Dr. Mareike Meyn is the Director of the Private Sector Development Department and has been with GFA for over a decade. Being a trade economist by training, Mareike had previously worked for GFA as an expert, consultant and Portfolio Manager in the fields of Private Sector Development, Trade and Quality Infrastructure, both at the GFA headquarters and GFA projects. She spent four years working for GIZ as Head of Program in Kosovo and Nigeria and also worked as an EU key expert for a trade project in Bangladesh. Mareike holds a PhD on Development Economics from the University of Bremen, with English fluency and a working knowledge of French.

Dr. Lena Giesbert is a Portfolio Manager in the Private Sector Development Department focusing on the Sub-Saharan Africa region. After pursuing a career in academia, she joined GFA in 2017 and has worked in various positions and assignments as technical expert at GFA headquarters and in projects. Her main working fields include the promotion of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSME), entrepreneurship, innovation, trade and investment promotion, regional integration and value chain development. Lena holds a PhD in Development Economics from Humboldt University in Berlin and a master's degree in African Studies from the University of Leipzig.

Lukas Kudlimay is a Portfolio Manager and senior consultant in the Private Sector Development Department. He joined GFA in 2016 and has been working in different positions and on technical assignments, both short and long-term. Lukas gained extensive implementation and coordination experience in complex (multi-component and multi-stakeholder) donor-funded technical assistance projects across Asia and Europe. Before joining GFA, he worked on EU-China trade relations for Cardno Emerging Markets in Beijing, China. He holds a master’s degree in European Studies from the University of Hamburg and a postgraduate master’s degree in EU International Relations and Diplomacy from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium.

Yannick Brandt is a Portfolio Manager in the Private Sector Development Department.