MR Microinsurance_2012_03_29.indd - International Labour ...

About the authors 601
nomics of banking and finance, period …” Morduch’s on-going work on social investment, financed by the Ford
Foundation, applies insights from the modern theory of corporate finance to develop new understandings of the limits
and possibilities of markets and philanthropy. Morduch is currently Chair of the United Nations Committee on
Poverty Statistics, advises Pro Mujer, and is a member of SafeSave in Dhaka. He is a member of the Editorial Board of
the World Bank Economic Review and of the UN Advisors Group on Inclusive Financial Sectors. His views on finance
and development have been reported by the New York Times, The New Yorker, CNN, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles
Times, Washington Post, Associated Press and other organizations. He holds a BA from Brown and a PhD from
Harvard, both in economics. In January 2009, Morduch was awarded a Doctorate Honoris Causa by the Université
Libre de Bruxelles. His new co-authored book Portfolios of the poor: How the world’s poor live on $2 a day is published by
Princeton University Press.
Andrew Mude, a Kenyan national, obtained his undergraduate degree at Gettysburg College. In 1999, he graduated
Summa Cum Laude with a major in economics and a minor in mathematics and French. In 2000, he joined Cornell
University in pursuit of his doctoral degree in economics specializing in development economics and applied econometrics.
He received his PhD in June 2006. As part of his dissertation research, he spent six months in the field studying
coffee producers and their cooperatives in Murang’a district, Kenya. For this effort he won the silver medal at the
2007 Global Development Network. Upon completion of his doctoral degree in Economics from Cornell University,
he joined the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in August 2006 as an economist at ILRIs Targeting and
Innovations Programme. His current portfolio deals largely with researching and designing risk management and
development interventions to help increase resilience and reduce vulnerability amongst poor livestock-dependent
households, particularly in pastoral areas. He leads ILRI’s Index-Based Livestock Insurance programme.
Jennifer Powers is the Access to Finance Practice Manager for EA Consultants and has ten years’ experience in microfinance,
microinsurance, investment banking and financial sector development. She has worked on assignments in
Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. Since joining EA, she has worked on a number of technical assistance
programmes for MFIs in Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America authored several reports for the Inter-American
Development Bank and USAID on constraints on growth in women’s small businesses, the effects of the 2008 financial
crisis on the microfinance sector, the domestic and international person-to-person lending market and risk management
for MFIs.
She was previously an Investment Officer with Deutsche Bank Social Investments, where she conducted due
diligence, made investment recommendations and managed client relationships in 15 countries. Her work in development
finance has built upon her experience as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch, where she advised insurance
companies and other financial institutions. She holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs and Economic
Development from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics
from Duke University.
Ralf Radermacher is Deputy Chairman of the Micro Insurance Academy e.V. (MIA International) and Director of
Research and Training at MIA India. He was instrumental in setting up MIA both in India and Bonn, Germany and
positioning it as one of the world’s leading institutions for microinsurance technical assistance and research. Before
joining MIA, he worked at the University of Cologne, where he was involved in teaching and research on cooperatives.
He coordinated the EU-funded project “Strengthening Micro Health Insurance Units for the Poor in India”
and undertook several consultancies for development organizations. Prior to this, he worked with one of the largest
German development NGOs (Welthungerhilfe) and gained insight into the work of other public (Federal Ministry of
Economic Cooperation & Development) and private (GFA Umwelt) players in the development domain. He holds a
postgraduate degree in Economics from the University of Cologne and spent a term abroad at Birmingham
University.
Dirk Reinhard graduated in Industrial Engineering and Management and has more than ten years’ experience in the
sustainability and finance industry sector. From 2001 to 2004, he was responsible for sustainable investment in the
Environmental Management Unit of Munich Reinsurance Company and has published numerous articles on this
subject.
Prior to joining Munich Re, he worked for oekom research AG as a sustainability analyst in the period from 1995
to 2000. In April 2004, Dirk Reinhard was appointed Vice-Chairman of the Munich Re Foundation. He is a member
of the Executive Committee of the Microinsurance Network (2008–2013) and Chairman of the Steering Committee of
the annual International Microinsurance Conference, which is jointly hosted by the Munich Re Foundation and the
Microinsurance Network.
Rupalee Ruchismita is the founding head of the Centre for Insurance and Risk Management (CIRM) at the Institute
of Financial Management and Research, Chennai, India. CIRM’s mandate is to undertake product design and action
research to facilitate the provision of formal risk management solutions to vulnerable households to protect them from
economic shocks and increase their resilience. Rupalee leads the Centre’s activities via several pioneering projects (see
http://www.cirm.in/projects for details). In her current role, she steers the Centre’s strategy, oversees implementation
of current projects, develops new initiatives and manages policy partnerships.
She serves as a Steering Committee member of the ILO’s Microinsurance Innovation Facility. She graduated
in 2003 with a Master’s in Social Work from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. She has authored several papers
on innovative financial solutions in the area of health and livelihoods and has been invited to present her work at
various international conferences and forums, such as UN, IFC and the Munich Re International Microinsurance
Conference.
Rob Rusconi is a Johannesburg-based actuary with working experience in insurance, investments, healthcare and
pensions, working for long-term insurers, assets managers and, in London, for FT.com, the internet business of the
Financial Times newspaper.