Milestone

Fabio recently joined the team in order to gain more experience about international project management and to complete his Business Level 7 degree in New Zealand. He holds a Master Degree in Human Rights and International Cooperation, focusing on agriculture and climate change. Before joining the team, he spent six months in Valencia helping a Spanish NGO working in the field of food sovereignty and agroecology to carry out the cycle project management phases of its international cooperation and national projects. He also helped doing academic research collecting data about the cash flows generated by the remittances of the immigrants living in his hometown Bergamo toward their country of origin. In 2017, he worked as a volunteer in Indonesia to help the development of organic agriculture and environmental awareness in a little village on the Java Island. He speaks English, Italian, Spanish, some basic of Indonesian and he has developed a good understanding of written French and Portuguese.

Lotta joined FCG ANZDEC in 2019 having previously worked for FCG International in Finland. She holds a Master of Science in Economics and Business Administration and a Master of Social Sciences in International Development. Lotta contributes to FCG ANZDEC’s business development and project management in several fields. Previously Lotta has worked with supply chain development of British SMEs, Permanent Mission of Finland to the UN, European Parliament in Brussels and social development NGOs in Tanzania. She is thus familiar with the wide spectrum of international development and policy frameworks of various donors. Lotta speaks fluent English, Finnish and Swedish and has developed a good understanding of German and Italian.

Jessy joined the team in 2014, and since then she has managed successfully more than 10 projects in Asia and in the Pacific for ADB, WB, SPC, UNDP, FAO and MFAT. Projects managed include project design and implementation projects for agriculture development, marine resources management, disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation and mitigation. Jessy holds a Master’s Degree with honours in Engineering from France, and a post-graduate certificate in Industrial Management (first class honours). Her project management skills are backed by two project management certifications: IPMA (French) and PRINCE2 (international). Following her passion for sustainable development, she also completed an online course on Tropical Coastal Ecosystems from the University of Queensland, Australia. She worked as a volunteer in 2011 and 2012, reforesting a site and building a water filter in a remote village in Togo. Being French by origin and a New Zealand resident, Jessy is fluent in French and English.

Chris holds a Master of Science in Agricultural Economics. Chris has provided consulting services to several bilateral, multilateral, and regional agencies in more than 20 countries across Asia, South America and the Pacific. He has worked in the fields of rural development, food and agribusiness value chain development, climate change adaptation, natural resources management, tourism, infrastructure, public and private sector policy and strategy, investment project design, appraisal and evaluation, and sustainable business development. Chris’ recent work on World Bank, Asian Development Bank and New Zealand government funded projects has focused on improving rural people’s livelihoods by strengthening the competitiveness of agricultural value chains. Chris managed his own horticulture business, served on the Australian Horticulture Export Council and was chairman of the State Organic Industry Association. He and his partner are currently developing an eco-tourism venture in Tasmania, in collaboration with the State Parks and Wildlife Department, and a non-government organisation.

Joseph has over 25 years of experience in Coastal Marine Sciences. He is Indian by origin, with New Zealand citizenship. He holds Doctorates in both Earth Sciences (University of Waikato, New Zealand, 1997) and Marine Sciences (Cochin University of Science and Technology, India, 1991), as well as a Masters in Oceanography. He possesses a good understanding of coastal processes, coastal zone management, environmental issues and climate change. Dr Mathew has a wealth of project experience involving the design, implementation, maintenance and monitoring of sustainable coastal protection and shoreline management for several bilateral and multilateral agencies. Additionally, he has developed and designed guidelines for training and awareness raising purposes. He also has experience in accounting for socio-economic data in the preparation of Coastal Management Plans.

Anthony is a Chartered Accountant and Public Practitioner. He has a Bachelor of Commerce from University of Canterbury (2001) and a Graduate Diploma in Commerce from the University of Auckland (2002). Anthony works with a wide variety of businesses assisting not only with their accounting requirements but also as a passionate business advisor assisting businesses with strategy formulation, accountability, leadership and growth forecasting. With a keen interest in technology, he also assists businesses with implementing and selecting systems that drive improved operational performance. Having previously worked in larger international accounting firms, Anthony is now the director of Evolve Accounting Ltd and assists FCG ANZDEC Ltd with their financial reporting requirements.

Daniel is originally from China but has been living and working in New Zealand since 2002. Daniel holds a bachelor degree in Applied Business Studies in Accounting (Major in Finance). He is also a provisional member of Certified Public Accountants – Australia since 2014. Daniel has experience in accounting and finance across a range of industries and has a high level of attention to detail. He joined FCG ANZDEC on an internship during his studies in 2011, and later re-joined FCG ANZDEC in July 2017. He is fluent in English and Mandarin.

Noora holds a Master of Science in Geography, focusing on international development and sustainability issues. Before joining the team in 2019, she worked in Nepal supporting a NGO with their research, project evaluation and programme design. Originally from Finland, Noora has gained working experience in seven different countries, including the sectors of renewable energy, disaster resilience, education and corporate partnership building. She has published academic research about development communication and has worked with NGO fundraising in New Zealand. She speaks fluently English, Finnish and Swedish, and has developed a good understanding of French, Spanish, Russian and Slovenian.

Gerardo’s expertise is in design of reports and presentations and in corporate imagery. Born in Mexico, he resides in his hometown of Durango. Gerardo also works for Durango’s Institute of Youth consulting on public imagery, design, and communication for media and local businesses. He often attends conferences and presents on responsible social media use and actions against youth cyber-bullying. His passion for art has led him to commence a career as a painter and digital artist. He is a fan of “The Little Prince”. His favourite animal is the fox, symbolising wisdom.

Samuli has a Master’s Degree in Social and Cultural Anthropology and a keen interest in socially and environmentally sustainable global development. He is familiar with the various actors in international development, having worked at UNDP in Zambia, European Commission in Brussels and with a number of projects in developing countries financed by the Asian Development Bank and other International Financing Institutions. Samuli joined FCG originally in 2011 in his home country Finland, went on to establish FCG Asia in Singapore in 2016 and further moved to New Zealand to work for FCG ANZDEC in 2019. His aim is to grow FCG ANZDEC’s business on basis of the company’s unique areas of expertise, while capitalizing on the joint strength and synergies of being a member of FCG Finnish Consulting Group.

Marites is an experienced contract administrator handling projects supported by multilateral and bilateral agencies such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), New Zealand Aid Programme (NZAP), World Bank (WB), Australian Agency for International Development Aid (AusAid), and regional agencies in the Pacific. She has 10 years of experience in financial accounting and a diverse experience in project administration and project accounting.

Ana is a Serbian by origin, with New Zealand citizenship. Ana’s educational background includes a Master of Commerce in Marketing, University of Auckland (2008); Master of Creative Writing, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland (2010); and a Master of Commerce in Management (2001) and a Bachelor of Commerce in Management (1998) from University of Belgrade. Ana has a track record in micro- and macro-economic development: company and project management, sector competitiveness, policy and strategy development, capacity building, and stakeholder engagement. She has several academic and commercial research publications and her interests are in services marketing. Ana is fluent in Serbian, Croatian, and English.