Steering Group

David has been working as Humanitarian Logistics and Operational Support Advisor with Welthungerhilfe since 2017. Amongst other roles, he previously worked with GOAL Global in Iraq, where he was responsible for the management of the Logistics department. David has worked extensively in the field of humanitarian logistics, both at HQ level and through a multitude of missions in the field. He works with the Global Logistics Cluster on behalf of Welthungerhilfe. He holds an MSc in International Development.

Annette has been working in UNHRD for close to seven years, starting as an IM officer and most recently as a Supply Chain officer, responsible for strategic and operational support for the network. Prior to that, she was working on staff development and training within the WFP Supply Chain Division. She has a BA in Journalism.

Guillaume has been a member of the emergency unit for ACF since July 2018 as Readiness Coordinator. He holds a bachelor’s in Economics and Management obtained in Paris, and an MBA in international development and humanitarian action obtained in Québec.

Guillaume joined ACF in 2011 as a logistics intern in DRC, continued as a log-admin in DRC and South Sudan and then occupied position of Head of logistics department in South Sudan, DRC and Haiti until June 2018. He was recently deployed in Mozambique to launch ACF response to cyclone Idaï.

Jason is Assistant Professor of Supply Chain and Information Systems in Smeal College of Business at Penn State University. He holds a Ph.D. from the MIT’s Operations Research Centre and a B.Sc. in Physics from Yale University. His non-academic experience includes CapitalOne, Amazon and Doctors Without Borders.

Jason’s research interests include applied operations research and non-traditional supply chains. Specifically, he has focused on characterising and developing implementable solutions fot the unique problems arising in supply chain networks of online retailing, computer manufacturing, mobile money in Africa, and disaster relief pre-positioning.

He teaches supply chain analytics at Penn State. His work appeared in the ASA’s Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports, Manufacturing and Service Operations Management, and Journal of Operations Management. He has been awarded the INFORMS Dantzig Dissertation Award, the CSCMP Doctoral Dissertation Award, the M&SOM best paper award and has been a finalist for the M&SOM Practice-Based Research Competition.

Former Policeman and Logistics manager with Honeywell Inc., he joined British Red Cross (BRC) as a field logistics delegate in Angola (1989-1990) with ICRC and Yemen (1990-1991) with IFRC.

He established BRC’s Logistics department in 1991, building from 1½ staff to current team of 9 staff in the London HQ and E Midlands UK warehouse.

He supported the initiation and development of the IFRC’s Logistics Emergency Response Unit (ERU) – stand-by teams of 5 logisticians, able to deploy worldwide within 24 hours in response to sudden-onset disasters and establishing the IFRC’s supply chain.

He developed BRC’s global pre-positioned relief supplies strategy, currently US$3.5m of blankets, tarpaulins, cooksets, mosquito nets, shelter kits, hygiene kits, jerry cans and tents in KL, Panama, Harare and Dubai.

Mike is engaged with developing the humanitarian logistics sector, including board membership of the Humanitarian Logistics Association; Emergency Supply Pre-positioning Strategy (ESUPS) and developing KPIs with the Logistics Cluster.

Nirpa is an experienced humanitarian operation professional with primary skills in logistic and supply chain.

He has 13 years of experience working in humanitarian organizations in different roles (Emergency Logistics, Procurement, Project Management, Administration, Financial Management, Research and Teaching).

Nirpa holds a Master Degree in Business Studies and is Certified Humanitarian Logistician (CHL) from CILT, UK. He served as Supply Chain Management Advisor in East Asia Region before joining the Disaster Management Team. 

He now manages logistics of emergency responses as technical advisor in the Global Rapid Response Team.

An experienced senior manager with an established track record of effective management and leadership within the non-profit sector. She has experience working in conflict and post conflict countries and head office environments and is skilled in Non-profit Organisations, Humanitarian Assistance, Food Security, Capacity Development, and Programme Evaluation. She holds a BSc focused in Environmental Science from The Open University.

Susan is experienced in emergency response and in the development of long-term supply chain planning, pre-positioning and virtual stock arrangements set up to facilitate a rapid deployment of supplies globally. She has a hands-on approach to successful leadership, engaging with key stakeholders, beneficiaries, partners and third parties, delivering fit-for-purpose strategies and controls.

A proven talent for planning and forecasting, and an excellent record in working to tight deadlines within complex operational projects, proven communication skills, and in-depth experience at strategic and operational levels in both development and emergency programming. Proven leadership skills, managing multi-national staff and complex programming in insecure environments, with flexible approaches, and a proven track record in motivation of teams. Experience of change management, programme expansion/reduction, new programme start up, use of technology, response initiatives.

Takuya Ono, PhD has over 16 years construction project management experience, including over nine years in Haiti and Sri Lanka during the phase of post-disaster recovery.

He currently holds a position of Senior Shelter and Settlements Officer at Department of Operations and Emergencies in IOM Headquaters in Geneva, Switzerland, to provide technical support on Shelter and Non Food Items programmes to the field missions. He also acts as the IOM focal point for Global Logistics Cluster.