Ms. Veronika Baumgartner-Putz - Senior Advisor, Ministry of Finance, Austria (Moderator)

Veronika Baumgartner-Putz is a Senior Advisor for International Financial Institutions at the Austrian Ministry of Finance. She has wide-ranging experience in the fields of development finance and cooperation and, in that capacity, has been engaged with AIIB since 2016. Before that, she was an Alternate Director for Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, Türkiye and the United Kingdom at the Asian Development Bank’s Board of Directors in Manila. Previously, she also held positions at, among others, UNDP, the European Commission, the Austrian Development Agency and the private sector.

Veronika Baumgartner-Putz holds a law degree from the University of Vienna and an MA in Political Economy from the University of Essex, UK.

Mr. Pradeep Singh Kharola-Chairman and Managing Director, Air India Ltd and former Managing Director of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation

An IAS officer from the Karnataka Cadre of 1985 batch, Mr. Pradeep Singh Kharola was Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister of Karnataka from 2012-13. He also led Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation (KUIDFC), which was involved in raising funds from international institutions to build infrastructure across cities. As Joint Secretary of National Administrative Reforms Commission he aided in the formulation of governance reforms in public administration. He brings with him an extensive and rich career-experience of 30 years holding key portfolios in Urban Governance, Urban Public Transport and Policy-making. He has also won the National Award for e-Governance in 2012 and the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration in 2013.

He graduated in Mechanical Engineering from University of Indore in 1982 and post graduated in Industrial Engineering from IIT Delhi in 1984. He has a Diploma in Management from the All India Management Association, New Delhi and a Masters in Development Management from Asian Institute of Management, Manila, Philippines. He also holds a PhD in Public Transport Systems from IIT-Delhi.

He has the distinction of turning around a public transport undertaking. He revived Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), the city bus service, into profitability in 2000, the first in the country. As Managing Director of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation of India he has played a key role in kick starting Bengaluru Metro.

Mr. Kharola has been Chairman and Managing Director of Air India Ltd. since December 2017.

Ms. Silvia Halim-Construction Director, Jakarta MRT

Silvia Halim has since 2016 been the Construction Director of PT MRT Jakarta, a limited liability (Perseroan Terbatas) company founded by the Jakarta Provincial Government to operate Jakarta’s first Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) System set to open in 2019. Ms. Halim previously worked as Project Manager for the Land Transport Authority in Singapore between 2004 and 2016 where she oversaw road construction, monitored project progress and expenditure, managed the public relations programme and coordinated with government partners, communities and businesses. Ms. Halim received a Degree of Bachelor in Civil Engineering, Second Upper Class Honors, from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. She received the Ministry of Transport Innovation Award in 2008 for a project to reduce noise from road works. Ms Halim is an Indonesian national and speaks English and Indonesian.

Mr. Lincoln Leong-CEO, MTR Corporation

Mr Leong joined the Company in February 2002 as the Finance Director and has been a Member of the Executive Directorate since then. He was re-titled as the Finance & Business Development Director in May 2008, and was appointed as the Deputy CEO in July 2012 and the Acting CEO in August 2014. Mr Leong was appointed as the CEO in March 2015, and has been a Member of the Board since then. As the CEO, he is responsible for the Group’s overall performance in and outside of Hong Kong. Prior to joining the Company, Mr Leong worked in the accountancy and investment banking industries in London, Vancouver and Hong Kong. He is a non-executive director of Mandarin Oriental International Limited, chairman of the Quality Assurance Council of the University Grants Committee, vice-chairman of The Hong Kong Housing Society, and a vice-patron and a member of the Board of Directors of The Community Chest of Hong Kong. Mr Leong was previously an independent non-executive director of Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company Limited. He qualified as a chartered accountant in England in 1985 and Canada in 1986. Mr Leong is a chartered fellow of The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in Hong Kong. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree (subsequently a Master of Arts degree) from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Filippo Scotti-Executive Vice President, Italian State Railways Group

Filippo Scotti is the Executive Vice President of FS International, the division of the Italian State Railways Group covering both Rails and Road international businesses of the FS Group. He is also President of Anas International Enterprise the firm dedicated to the Road infrastructure international business. His career spans numerous countries and industries. He started in the Construction Machinery Business at Hitachi Construction Machinery Co.Ltd in Tokyo in 1993, subsequently joining Fiat-Hitachi Excavators, where he held several managerial position, to become General Manager of Fiat Kobelco in 2001. He then takes the responsibility of the After Sales Division of the EAME and CIS Region for Case New Holland, a company of the Fiat Group leader in the Agricultural and Construction Machinery business, and becomes Managing Director of the Asia Pacific Region for New Holland Construction S.p.A. In 2007 Filippo Scotti changes industry and country. He moves to Paris to join Alstom Transport S.A as Vice President of the Services Division for South Europe, Middle East, Africa, East Europe and Asia Pacific. In 2013 he takes the responsibility as Alstom’s Managing Director for the Asia & Australasia Region based in Singapore. Prior to joining FS in 2017, he was Managing Director and Board Member of Knorr-Bremse Asia Pacific Ltd based in Hong Kong. He holds a mechanical engineering degree from the Politecnico of Torino University and an Executive Master from Insead.

Mr. Zhang Jianping-Former Director General, Ministry of Railways, China

Mr. Zhang Jianping has over 36 years of experience in the railway sector. He served as Director at the Railway Division of the Infrastructure Department of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and as Director General at the Development and Planning Department of the Ministry of Railways (MOR) in China. While working for these organizations, his responsibilities involved railway network planning, institutional restructuring, and project investment. He has been engaged in the formulation and implementation of the Medium and Long-term Plan for China’s Railway Network, as well as the preparation work of railway projects such as the Beijing-Shanghai High Speed Railway.