Junaid Kamal Ahmad

Junaid Ahmad, a Bangladeshi national, leads the World Bank Group’s Water Global Practice (GP), which supports governments to build a water-secure world for all. The Water GP focuses on improvement of water resources management and delivery of services in a context of water in the broader economy. Junaid takes on this role following his position as Director for Sustainable Development in the Middle East and North Africa Region, a position he held from 2012-2014. Junaid joined the World Bank as a Young Professional in 1991, working as an Economist in Africa and Eastern Europe before joining the Africa Infrastructure Unit. He spent 10 years in the field, first as the Deputy Resident Representative and Principal Economist in South Africa, and then as Regional Team Leader of the Water and Sanitation Program for the South Asia region based in India. He later became Sector Manager for Social Development for the South Asia region and subsequently for Urban Water and Sanitation before taking on the latter responsibility across the Africa region in 2010. He was a team member of the 2004 World Development Report (WDR): Making Services Work for Poor People.

Junaid brings a strong track record of management and leadership in the area of service delivery, combining intellectual and analytical rigor with strategic operational focus. Recognizing that reform in the water sector can rarely be addressed in isolation, he has championed the cause of the sector through local governments, communities and the private sector. Focusing on institutional reform, Junaid has taken an inter-sectoral approach to water, linking the sector to important drivers of change such as decentralization, regional cooperation, and climate change.

He holds a PhD in Applied Economics from Stanford University, an MPA from Harvard University, and a BA in Economics from Brown University.