Draft:Alissa Kole

Alissa Kole (Amico) is an economic and corporate governance advisor. She worked at the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris, where she led initiatives related to governance and investment. Currently, she serves as the Founder and Managing Director of GOVERN Center, an advisory firm specialising on governance, strategy and economics.

Education
Kole holds a Business Administration degree from York University, a Master of Sciences in Political Economy from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and professional certificates from Yale.

Career
Over the past 15 years, Kole has been involved in supporting policymakers, boards, and senior executives in addressing challenges related to private and state-owned governance, financial market development, innovation, institution building, and regulatory reforms. During her tenure at the OECD, Alissa spearheaded several strategic initiatives, including the establishment of the Middle East Corporate Governance Programme. She also took part in assessment and negotiations for the accession of multiple countries to the OECD. She has provided counsel to Ministers and senior executives, predominantly in emerging markets across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Alissa has authored governance laws and codes and has served as an advisor in corporate restructurings and transactions.

She received recognition for her work with regulators and boards, including the Rising Star of Corporate Governance Award from Yale Law School in 2014. Additionally, she was named one of the Top 100 Leaders in Europe and the Middle East by the Centre for Sustainability and Excellence in 2011.

Alissa has contributed to several policy forums including those held by the WEF, the United Nations and the G20 and the European Commission.

In recent years, she has contributed to several events hosted by international organizations such as the OECD, the World Bank, the United Nations, and the G20. In 2018, she delivered a TED talk in London on the topic of "Governance for a New Social Contract in the Middle East." Since 2020, she has hosted Governance Dialogues, a program facilitating discussions with governance experts and thinkers.

Alissa was a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics Middle East Centre in 2019.

Works
She is the author of books published by the OECD, Wiley, Springer and has contributed to editorial boards of magazines. She is a media commentator: with her works appearing in the Financial Times, the Project Syndicate, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Harvard Corporate Governance Blog, Bloomberg, Aspen Institute and other sources. Her research also being featured in leading academic forums such as the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and the London School of Economics Business Review.

Books and Reports

 * Governance of Arab Think Tanks for Impact and Sustainability, G20 Report, GOVERN, 2019
 * Flagship Report on Corporate Governance of Arab Banks, for IFG, GOVERN, 2018
 * Flagship Report on Corporate Governance in Lebanon, for IFG, GOVERN, 2017
 * MENA Corporate Governance Factbook, for the OECD, GOVERN, 2017
 * A Decade of Change in GCC Boardrooms, Report for the GCC BDI, GOVERN, 2017
 * The Role of Institutional Investors in MENA Capital Markets, GOVERN, 2016
 * The Role of Institutional Investors in the Egyptian Capital Market, GOVERN, 2016
 * Case studies on Corporate Governance (Savola)
 * WEF, Corporate Governance for Competitiveness in MENA, Report for the Regional Business Council, 2015
 * Corporate Governance Enforcement in the Middle East and North Africa, OECD, 2014
 * Guide on Related Party Transactions in the Middle East and North Africa, OECD and UASA, 2014
 * Survey of Listing Requirements of MENA Stock Exchanges, OECD, 2014
 * Privatisation and Demutualisation of MENA Stock Exchanges: To be or not to be?, OECD, 2014
 * The Role of MENA Stock Exchanges in Corporate Governance, OECD, 2012
 * The Role of Stock Exchanges in Promoting Transparency and Disclosure, International Accounting and Reporting Issues, 2012
 * The Second Corporate Governance Wave in the Middle East and North Africa, OECD, 2011
 * Corporate Governance Review of Russia, OECD, 2011
 * A survey on MENA Corporate Governance Frameworks, OECD, 2011
 * Report on Insolvency Systems in the Arab World, INSOL-WB-OECD, 2010
 * The Role of Stock Exchanges in Corporate Governance, 2009
 * Arab States as Shareholders: Origins and Consequences, Revue Internationale de Politique du Développement, Geneva, 2017
 * From Regulation to Enforcement in the Middle East and North Africa, in The Handbook of Board Governance, Wiley, 2016
 * MENA State-Owned Enterprises: Engines of Development and Competitiveness? OECD, 2013
 * Corporate Reporting and Knowledge-Based Capital, in Supporting Investment in Knowledge Capital, Growth and Innovation, OECD, Paris 2013
 * Towards New Arrangements for State Ownership in the Middle East and North Africa, OECD, 2012
 * Policy Brief on Corporate Governance of MENA Banks, OECD and UAB, 2009
 * Private Sector Development in the Middle East and North Africa, OECD, 2009

Personal life
Alissa Kole is fluent in English, French, Russian, and Italian, with some understanding of Arabic, Ukrainian, and Portuguese. Additionally, she has authored works of fiction, essays, and poetry.