Mr. Yernar Zharkeshov is the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner at the Center for Strategic Initiatives, a management consulting firm focused on helping government and private sector organizations to design long-term development strategies and organizational transformations. Mr. Zharkeshov also heads the firm’s governance practice and leads transformation strategies for central and local governments. Prior to joining the private sector, he served as Portfolio Manager at the UNDP in Kazakhstan from 2014-2017 where he led the Secretariat of the Regional Hub of Civil Service in Astana, an international initiative of Kazakhstan and UNDP with participation of 40 countries, including all CAMCA countries. From 2012-2014, Mr. Zharkeshov served as Director of the Research Institute of the Academy of Public Administration under the President of Kazakhstan. Mr. Zharkeshov holds an MA in Public Policy from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore (2011) and a BSc. in Public Policy, Government and Management from the University of Birmingham, UK (2009).