Asia Regional Integration Center

Yasuyuki Sawada is Chief Economist of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Director General of its Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department. He is chief spokesperson on economic and development trends, and leads the production of ADB’s flagship knowledge products and support for regional cooperation fora.

Before joining ADB, Mr. Sawada was Professor of Economics at the University of Tokyo, and has led numerous large-scale development policy evaluation projects for various institutions. His key research areas are development economics, microeconometrics, economics of disasters, and field surveys and experiments. Mr. Sawada obtained his Ph.D. in Economics from Stanford University.

Ulrik Vestergaard Knudsen took up his duties as Deputy SecretaryGeneral in January 2019. His portfolio includes the strategic direction of OECD policy on science, technology and innovation; employment, labor and social affairs, migration, health; education; and entrepreneurship, SMEs, regions and cities. He oversees the Centre for Skills and the newly established Well-Being, Inclusion, Sustainability and Equal Opportunity Centre (WISE). Jointly with the Secretary-General, Mr. Knudsen transformed the OECD Executive Committee in Special Session into the Global Strategy Group (GSG) to have a strategic forum to discuss issues of global relevance, which he chaired from 2013-2017.

Mark Dennis Y.C. Joven is the Undersecretary for the International Finance Group of the Philippine Department of Finance. He was formerly Assistant Secretary of the Revenue Operations Group (ROG) of the same Department, the office exercising general supervision over internal revenue and customs operations. He represented the Philippines in tax treaty negotiations and in various international tax fora. He recently shepherded the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law and the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act. He is licensed to practice law in the Philippines and in the State of New York. He previously chaired the Tax Committee of the Philippine Bar Association and cochaired its Legal Education Committee.

He earned the Master of Law degree from Harvard Law School (Tax Concentration), the Bachelor of Laws cum laude from the UP College of Law, the Bachelor of Business Administration and Accountancy degree cum laude from the UP College of Business Administration and placed first in the 2001 CPA Board Exams.

Cyn-Young Park is Director of the Regional Cooperation and Integration Division in the Economics Research and Regional Cooperation Department of the ADB. In her current capacity, she manages a team of economists to examine policy issues related to regional cooperation and integration (RCI) and develop strategies and approaches to support RCI. Her team also produces the Asian Economic Integration Report, an annual publication on the progress of regional economic integration and policy challenges. During her progressive career within ADB, she has been a main author and contributor to ADB’s major publications including Asian Development Outlook (ADB’s flagship publication), Asia Capital Markets Monitor, Asia Economic Monitor, Asia Bond Monitor, and ADB Country Diagnostic Study Series. She has also participated in various global and regional forums including the G20 Development Working Group, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), ASEAN+3, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and AsiaEurope Meeting (ASEM). She has written and lectured extensively about the Asian economy and financial markets. Prior to joining the ADB, she served as Economist (1999-2002) at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), where she contributed to the OECD Economic Outlook.

She received her PhD in Economics from Columbia University, and bachelor’s degree in International Economics from Seoul National University

Yoshihiro Kawai is Chairman of OECD Insurance and Private Pension Committee, Advisor to Commissioner, Financial Services Agency, Government of Japan, and Member of International Advisory Council, China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission. He is also Professor of Kyoto University, and Tokyo University.

He held the position of Secretary General of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) from June 2003 until November 2017. He joined the IAIS in 1998 as Deputy Secretary General and was instrumental in the fast and dynamic growth of the Association. While performing his IAIS duties, Professor Kawai was also a member of the Financial Stability Board (formerly Financial Stability Forum) from 1999 until November 2017.

Professor Kawai’s professional career began with Tokio Marine and Fire Insurance Co and the Ministry of Labour, Tokyo. He later served on the Secretariat for the OECD Insurance Committee in Paris for 4 years. From 1995 until 1998, he acted as Advisor to the Minister of Finance and the President of the Insurance Supervisory Authority Poland in Warsaw.

Professor Kawai earned his PhD in 2000 from City University, London, with his thesis on the reform of insurance supervisory systems for economies in transition. His PhD was preceded by a BA in Education and Sociology from the University of Tokyo and an MBA with a specialization in Economics and Finance from INSEAD.