senedd Cymru for appointment as the Auditor General for Wales. He was formally appointed to the position by Her Majesty The Queen in July 2018. As head of Audit Wales, he oversees the annual audit of over £26 billion of taxpayers’ money and reports on value-for-money matters across the Welsh public sector.
Most of Adrian’s career has been spent supporting parliamentary democracy at a Welsh, UK, and international level. Prior to his current appointment, he held various senior roles within the Senedd and, before then, in the House of Commons. He spent several years providing expertise and practical support to senior politicians and civil servants at the heart of projects nurturing democratic development in Sudan, Iraq, Egypt and Jordan.

Iain is CIPFA’s Director of Public Financial Management and has over 20 years experience of working with the public sector. Having joined District Audit as a graduate trainee in 2002 Iain moved his way up to manager at the Audit Commission before joining Grant Thornton in 2012 where he progressed to director and became a key audit partner.​
Working with the public sector has always been a deliberate choice, during his career Iain has worked with local government, NHS and police bodies of varying size and complexity in both an audit and advisory capacity. He is well versed in the issues public finance and public services. ​
At CIPFA Iain leads the teams in the key areas of policy, technical and standard setting. In his role his works closely with standard setters in both the UK and globally and is well versed in emerging issues for financial and non-financial reporting

Jana has served as Director of the CEF since 2017 and as Deputy Director from 2005. During this time, she has worked on or initiated several capacity development programs and projects in the fields of economic and fiscal policy design and implementation, internal audit, tax reform, health reform, and pension reform. Since 2011 she has led CEF’s strategic institutional capacity development effort that resulted in CEF’s becoming a globally-recognized regional knowledge hub. She was responsible for internal legal, organizational and HR-related issues that allowed for a smooth transition of the CEF to an international organization in 2015. Before joining the CEF, she worked for the World Bank in Washington DC from 1998 and before that, she worked in the private sector in Slovenia. Jana holds an MSc degree in Public Policy and Management from the University of London, SOAS. Her professional focus is on institutional capacity development, managing organizational change, public policy and strategy, public financial management, and international development cooperation.

Hana Huzjak is economic counsellor in the European Commission. During her career in the World Bank, Croatian public administration and the European Commission, she worked on a range of public policies and major investment programmes across Europe, focusing on sustainable development issues. She holds MA degrees in economics and public policy, and a MSc degree in major programme management.

Catryn has served as the Well-being of Future Generations Manager at Audit Wales since 2016. Her previous roles include Performance Audit Lead and Performance Specialist (both at Audit Wales), and has also worked in the WLGA and Cardiff Council.

Lea is a policy analyst in sustainable finance with a particular focus on the risks and impacts from environmental degradation to the financial system. She holds an MSc in Environmental Economics and Climate Change from the London School of Economics (LSE) and a BA in Economics from University College Dublin (UCD). She has spent 3 years working at Deutsche Bank AG, as a sustainability specialist focusing on the disclosure and strategic integration of non-financial metrics. She also worked in teams in the investment bank on ESG-linked debt and equity capital transactions, as well as analyzing the implications of regulatory changes for corporate clients. Additionally, she was Deutsche Bank’s secondee to the Value Balancing Alliance, contributing to the development of a sector-agnostic impact measurement methodology. During her MSc, she also worked for the Grantham Research Institute and the International Network for Sustainable Financial Policy Insights Research and Exchange (INSPIRE) on central banks. 

Margerita Topalli is a senior economist at Bank of Albania, managing projects related to social infrastructure, sustainability and economic development. Prior to that worked for the Council of Europe Development Bank in Paris. She is an active consultant for various international organizations, development agencies, and NGOs. She has published several articles on the political developments in South-East Europe and the integration of the Western Balkans into the EU. Margerita holds a PhD in Transition economics from the University of Lorraine, as well as an MSc in Development Economics from Paris Dauphine University.

Merdža Handalić Plahonjić is a freelance Public Administration Reform Specialist and an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Administration, University of Sarajevo, with over 20 years of professional experience in EU integration processes and public administration reform. She has worked as an expert on numerous EU and donor-funded projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina, bringing significant expertise in research skills, assessing capacity development needs, and designing methodological tools for data collection. Her experience includes drafting strategic documents, proposing improvements to economic reform programs, and preparing reports in line with EU standards. Additionally, Merdža has over four years of experience within the CEF learning framework, focusing on adult learning and knowledge exchange, and is adept at delivering training, seminars, and workshops for government officials. Her strong organizational, analytical, teamwork, and diplomatic skills complement her work in providing strategic recommendations and advocacy.

Venhar has been actively involved in government planning and policy integration since joining the SPO. He played a key role in the development of the Government's annual work plan and was part of the team responsible for aligning policy planning with resource allocation through both medium-term and annual budgeting processes. Venhar also contributed to the coordination of top-priority setting under the National Development Strategy (Pillar Four – Infrastructure) and engaged in EU dialogue through the Economic Reform Programme on economic measures. In his role, he coordinates central delivery functions and conducts policy and implementation analysis at the portfolio level, with a specific focus on economic policy. Additionally, Venhar provides strategic guidance to ministries in the preparation and review of sectoral and cross-cutting strategies to ensure policy consistency. He has coordinated the Structural Reforms process under the Economic Reform Program and is currently involved in drafting key national strategies, including the National Plan for Energy and Climate, the Strategy for Environment and Sustainable Development, the Decarbonisation Strategy, the Climate Change Strategy, the National Development Plan (NDP), and Kosovo’s ICT and Digitalisation Strategy.

Liljana holds a Ph.D. in Politics from the University of Sussex, an MA in Contemporary European Studies from the University of Bath, and an MA by Research in Law from Queen Mary University of London. Her research experience and focus encompass anti-corruption efforts at the national, European, and international levels, the intersection of corruption and gender, and European Union enlargement.
Before joining EUROPEUM as Head of Research, Liljana worked as a Lecturer for the University of Sussex, UK for several years, where she taught, researched, and published on corruption-related topics, European Union laws and policies, as well as research methods and postgraduate dissertation writing. She has also worked in the civil sector as a Researcher for Transparency International Macedonia and in the legal sector.
Liljana actively contributes as a consultant for various international organizations, delivering research and training on topics related to the rule of law, good governance, anti-corruption, and matters of the European Union.

Danijela Bozanić has over 20 years of experience in climate change and green development, with extensive expertise in policy development aligned with the EU energy and climate acquis. She specializes in establishing legal, institutional, and procedural frameworks for climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as monitoring and reporting on energy and climate policies. Her work includes developing sectoral policies, measures, and actions for climate change mitigation and adaptation, conducting climate risk and vulnerability assessments, and calculating GHG emissions. Danijela has a strong background in socio-economic analysis, carbon pricing (e.g., EU CBAM), and Just Transition diagnostics, particularly in developing countries across Eastern Europe, the Western Balkans, and Central Asia.
Her qualifications include more than 15 years of experience in drafting analytical reports and policy documents related to climate, environment, and energy (e.g., NAMAs, NAP, NECP, NDCs, LEDS/LCDS), as well as sectoral strategies in agriculture, energy, forestry, health, transport, water, and waste. She has over a decade of experience in the transposition and implementation of the EU acquis, particularly in climate change, energy, air protection, and related fields. Danijela has also contributed to the implementation of the Paris Agreement's enhanced transparency framework and UNFCCC’s MRV/M

Emil has over 20 years of professional experience in program and project management, with a focus on governance and local development. Most of his career has been dedicated to managing internationally funded technical assistance and capacity-building projects. Emil led the Democratic Governance team at the UNDP office in Skopje for nearly five years, overseeing 16 staff across 8 active projects with a cumulative value of approximately 12 million USD. During this time, he positioned UNDP as a leader in decentralization initiatives, promoted gender mainstreaming, and strengthened UNDP’s role in sustainable development and service delivery.
He now leads the Sida-funded Sustainable Municipal Waste Management Services project, where he explores the impact of the EU accession process, particularly Chapter 27, on municipal service delivery. His professional portfolio spans diverse areas including democratization, local governance, sustainable development, public administration reform, and institutional capacity building. He has also been involved in reviewing key UNDP strategic documents, such as the UNDP Country Programme Document 2016-2020 and the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2021-2025, as well as conducting mid-term evaluations of programs focused on sustainable local development and decentralization.
In recent years, Emil’s work has concentrated on environmental sustainability, particularly in the context of waste management and circular economy. He is currently finalizing a regional report on the potential for circular economy in the Western Balkans, titled Towards Regional Circular Supply Chains: Knowledge Exchange from V4 to WB Countries.’.

Francesca Manes Rossi is Full Professor of Accounting in the Department of Economics, Management and Institutions at the University of Naples, Federico II, where she teaches and conducts research on public accounting and management. She earned her PhD in International Accounting from Federico II University in Naples (Italy).
She is an experienced educator and researcher specializing in International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) and other accounting issues related to management accounting, performance measurement and audit. She is member of the National Standard Board for Public Sector Standards in Italy. She has been visiting scholar in several universities all around the world.
She acts as ad-hoc review for several international journals, is part of the Scientific Committee of top journal in Public Sector Accounting and Management, and has lead several special issues in relevant academic journals as Guest Editor and edited several collective books. Francesca is co-chair of the XII Permanent Study Group of EGPA (European Group of Public Administration), and co-editor of the book series in Public Financial Management published by Palgrave
In the last few years, she is publishing and teaching in sustainability and SDGs, alternative reporting format, and international accounting standards..

Sandro holds a MA from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences and a PhD from the University of Zaragoza. He is a public financial management enthusiast, speaker and lecturer. His work focuses on innovative research and consulting in the area of public leadership and public finance. Core topics include financial resilience, accounting system innovation, financial communication, financial governance and digital finance. Sandro has more than 15 years of international experience in public finance and has worked in more than 30 countries around the world. He has an international track record with all major donor agencies, including IMF, World Bank, UNDP, OECD, Asian Development Bank (ADB), SECO and Sustainable Development Centre (SDC). He is a member of the World Bank’s Public Sector Accounting and Reporting Program (PULSAR) technical advisory board. Additionally, he is part of the Expert Pool for Governance and Peace Building Mission at the UNDP’s Regional Service Centre for Africa (RSCA)

Panayiota (Julie) Alevizou studied Business at the University of Piraeus, Greece. She obtained an MBA from Sheffield University Management School where she received a distinction for her dissertation on Green Advertising.
Following this, she started her funded doctorate, also at Sheffield, looking at Sustainability Claims on FMCGs; consumers’ perceptions, and company practice in the UK and in Greece.
Unilever Home & Personal Care, Port Sunlight funded part of her research in Paris, Bordeaux, Athens, Stockholm and Manchester where she explored and reported on consumers’ perceptions of sustainability claims.
She also did some consultancy work for Unilever related to product certification regulation.
At the same time, she completed a successful internship at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Production and Consumption Unit, Division of Technology, Industry and Economics in Paris.
During her internship, she contributed to various projects such as Advertising for a Better World and published in UNEP’s DTI newsletter about CFC-Free claims.
She then worked as a marketing consultant in various companies until she was employed as a project manager for International Volunteers in the Athens 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games. After the games she taught several modules in marketing at Sheffield University Management School, and was part of an ESRC Sustainable Technologies Programme project in 2006 as a Research Fellow. Panayiota joined the Marketing Division of the Management School as a Lecturer in Marketing in 2011..

Zorica received her Masters Degree in 1993 from the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade.In 1999 she received her PhD at the Faculty of Economics – Skopje when she was elected Assistant Professor of Auditing.In 2004 she was elected Associate Professor, and in 2009 she was appointed Full Professor in the subjects of Auditing, Principles of Accounting and Internal Audit.
In the second cycle of studies she is engaged in a study program – Accounting and Auditing where she teaches subjects: Audit, State Audit and Fraud Examination.
In the third cycle of studies she teaches Audit and Assurance.
She was Vice Dean of Finance at the Faculty of Economics – Skopje in the period 2005-2010.She has been Head of the Department of Accounting and Auditing since 2013. Since 2013 she is Head of the second cycle of studies in the program Accounting and Auditing. As a certified auditor in the period 2005-2011 she was a member of the Council for Advancement and Oversight of Audit, she was re-elected member of the Council for Advancement and Oversight of Audit for the period 2012 – 2017. From 2006 to 2012 she was appointed Chairman of the Audit Committee of Stopanska Banka AD Skopje.

Amit is a Chemical Process Engineer with over fifteen years of experience in technical policy management, process engineering, food and renewable energy research. He has worked across diverse industry sectors including Oil and Gas, Food and Drinks, Power, Construction, Chemicals and Renewables in technical leadership positions delivering complex projects worldwide exploring new energy initiatives and reducing carbon footprint.
As a Technical Policy Manager, Amit has led technical policy projects within Chemical Engineering on key policy issues such as the Role of Hydrogen in Net Zero, Future Energy Technology Mix, Responsible AI, Critical Minerals, Fit for Future – UK Apprenticeship Scheme by working closely with diverse stakeholders including academic and industry partners, government and professional engineering institutions. Currently, Amit is leading the Sustainability function of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) as the Sustainability Policy Manager within the Policy and Technical team

Ross leads the IPSASB staff team, work program delivery, and stakeholder outreach and engagement. Recently, Ross’ focus has been on strategic initiatives to broaden the IPSASB’s funding, strengthen the institutional support needed for public sector sustainability reporting, and determine the work plan priorities to account for the increasing use of IPSAS.
Ross joined IPSASB in 2013 and led the implementation of the Board’s governance activities and the establishment of the Consultative Advisory Group. Ross also developed and oversaw the IPSASB’s financial instruments projects, IFRS alignment activities, and the strategy and work program.
Before joining the IPSASB, Ross worked for several years for a big-4 accounting firm in Canada and Japan. Ross focused on complex accounting and audit assignments related to public utilities, industrial companies, and financial institutions. Ross is a Canadian Chartered Professional Accountant.

Robert (i) contributes to the program development and implementation; and, in cooperation with colleagues and external experts, he leads the CEF's approach to (ii) quality assurance, monitoring and evaluation, and lessons learned aimed at achieving the CEF Strategic Direction 2022-2026; and to (iii) knowledge partnerships and the CEF expert community.

Jasmina is a member of the CEF program team and leads the thematic priority of public financial management – accounting.She came to CEF in 2014, taking on the roles of coordinator and project manager of public sector certification projects in internal auditing and accounting, and a designer and facilitator of learning initiatives in the thematic area of accounting. She was also part of the EU-funded project Fiscal Implications of Structural Reforms. Jasmina designs program activities and facilitates their delivery.Before joining the CEF, she was a consultant at the Pension and Invalidity Insurance Institute of Slovenia. She also worked as a project manager for technical assistance of EU programs in the Slovenian branch office of a German company, and as a consultant at the Accounting and International Department of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia.

Kristina joined the CEF at the beginning of 2011 and is a member of CEF’s Event Management Team. Her main duties and accountabilities are the organization of learning and other events; coordination of activities among participants, lecturers, CEF program staff, donors and other stakeholders; budget preparation and events cost management; the processing of questionnaires. She is responsible for support to the Program Team in the implementation of programs, projects, and other activities.

Želimir
is a member of CEF’s Learning Program Team and is responsible for designing and delivering of learning activities under the thematic area of PFM – Accounting and Public Sector Assets management.

Urška joined the CEF at the beginning of 2019. She is responsible for managing partnership relations with the CEF stakeholders. Her responsibilities also include the implementation of the CEF communication strategy, including social media, and communication analytics. In her previous career, she held various positions in marketing and partnership management. She is experienced in marketing and partnership management, project management and campaign marketing management.

Callahan is primarily responsible for growing CIPFA’s global policy voice. Cal works with CIPFA’s partners and stakeholders, and leads on the Institute’s international thought leadership, including CIPFA’s international conferences and global research program, among other projects. Before joining the international team, he managed CIPFA’s external communications. Originally from the United States, Cal has previous experience in foreign affairs and financial services. He has degrees in economics and political science.

Steve has over ten years of experience working in marketing and business development and has spent the last seven years working within Professional Institutions and Associations, specializing in education, membership and training solutions. He has won numerous MemCom industry awards including Best Integrated Membership Campaign, Best Student Engagement Initiative as well as being a speaker at the MemberWise conference in 2015. As International Relations Manager at CIPFA, Steve works with Governments, SAIs, PAOs and other relevant public sector entities to strengthen Public Financial Management globally. Steve holds voluntary management positions at his local badminton club and theatre company and has an MA in Creative Producing from the University of Kent.

Reanne is a member of the CIPFA International team, serving as an International Project Coordinator since 2023. With an academic and professional background in international development, Reanne brings a wealth of expertise to her role. Her work focuses on managing global projects that support public financial management improvements across various regions, including the Corruption Prevention Program in Mauritius. Reanne's keen understanding of international policy and development strategies allows her to effectively lead initiatives that contribute to financial sustainability and good governance in public sectors worldwide. Her dedication to building sustainable partnerships and fostering collaboration is at the heart of her work at CIPFA.