Board of Directors
M. Ishaq Nadiri, Co-Chair and founder
Jay Gould Professor of Economics
New York University.
Dana H. Freyer, Co-Chair and founder
Partner
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Leila Shakkour, Treasurer
Managing Director (retired)
UBS Warburg
Alan G. Straus, Secretary
Partner
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Faruq Achikzad
Senior Advisor
Intercap International
Ruth B. Cowan
Founding President
Pro Mujer
Bruce Freyer
Entrepreneur
E. Davisson Hardman
Managing Director
Warburg Pincus
Fred Kittler
Managing Director & Co-Founder
Firelake Capital Management
Polly McTaggart
Founder
Crème de la Terre
Omair Rana
Director - Strategy
Dubai International Capital
James D. Seymour
Managing Director
EMP Global
Rajiv Singh
Director of Global Markets
Deutsche Bank AG
Suzanne Thompson
Principal
Coronado Consultants
Omar Zakhilwal, PhD
Economist
Roger Hardister, Executive Director
Zundi Gul Zamani, Afghanistan Program Director
Leadership Bios:
M. Ishaq Nadiri (Co-Chair) is Jay Gould Professor of Economics at New York University. A former department chair, he was also founder and first director of NYU’s C.V. Starr Center for Applied Economics. He has served as a consultant to corporations, governments and international organizations, including the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the Ford Foundation. Professor Nadiri was a signatory of the 2001 Bonn meetings where the interim government of Afghanistan was created; a participant in the Tokyo meeting focused on funding Afghanistan’s reconstruction, the White House and UN Security Council meetings during Hamid Karzai’s visit in January 2002, and the Loya Jirga in Kabul in June 2002 that resulted in Mr. Karzai’s election as president. Professor Nadiri serves as Senior Economic Advisor to Mr. Karzai. Emigrating from Afghanistan to the United States at age 19, Professor Nadiri received his B.S. from the University of Nebraska, and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.
Dana H. Freyer (Co-Founder and Co-Chair) is a partner in the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in New York City, where she heads the firm's Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution and Corporate Compliance Program practices. She is also a member of the firm's International Arbitration Group. She is listed in Chambers Global and many similar rankings as one of the world's leading lawyers in international arbitration, and has been named by the National Law Journal as one of the 50 top women litigators in America. Ms. Freyer is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. From 1965-68, she was the assistant to the Afghanistan Ambassador to the United Nations in his capacities as Ambassador and as President of the United Nations General Assembly. A graduate of Connecticut College and Columbia University Law School, she has traveled extensively in Afghanistan.
Leila Shakkour (Treasurer) served SBC Warburg Dillon Read Division (now known as UBS Warburg) as Managing Director from 1994-98, leading proprietary research in special situations and distressed securities. During the previous decade, she was a General Partner in O’Connor & Associates, in charge of proprietary equity research, until the firm was acquired by Swiss Bank Corporation. Her philanthropic activities include the Women's Philanthropic Initiative at the University of Wisconsin and previous membership on the board of the American Association of University Women Foundation. Ms. Shakkour established and leads a private foundation with her husband, Michael Thorne, whose mission is to support music, science and technology initiatives for underserved populations. A Certified Public Accountant, she holds a B.A. degree from Tufts University and an M.S. in accounting and finance from the University of Wisconsin.
Alan G. Straus (Secretary), is a retired partner of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, where for almost 30 years he specialized in corporate finance, corporate restructuring, and international business transactions. He currently combines a legal practice in which he represents sponsors of investment funds, focusing principally on development investing, with directorships and other consulting activity on development, finance and philanthropic investment. He received a B.A. degree from the University of Wisconsin and a J.D. from the New York University School of Law, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of International Law and Politics.
Faruq Achikzad is founder and senior advisor of Intercap International in New York, a firm that appraises investments in the Arab Gulf and Pacific Rim. His background includes 30 years of international experience in economics and finance, in both the public and private sectors. He has conducted economic research, formulation and implementation of national economic and financial policies, including project identification, appraisal, evaluation, and management of technical assistance. Mr. Achikzad was chief investment development officer for the United Nations Bureau of Program Policy and Evaluation, and also served as resident representative for the United Nations Development Program in the United Arab Emirates, Cyprus, and North Korea. He has held positions with the Federal Reserve Bank, Bank of America, Chase Manhattan Bank, Da Afghanistan bank and the Trading Company of Afghanistan. He is fluent in Persian and Pushtoo with working knowledge of Arabic, French, and Urdu. Also a board member of the Children of War and a Senior Analyst at the Nautilus Institute, Mr. Achikzad earned a B.A. in Economics from Syracuse University and an M.S. in Economics (International Finance) from San Francisco State University.
Ruth B. Cowan has had a career merging college teaching, administration, human rights activism and extensive work in developing countries. She has held senior administrative positions at colleges, advised failing colleges on turnaround processes and chaired a New York City Commission on the Status of Women during two mayoral administrations. Her experience working in developing countries spans more than two decades. She is the Founding President of the Board of Directors of Pro Mujer, a micro finance organization providing services in five Latin American countries and internationally recognized for its excellence. She has advised La Coordinadora, an organization in El Salvador committed to comprehensive and sustainable development in the Lower Baja River region. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Alliance for a Responsible Cuba Policy Foundation. She served on a number of government commissions and on more than a dozen regional, national and international boards of directors. She holds degrees in political science and labor relations from Cornell University, the University of Illinois, and New York University and completed post-doctoral studies in management at Harvard University. In her current position as Scholar-in-Residence at American University's Women & Politics Institute in the School of Public Affairs, Washington. D.C., her interest is on democracy consolidation in South Africa.
Bruce Freyer has been engaged in a number of private sector businesses following his departure from the active rabbinate. He was an owner, chief designer and buyer for a nationally known company importing china and other giftware from around the world. He has simultaneously maintained substantial involvement in not-for-profit organizations in the tri-state area, including Westchester Jewish Community Services, Human Development Services of Westchester and Hope House. He is on the staff of Manhattanville College where he serves as the Jewish Chaplain. He has traveled extensively in Afghanistan since his first visit in 1972. Mr. Freyer holds B.A. degrees from Case Western Reserve University and Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, where he also earned a masters degree.
E. Davisson (Dave) Hardman is a managing director of Warburg Pincus and member of the Executive Management Group. Prior to this position, he was a managing director of Morgan Stanley and U.S. Head of Real Estate Investing. Following five years on active duty in the U.S. Army, he has spent his business career in real estate investment including emerging markets, and living in Asia to start up and run Morgan Stanley's real estate investment business there. He is a member of the Real Estate Roundtable, Urban Land Institute and Pension Real Estate Association. Mr. Hardman received his B.S. from the United States Military Academy and his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Fred Kittler is a managing director and co-founder of Firelake Capital Management LLC. Previously, Mr. Kittler was the Co-President of Velocity Capital Management LLC, the investment adviser of the Velocity Technology and Communications Fund. Mr. Kittler also spent 11 years at J.P. Morgan Investment Management, Inc., in technology, first as a software analyst in 1985, then as the portfolio manager responsible for small capitalization technology and health science investments. Prior to that, Mr. Kittler spent five years as a sell-side research analyst at First Albany Corporation, with an emphasis on advanced defense technology, and also as a systems analyst, programmer and production manager for Graphic Management Systems in New York. Mr. Kittler holds an M.A. in Economics from Columbia University and a B.A. in Architecture from Princeton University. He has served on the Visiting Committee for Advanced Technology at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and on the Independent Review Panel of the Public Interest R&D program of the California Energy Commission.
Polly D. McTaggart was most recently the founder and owner of Crème de la Terre, an herbal skin care manufacturer. Previously, she was the owner of Dickinson Manufacturing Company, a uniform and hospital garment manufacturer, and served as Director of Finance and Planning for the women's wear division of Levi Straus & Co. Ms. McTaggart served on the Tennessee Commission on the Status of Women and was the Chair of this organization from 1974-75. In Greenwich, Ct, she has served on various committees at Greenwich Academy and was an active member of the Arch Street Board of Directors and Teen Board. She founded and led the Greenwich Book Club and was the Chair of the House Committee of the Belle Haven Club. She has served on various committees of the Greenwich Hospital Benefit. She received a MBA from Pepperdine University and a B.A. from Vanderbilt University. She holds national titles in competitive horse show jumping.
Omair Rana is Director – Strategy at Dubai International Capital, the private equity and international investment arm of Dubai Holding, the company which drives the vision of United Arab Emirates Vice-President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. Mr. Rana’s background is in banking, including capital markets, trading analytics, mergers and acquisitions and corporate strategy, and he has worked for companies such as Citigroup, UBS Investment Bank and Lehman Brothers. He has spent time in New York, London and Tokyo and is currently working in Dubai. He has been an active participant in child literacy charities impacting South Asia and has helped with relief efforts in the earthquake affected areas of northern Pakistan in 2005 and 2006. He is also on the Board of the UAE Philharmonic, a grass-roots orchestra in the UAE. He holds a B.S. in Biochemistry from James Madison University and a double MBA from Columbia Business School and London Business School.
James D. Seymour, CFA is a Managing Director of EMP Global in Washington, D.C. Previously he was with Commonfund Capital, the wholly owned subsidiary of Commonfund which manages its private capital programs. Mr. Seymour was primarily responsible for the international and emerging markets private capital programs at Commonfund and Commonfund Capital. During his18 years at Bankers Trust Company in the international banking and corporate finance, he was Division Head for the Americas in the Global Assets Department and worked in Bahrain, Manila, Taipei, Istanbul, and London.. He was a member of the Risk Standards Working Group which wrote the Risk Standards for Institutional Investment Managers and Institutional Investors that was completed in 1996. Mr. Seymour received a B.A. in Political Science from Yale University in 1969 and an MBA in International Finance from the Harvard Business School in 1975. He also served four years in submarines in the U.S. Navy. He is a Certified Financial Planner and a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Rajiv Singh is a Director in the Global Markets division at Deutsche Bank in New York City, where he is a member of the Structured Capital Markets Group. He has also worked in investment banking at Credit Suisse First Boston and Merrill Lynch & Co. since 1998. Prior to his experience in investment banking, he worked for United Technologies Corporation in Europe and Asia. Mr. Singh holds Master and Bachelor of Technology degrees from the Indian Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. from Harvard University. His has been an active participant and contributor on issues relating to education and the environment with a special focus on the Indian sub-continent and South Asian diaspora, and is fluent in Hindi with working knowledge of French and German.
Suzanne Thompson, is a principal co-founder of Coronado Consultants, which provides communications and strategy services to nonprofit and business clients. She held a series of executive positions in New York and London with Mobil Oil and served as vice president of public affairs for Bresnan Communications, a cable and telecommunications company which was acquired by Charter Communications. Subsequently, she has worked as a consultant on start-up ventures in the cable and telecommunications fields. In addition, she is also Chair of the Board of Governors and a founding Board member of Future Leaders Institute, a new charter school in Harlem, and helped to create and run two nonprofits with an environmental focus. She holds a B.A. from Southern Methodist University.
Omar Zakhilwal, PhD, is President and CEO of the Afghanistan Investment Support Agency (AISA) which facilitates registration, licensing and promotion of all investments in Afghanistan. He works extensively with President Hamid Karzai to attract industrial investment from both within and outside Afghanistan, thus generating employment and economic growth in the country. An economist, Dr. Zakhilwal, previously served as senior advisor to Afghanistan's Minister of Rural Reconstruction and Development. Also a Senior Research Economist with the Government of Canada and a professor of Economics at Carleton University in Ottawa, he was a delegate to the recent historic Loya Jirga in Kabul that elected Afghanistan's President and approved its government and cabinet. Founder as well as the Director of Afghanistan Center for Policy Development, Dr. Zakhilwal is also a member of Governing Council of the Central Bank of Afghanistan, founding member and the president of the board of directors of Partnership Afghanistan Canada and a founding member and the chair of the start-up committee of the Canadian Engineers for the Reconstruction of Afghanistan. He has written numerous articles in English, Pashto and Dari on political, economic and social issues pertaining to Afghanistan for a number of Afghan and international publications, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Ottawa Citizen, Forum of Federation Quarterly and Human Rights Tribune. He presently resides in Kabul.
Roger Hardister joined GPFA as Executive Director in 2008, based in Kabul. He was formerly the Vice President for Program Development at the Near East Foundation (NEF). Mr. Hardister was based in Cairo, Egypt, for much of his tenure with NEF, a respected international philanthropic organization with headquarters in New York. Prior to his position as Vice President for Program Development, he served as NEF’s Program Director for Egypt and Sudan. He later established the foundation’s Cairo regional office to serve the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn. Mr. Hardister served as Regional Director for more than 15 years and established NEF offices and independent program activities in 10 countries. Mr. Hardister holds a master’s degree in social work (Organization and Community Studies) and a bachelor’s degree in sociology and psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Zundi Gul Zamani prior to accepting a position with GPFA, worked for over twenty years for the Afghanistan International Rescue Committee (IRC) in its agriculture division, serving as project manager for a range of initiatives. Most recently he served as IRC’s Deputy Field Coordinator for Central Southeastern Afghanistan and ultimately as its Technical Adviser for Agriculture. He has extensive experience in small agribusiness initiatives, cereal seed multiplication, farmer extension and fruit tree nursery management. Mr. Zamani holds a BSc in Agriculture from Kabul University in Afghanistan.