Anja Desai is one of the Managing Directors for GFA Consulting Group. She owns double degrees in political science and public administration with over 25 years of professional experience. She has been working and living in South Asia and Southern Africa; considering a regional footprint to be an essential ingredient required for international cooperation. Her experience is grounded in the steerage of complex international projects, leading project teams and devising strategic projects. Anja represents GFA in relevant industry working groups and welcomes collaboration.

Dr Heiko Weißleder is the Managing Director for Finance, Administration, Quality Management and Compliance of GFA Consulting Group since 2009. His career with GFA began as a consultant for agricultural economics in 1996. In 2000 he became Managing Director of GFA Medica, the Health Consulting company for the GFA Group, which subsequently became a department of GFA Consulting Group in 2005. His versatile consulting experience developed across various African countries, in the Maghreb, the Near East, the Caucasus and Indonesia.

Dr Ilona Schadl is one of the Managing Directors for GFA Consulting Group. She is responsible for supervising several technical departments along with the HR and recruiting areas. She is a trained economist with a Masters in Development Studies and a PhD in International Relations. Her career includes more than 20 years of experience in the field of international cooperation in Asia and Africa focusing on economic development, both as an expert in the field and as a project manager.

Jan Lüneburg is Head of the Advisory Unit. With his team, he provides advice on the implementation of QMC issues, primarily for GFA‘s Technical Departments and management, in close cooperation with the QMC Unit. Jan has a multi-disciplinary background, including positions such as Military Intelligence Officer in the German Air Force. He has over a decade of experience in mid to senior-level programmatic governance/democratization positions in OSCE Field Operations in the Balkans. During this time, he frequently conceptualized, led, and managed complex reforms of organizational units. Jan joined GFA in Hamburg at the end of 2018, initially as a consultant and subsequently as a portfolio manager in the Governance Department. Jan has a law degree from the University of Konstanz/Ministry of Justice Baden Württemberg in Germany.

Constanze Schaaff is the Director of the Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment Department. She has been part of GFA since 2009 starting as Consultant in GFA’s Europe department and later as Portfolio Manager in the Europe, Middle East and North Africa region. Since May 2018 she has been the Team Leader for our KfW financed project in Albania Transboundary Biosphere Reserve Prespa, Phase II supporting participatory protected area management and socio-economic development in the project area. Constanze holds a M.Sc. in geo-ecology and a postgraduate degree in international cooperation from the Centre for Advanced Training in Rural Development. In her career, she has gained vast experience in conservation, environmental governance and climate change adaptation as expert and team leader on projects for GFA`s core clients EU, GIZ and KfW.

Andreas Graefen is a Portfolio Manager in the Agriculture, Natural Resources & Environment Department. He has been with GFA since 1990, working in various positions and technical fields at both the GFA headquarters and in GIZ and KfW-financed long-term missions abroad. His past positions include chief technical advisor and team leader. Having started out as a consultant in agriculture & rural development in Africa, today his main thematic focus and expertise lies within the field of sustainable forest management, climate sensitive landscape restoration, biodiversity conservation, and land management in Europe and Asia. Andreas has undertaken numerous appraisals, feasibility studies and program evaluations. He holds an MSc in Agricultural Economics from Göttingen University.

Astrid Lindenau is a Portfolio Manager in the Agriculture, Natural Resources & Environment Department. She is responsible for acquisitions, projects and studies as well as team management in Eurasia, Latin America and the Caribbean. Astrid joined GFA in 1995. As an agricultural economist, she has worked in the areas of land management and cadastre, value chain development, fisheries and sustainable production in the context of biodiversity and climate change.

Christopher Biller is a Portfolio Manager in the Agriculture, Natural Resources & Environment Department.

Justus Pape is a Portfolio Manager in the Agriculture, Natural Resources & Environment Department, where he is responsible for project acquisition and implementation in Africa. Justus holds a master’s degree in development economics from the University of Göttingen and joined GFA in 2015. He worked as international expert and backstopper for projects in the fields of food and nutrition security, climate smart agriculture, value chain development, and agricultural policy advice.

Minnattallah Boutros is a Portfolio Manager in the Agriculture, Natural Resources & Environment Department. She is an expert on tropical ecology and biodiversity by training (and passion) and leads the NRME Africa portfolio since 2017. Originally, she was mainly working on large international and interdisciplinary scientific projects (funded by BMBF) in West Africa, supporting Capacity Building and the development of sustainable solutions for biodiversity conservation. She joined GFA in 2015, with a strong focus on large KfW conservation projects in francophone, sub-Saharan Africa. Her special duties in GFA include the security task force and business development for Côte d’Ivoire and Togo. In the NRME department, she has additionally taken on the responsibilities as a security backstopper, and is the focal point for Environmental and Social Standards in projects and sustainable procurement.

Teresa Foley is the Unit Manager of our Central Services Unit. After many years and various stages in the hospitality business, she joined GFA in 2019. She has since built-up the Central Service Unit, which unifies the departments of the front desk, copy shop, facility management, cafeteria and all other supporting backbone services that keep the headquarters running on day-to-day bases. She is looking forward to continuing to support the Central Services team and all GFA colleagues in maintaining, creating and further developing a work environment that ensures creativity and space to focus on the important tasks at hand.

Peter Utermöhl is the Director of the Controlling Department. He holds a degree in economics with additional education in controlling analysis. Peter gained experience in finance and controlling in an engineering company seperate to GFA. Starting as a one-man show in controlling and financial analysis in the early years of GFA, he contributed toward the company’s growth via developing the controlling department. He and his team aim to provide the managerial staff with all the necessary data required to successfully lead the company.

Dr Linda Kleemann ist Head of the Digital Innovation Unit that specialises in data-driven services, and digital strategy and policy. Linda has worked in numerous data projects, involving data collection and acquisition, processing, analysis and visualization, as well as the setting up of monitoring and information systems. As an economist with a PhD in Agricultural Economics, her background is in empirical research, in particular impact evaluations in Africa. Prior to joining GFA in 2015, she worked at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.

Ulrich Theuerkauf is the Director of the Energy & Finance Department. He is a graduated political scientist with over 30 years of working experience within the international context. He initially worked in the area of adult education, management training and SME development. Ulrich joined GFA in 2006. He was responsible for private sector development projects. He gradually became engaged within the energy sector with focus on energy efficiency, municipal infrastructure programs and energy policies. Ulrich’s vision is for GFA’s energy sector team to recognizably contribute to the global energy transition.

Aurosree Biswas is a Portfolio Manager in the Energy & Finance Department. He gained his experience in the energy sector since 2010, working in projects in Asia and Africa for the GIZ, CTCN and the UN. He owns a Master’s degree in Energy Technology, as a renewable energy specialist. With his diverse international background, his drive from within GFA is to strengthen business development towards sustainable energy access.

Daniel Lafond, Portfolio Manager in the Energy & Finance Department, has been building his expertise in the energy sector since 2014. With a double Masters in International Political Science, he has advised the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Change on supporting green SMEs and consulted on renewable energy and energy efficiency projects across Africa with GIZ and the European Union. A digital enthusiast, he is passionate about integrating sustainable energy and digital technology in a global context to create a more sustainable future.

Diego Calderón is a Portfolio Manager specializing in sustainable finance, SME and agriculture finance within the Energy & Finance Department. Diego holds a Bachelor's Degree in Economics and Finance from the Universidad Del Rosario in Colombia, a Master's Degree in International and Development Economics from the University of Applied Sciences in Berlin, and is a Certified Expert in Sustainable Finance (CESFI). With nine years of professional experience, including more than six years in the development cooperation sector, Diego has specialised in green and climate finance and SME development. He joined GFA in 2020 and since then he has managed projects mainly focused on the design and implementation of green and SME competitiveness credit lines for financial institutions in Latin America and Central Asia. Diego is fluent in Spanish, English and German and has a good working knowledge of Portuguese.

Isabella Zubrzycka ist the Director of the Financial Project Management Department (FIP). She has been working for GFA since 1998. After completing her commercial training and studying business administration, she started in the FIP department and became head of the department in 2020.

Annika Holdorf is a Team Manager in the Financial Project Management Department. Her strengths lie within the financial administration of projects funded by international cooperatives and research institutions. She enables smart execution of project financing for Hamburg and abroad by coordinating her team’s work. Annika graduated in economics at Hamburg University and she speaks in four languages; German, Dutch, English and French.

Irish Ann Doray is a Team Manager in the Financial Project Management Department as of 2020. She began working for GFA in 2017 and owns an eclectic background, being born into the Philippines and raised in Togo. She previously completed an apprenticeship as an industrial clerk before working within business for a decade. She then gravitated toward GFA through a combination of her language skills, that includes French, and her multicultural background. Her philosophy of life is - live life now!

Jascha Winter is a Team Manager in the Financial Project Management Department and has been working for GFA since 2013. He gained his economic knowledge within the context of international cooperation in Latin America where he worked on the administration of the GIZ in Nicaragua. Furthermore, he has supported an NGO in its work function while also having gained further experience as a freelance business consultant and business founder.

Marco Große is a Team Manager in the Financial Project Management department. He was born and raised in Munich, where he also started his professional career in product management for a large tour operator for cultural round trips, mainly focusing on the Indian subcontinent and the Arab countries. In 2016, he moved to Hamburg for personal reasons, where he gained several years of experience as a project manager at a language services agency.

Christian Caspar is the Manager of the Framework Contracts (FWC) Unit, that was first established in 2018 as a result of increased framework contracts being launched. Christian holds a Master´s in Development Sociology from the University of Bielefeld. He joined GFA as a consultant in 2007 and is working on Framework Contracts since then, first in the Health department, later also in the Education, Skills and Employment department. Christian has more than 20 years of experience in development cooperation and has worked in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Jan Prothmann is the Director of the Governance Department.He has worked in various positions and technical areas both at GFA headquarters and in long-term assignments abroad for GIZ and KfW-financed projects. Having started out as a consultant in agriculture and rural development, today his main thematic focus and expertise is now in the field of governance, notably anti-corruption, decentralisation, civil society participation and urban development. Jan is an alumnus of the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS). He holds an MSc in International Development, a BA in Business & Economics and a MA in Philosophy, with a focus on political and moral philosophy.

Christian Bürger is a Portfolio Manager in the Governance Department. He is responsible for governance projects in West- and Central Africa. He studied business administration and political science and has more than 15 years professional experience in international cooperation in the public and private sector. His expertise ranges from decentralization to civil society support and public administration reform.

Dr Victoria Jennett is a Portfolio Manager in the Governance Department. She is responsible for governance projects in Ukraine and Europe. A lawyer by training, with a PhD in constitutional law and conflict transformation, she has more than 15 years’ experience working with multilateral and bilateral governmental organisations and NGOs (including Transparency International, OSCE, GIZ, USAID, Council of Europe and UNDP). She is an expert on justice sector reform and corruption risk assessments and an experienced trainer, tutor and facilitator.

Franziska Helbig is a Portfolio Manager in the Governance Department, responsible for our projects in the Middle East and North Africa. Fluent in Arabic, French and English, with a diploma in interpretation and a master's degree in human rights and governance, she joined GFA in 2015. She has worked both at headquarters and on in-country projects in the MENA and Europe regions, particularly designing and implementing projects on gender, decentralization and civil society participation.

Katja Trappe-Willms is a Portfolio Manager responsible for governance projects in Sub-Saharan Africa. She is a trained lawyer and mediator with 15 years of professional experience in development cooperation, specializing in governance topics such as decentralization, justice sector reform, and civil society support. After spending four years in the Philippines as coordinator for a GIZ PPP-project on social standards for suppliers of German retailers, she joined GFA in 2009.

Thea Güttler is a Portfolio Manager responsible for governance projects in Asia and Latin America. With a Master's degree in Peace Studies and International Politics from the University of Tübingen and a postgraduate diploma from the German Institute for Development and Sustainability (IDOS), she joined the team in 2017. Fluent in English, Spanish and French, Thea oversees projects in Asia and Latin America, ensuring effective coordination and implementation. With 10 years of experience in international development cooperation, her expertise lies in training schemes, facilitating multi-stakeholder dialogues, and addressing issues of peace, conflict, and civic engagement. She also coordinated the EU-Latin America Partnership on Raw Materials project as an expert. Based at GFA headquarters, she has designed and implemented various governance projects for GIZ, KfW and SDC.

Eva Schildbach is the Director of the Health Department since January 2023. After completing her Master in Public Health / Health Promotion at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 2001, she embarked on a professional career in the health sector of international development cooperation. She has worked both as a public health specialist and in managerial roles for projects in Asia and Africa for various clients. Originating from the field of promoting the health of young people, she is now overseeing a health portfolio that covers all aspects of health systems strengthening in Asia, Africa and Europe.

Tobias Hoffarth is a Portfolio Manager in the Health Department, where he oversees the health sector project acquisition and implementation of GIZ, EU, Global Fund, Gavi and SDC-funded health strengthening projects across Africa, Asia and Europe. He has provided advisory and project management services for various long- and short-term assignments within development cooperation projects focusing on health governance, health financing and health promotion. His academic background includes a Master of Public Health from the University of Edinburgh and a Master´s in International Political Economy from the University of Warwick.

Yoryos Pönnighaus is a Portfolio Manager in the Health Department, overseeing the acquisition and implementation of KFW, ADB, AFD and EIB-funded public health strengthening projects across Africa and Asia, with a particular focus on feasibility studies and procurement. He has over fifteen years of experience across a variety of focus areas, including corporate law, epidemiological research and public health project implementation. Yoryos has a law degree from Cambridge, an MBA from Cape Town and a MSc in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Bilingual in English and German, Yoryos is also fluent in French with significant experience of consulting on public health projects in Central and Western Africa.

Henrik Uehlecke is Director of the Private Sector, Skills & Employment Department. He has held various positions at GFA since 2013, including Portfolio Manager in the Energy Department, as well as various expert and team leader positions. During his career, Henrik has worked on sustainable energy and climate issues, mainly in the Western Balkans, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and in Western and Southern Africa, most recently on the establishment of a sustainable green hydrogen economy in South Africa as part of the country's Just Energy Transition. As GFA's main contact in the field of energy and climate, Henrik represents GFA as a focal point in committees and expert groups as well as vis-à-vis clients in the bundling of climate issues across the GFA Group. He is also responsible for GFA's climate and energy strategy, which aims to promote and enhance GFA's climate change mitigation and adaptation services.

Andrea Ehben is a Portfolio Manager in the Private Sector, Skills and Employment Department. Together with her team, she is responsible for projects within the Francophone and West African regions. From the onset of her professional career, her work has focused on skills development amongst varied international contexts, such as GIZ’s Ghana Skills Development Initiative, where she gained experience as a long-term expert. Being a native of northern Germany, she gains stimulating fulfillment via alternating between working in Hamburg and the partner countries.

Christian Prange is a Portfolio Manager in the Private Sector, Skills & Employment Department. Holding a Master's degree in Sociology and Economy, he has worked as a project manager/consultant in various projects spanning over 14 years of experience in the field of development cooperation. This has especially focused in the areas of vocational education and training, labor market and employment, adult education, promotion of SME/private sector development as well as integration and migration. He has worked in 25 countries and owns a thorough knowledge of EU, GIZ, KFW, EBRD, SDC policies and the accompanying administrative procedures. He is a German native speaker while fluent in both English and Spanish.

Lukas Kudlimay is a Portfolio Manager in the Private Sector, Skills & Employment 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.

Philipp Seelinger is a Portfolio Manager in the Private Sector, Skills & Employment Department.

Stefanie Feilke is a Portfolio Manager in the Private Sector, Skills & Employment Department. She holds a degree in economics and has been working in the fields of vocational training, labour markets, and public administration reform for more than 20 years. During this time, she has worked with stakeholders at the micro, meso, and macro levels. She is experienced in practical implementation work and advisory and management activities, including vocational guidance, placements, development of labour market policies and active labor market measures, advising ministries and public institutions on vocational training, and human resources development. Stefanie has also worked in the field of career guidance and (youth) employment promotion. She has many years of experience working with GIZ, EU, SDC, and KfW. Together with her team, she focuses on former transition countries and the Middle East.

Yannick Brandt is a Portfolio Manager in the Private Sector, Skills & Employment Department.

Cristian Ferreri is the Director of the Public Finance Management Department. Prior to this, he worked for more than 10 years as a consultant and portfolio manager in the international cooperation sector and more specifically Public Finance Management, Regional Development, M&E and Private Sector Development, in projects financed by disparate donors. Cristian holds a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in political science with a specialization in international relations from the University of Rosario (Argentina) and a Master's degree in Advanced International Studies from the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna (Austria). Cristian is fluent in Spanish, Italian, English, French, German and Portuguese. He has good command of Russian and basic knowledge of Czech.
“There is no SDGs Financing without Public Finance!”

Louis Leca is a Portfolio Manager in the Public Finance Management Department (PFM). His academic qualifications include a Master's Degree in Development Economics with a focus on financial engineering and sub-national entity management. Louis also holds certifications in M&E and in procurement for internationally funded programs. He has been part of the GFA HQ team since April 2023, initially in charge of coordinating TGF/Gavi projects, as well as conducting backstopping and organizational diagnostic missions in Mali and Senegal. Its scope of responsibility now covers a wider range of topics and geographical areas within the department. Before joining GFA, Louis held key positions in challenging environments such as Operations or Finance Coordinator for INGOs in Liberia, Comoros Island, Central African Republic, Guinea, Cambodia and Republic of Congo. Louis has extensive experience in public fund management, project coordination, financial administration and audit of international programs.

Simon Ansel is Portfolio Manager in the Public Finance Management Department (PFM). Simon holds a Master´s in International Business with Africa focus from the University of Tübingen, University of Cape Town and University of Ghana. He joined GFA in 2019 as a consultant in the PFM department and took over the position of Team Leader in a Fiscal Agent project in Kinshasa, DRC, in 2021. Prior to his engagement with GFA, Simon led a social business as country coordinator in Malawi for over three years. Simon’s professional focus is on risk minimization, fraud prevention and capacity building for public grant management.

Dr Mareike Meyn is Head of the Regional Management. She 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 ofpPrivate 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.

Regine Reuter is the Director of the Recruitment Department. She holds a Master in Horticulture from University of Hannover and in tropical Agriculture from SupAgro (CNEARC) in Montpellier. Regine started her career as Junior Consultant in development cooperation in the sector Agriculture and Rural development with assignments in Africa and Asia.
After several years as personnel consultant in a leading recruitment company and in an institution for further education she joined the Recruitment Department at GFA in 2011.

Dagmar Röhr is a Team Manager in the Recruitment Department. She started her career at GFA in 2005 as an assistant to the Latin America regional department but then discovered her passion for recruitment. Over the past years, she has developed her skills and experience in recruiting – and is proficient in finding suitable experts for GFA’s worldwide projects, and qualified consultants for GFA’s headquarters in Hamburg. She holds a master’s degree in linguistics and development economics. Apart from her native language German, she is fluent in English and Spanish, and has a working knowledge of Portuguese.

Liliana Tiedt is a Team Manager in the Recruitment Department. Upon graduating with degree in economics, Liliana started her career in development cooperation working for GIZ, EBRD and USAID in Moldova. Complementing the working experience by a master degree in European Studies from the University of Hamburg, Liliana joined GFA for over 20 years. As consultant and recruiter, she participated in identifying and mobilizing the team of experts for a wide range of projects. Liliana is native in Romanian and Russian and has working knowledge of English, German and French.

Megann Boussert is a Team Manager in the Recruitment Department. After earning a master's degree in Political Science from a French “Grande École”, Megann joined GFA in 2016 as an administrative coordinator at the Water, Sanitation & Waste Management Department; followed by a stint within the Education, Skills & Employment Department as a Junior Professional. While she thoroughly enjoyed both of these roles, it was in the Recruitment Department that she found her true home. Since 2020, Megann has been doing her best to make everyone - colleagues and experts alike - feel motivated and happy. In this role, her expat perspective has been a tremendous asset when building teams to support colleagues.

Afrim Kalanderi is the Director of the Water, Sanitation & Waste Management Department. He has 20 years of professional experience in the management of water, sanitation and waste management projects within the context of development cooperation. He holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration, from the Freie Universität Berlin, with a focus on development finance. His international experience began with the management of financial operations for four water companies within a World Bank project in Albania. He has held responsibility in various institutional strengthening projects to lead multidisciplinary teams in implementing performance improvement measures in areas of water supply and sanitation in different parts of the world.

Wolfgang Hützen is a Portfolio Manager in the Water Supply, Sanitation, and Waste Management Department. He holds a double degree in International Agriculture and Sustainable Environmental Management and joined GFA Consulting Group in 2010. During his professional career, he worked as a water supply and sanitation specialist and team leader in multiple rural development, municipal improvement, and water supply and sanitation programs across East Africa, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe.