EDFI, the Association of European bilateral Development Finance Institutions, has appointed Colin Buckley as interim General Manager. Effective 1 February, Colin Buckley will take over from Søren Peter Andreasen until a permanent successor is found.
The Board of Directors has also designated Luuk Zonneveld as EDFI’s next Chairperson, who will succeed Bruno Wenn when his tenure will end at EDFI’s Annual Meeting on 24 May.

Colin Buckley will become EDFI’s General Manager ad interim from 1 February 2023. Colin is currently serving as Managing Director & General Counsel at British International Investment (BII), the British DFI, and has deep expertise in private sector development and a long-standing involvement in EDFI’s work. As EDFI’s Interim General Manager, Colin will be responsible for the daily management of the Association and lead the staff in EDFI’s Secretariat in Brussels. He will act in this role during the recruitment process of the permanent General Manager.

Søren Peter Andreasen is handing over to Colin at the end of January, after more than six years in the role, when he will start his new position as Deputy CEO of the Danish DFI, IFU. Søren will continue in his capacity as EDFI’s representative and chair of the Board of Directors of EDFI Management Company.

EDFI’s Board of Directors has also designated Luuk Zonneveld as the next Chairperson of EDFI, to succeed the current Chairperson, Bruno Wenn, who will complete his four years in the office at EDFI’s Annual Meeting on 24 May. Luuk Zonneveld has served as the CEO of the Belgian DFI, BIO, for 10 years and has served as a member of EDFI’s Board of Directors several times over this tenure, most recently for the past three years. Luuk Zonneveld has also chaired EDFI’s Task Force on EU Partnership, which has played an important role in strengthening European DFI’s contributions as part of Team Europe. EDFI’s Chairperson serves a renewable 2-year term and holds the Association’s highest office.

As Chairperson designate, Luuk Zonneveld will also head the Selection Committee responsible for the search for EDFI’s next General Manager. The position will be advertised shortly, and the appointment is expected to be made by the middle of the year.

“I’m excited to take up the role as EDFI’s General Manager during this period of leadership transition. I highly value the impact EDFI has achieved on behalf of the European DFIs, as an important international development institution, and I am delighted that I can help secure an effective leadership transition for EDFI, and to continue to further strengthen EDFI during my tenure. I have enjoyed working with Søren and the team in the EDFI Secretariat over the last several years and I look forward to joining the EDFI team’s efforts on many important priorities in the coming months,” said Colin Buckley, incoming Interim General Manager of EDFI.

“I am honoured to be able to lead EDFI, as the Association of European Development Finance Institutions, and firmly committed to continuing to enhance EDFI’s unique collaborative approach and force for innovation in development finance. EDFI combines the strength of diverse and complementary national investment institutions with a common sustainable development mission, that we seek to further in strategic partnerships with other organizations seeking better livelihoods across the globe through private enterprise,” said Luuk Zonneveld, Chairperson designate of EDFI.

“I am delighted that Colin has agreed to act as EDFI’s General Manager during the leadership transition. Colin has an impressive experience and track-record in senior leadership roles in development finance and shares a passion for impact investing. He is a respected leader who has been deeply involved in EDFI’s work. We are thankful for his commitment and wish him all the best for his tenure. I am also very happy at the news that Luuk Zonneveld will succeed me after the Annual Meeting in May as EDFI’s next Chairperson. I could not imagine a better leader to take over, as we chart the future course for EDFI and private sector mobilisation in the coming years,” added Bruno Wenn, Chairperson of EDFI.

 

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About EDFI

EDFI, the Association of European Development Finance Institutions – was established in 1992 to support and promote the work of bilateral Development Finance Institutions (DFIs). With a combined portfolio of €44 billion, including over €10 billion of climate finance, EDFI’s 15 member institutions share a vision of a world where the private sector offers people in low and middle-income countries opportunities for decent work and improved lives, and where private investment flows are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement. EDFI’s mission is to promote the joint interests of its members, inform policy, and drive innovation in industry standards. EDFI’s membership includes BIO (Belgium), British International Investment (UK), Cofides (Spain), DEG (Germany), Finnfund (Finland), FMO (The Netherlands), IFU (Denmark), Norfund (Norway), OeEB (Austria), Proparco (France), SIFEM (Switzerland), Simest and CDP Development Finance (Italy), SOFID (Portugal), Swedfund (Sweden).

 

About Colin Buckley

Managing Director & General Counsel at BII and incoming Interim General manager at EDFI.

Colin Buckley is responsible for British International Investment’s relations with external stakeholders and oversees our legal, compliance, business integrity and communications functions. He has previously held the positions of Chief Operating Officer and Head of Strategy. He joined British International Investment in 2013.Prior to joining BII, Colin was Executive Director at the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, a $4 billion private charitable foundation focussing on child health, education and nutrition, as well as climate change. In 2010, Barron’s named CIFF the fifth most effective foundation in the world. Colin began his career in international development working for the International Finance Corporation, ultimately managing IFC’s corporate governance projects in the former Soviet Union. He then joined the Millennium Challenge Corporation as Country Director for the Republic of Georgia, overseeing the building of highways, rehabilitation of gas pipelines, and establishment of the first investment fund in Georgia. After the Russo-Georgian war of 2008, he advised the Prime Minister of Georgia on the country’s economic reconstruction. Prior to his work in international development, Colin practiced as a US attorney and a UK solicitor in Boston and London. He advised clients on public offerings, private placements, private equity, debt, venture capital, securitization and other significant cross-border transactions. In 2000, he represented FICS, a Belgian company, in the first cross-border internet transaction over $1 billion.

 

About Luuk Zonneveld

Luuk Zonneveld is Chief Executive Officer of the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO) since December 2012. BIO is the Belgian member of the European Development Finance Institutions (EDFI) association.

After Ph.D. studies and graduating in Psychology, Sociology and Economics in France and the Netherlands, Mr. Zonneveld started his career in the international trade business focusing on Africa, Asia and Latin-America. After four years as international program manager at the German Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, from 1996 until 2000 M. Zonneveld lived and worked in Cuba to promote the cooperation and trade between Cuban and European companies. After a year as European program manager of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung in Brussels, from 2001 until 2008 Mr. Zonneveld was was one of the architects of the success of Fairtrade labelling, as Managing director of its global umbrella Fairtrade International in Bonn. In 2004, with Fairtrade labelling he was awarded the prestigious King Baudouin Prize for Development. From 2008 to 2012, he was Managing Director of the Belgian non-profit organisation Vredeseilanden, where he pioneered an impact investment fund targeting small-scale agriculture. Mr. Zonneveld is a member of the EDFI Board of Directors since May 2020, after a previous stint from 2014 until 2017, of which one year as Board Chair. Since late 2020 he has been chairing the EDFI Strategic Task Force on DFIs’ engagement with the European Union.