EMPEA, the global industry association for private capital in emerging markets, has appointed Jamil Kassum to serve as Senior Advisor to the organization.

Kassum has over 40 years of experience as an emerging markets strategic and financial advisor.

He brings a wealth of experience in emerging markets and diverse regional knowledge to EMPEA’s mission, in addition to his depth of expertise in infrastructure finance.

“EMPEA represents the leading global investors in emerging markets. I look forward to working alongside the organization and its members to drive much needed capital for financing growing businesses and infrastructure needs worldwide,” said Kassum.

Kassum serves as Non-Executive Board Director, Chairman of Audit Committee and member of Governance and Nomination Committee for Randgold Resources, a listed gold mining company with operations in Africa, including Mali, Congo (DRC) and the Ivory Coast, and current market capitalization of over $5bn.

He also serves on the Board of Directors of Thien Minh Group (TMG), a leading travel and hotel group in Vietnam; and Khan Bank, the leading privately owned commercial bank in Mongolia.

Kassum is Board Commissioner and member of the Investment Committee of P.T. Indonesia Infrastructure Finance (IIF), owned by the Government of Indonesia, the Asian Development Bank, DEG, IFC and SMBC.

After a 25 year career in the IFC, Kassum was appointed as the World Bank’s Regional Vice President for the East Asia and Pacific region and so became one of the first IFC VPs of Global Investment Operations to lead a major portion of the World Bank’s sovereign lending business.

In this capacity, he was responsible, for six years, for all the World Bank’s lending and policy advisory operations in 22 countries including China, the World Bank’s largest client at the time, Indonesia, Vietnam and Mongolia.

Robert van Zwieten, EMPEA’s President and CEO, said: “Jamil Kassum is well-known in the industry and we are honored to have his guidance and leadership in our efforts. His impressive track record and dedication to emerging markets are valuable assets to our organization.”

EMPEA currently serves approximately 330 member firms representing over $1trn in assets under management.

The global organization and its members cover a broad spectrum of private capital investment in emerging markets, including private equity, private credit, impact investing and infrastructure.