During the Hellenistic period the title given to the leader of the army was Stratigos; the etymological root of 'strategy'. In the 13th Century, three brothers in Constantinople - all highly respected generals - began using the title as their surname.
My mum, Susan Stratigos - a direct descendant of one of those Byzantine generals - was a feminist and women’s health policy expert. She used the evidence at hand to inform policy development and then rigorously measured what happened to adapt future policy based on the results. It's her example that guides the mission and values of Strat!gos.
Peter Vanderwal
CEO
SOCIAL ENTERPRISE LEAD
Moe is an attorney with a focus on mergers and acquisitions, private equity, venture capital and impact investing.
Prior to joining Strat!gos, she completed an LL.M at Columbia Law School concentrated on International Business and Human Rights, and Technology and Venture Capital Law. She then worked with the Columbia Center for Sustainable Investments followed by a non-profit providing pro bono legal support to social enterprises, nascent impact investment vehicles, communities at risk of being harmed by land-reliant investments and emerging governments.
Moe has worked in Nigeria, New York, London and Nairobi and strongly believes in the power of private capital and innovative financing to solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges!
MODUPE 'MOE' ODELE
COMMUNICATIONS AND ADVOCACY ADVISOR
Karthik’s background gives him a unique perspective on today’s development challenges. After studying engineering and working as a programmer analyst, he turned his hand to teaching at Haji Public School, Breswana, Jammu and Kashmir – an area he is deeply committed to, and a school he continues to teach at on a voluntary basis. Hse set up his own start-up, SauraMandala, using a blend of philanthropy, technology and impact tourism to bring electricity to ultra-remote communities in Jammu Kashmir. He has 5 years' experience bridging the gap between development organisations and remote communities across India. At Strat!gos, Karthik is responsible for the development and delivery of communications, advocacy and media strategies across the company’s portfolio.
KARTHIK MP
RESULTS -BASED FINANCING LEAD
Elina has 12 years’ experience in leading international cooperation projects in collaboration with partners from local and national governments, intergovernmental organizations, academia and the private sector.
She has a degree in Environmental Sciences and specialises in development issues. For the past four years she has been focusing on broadening development financing into SDGs in the Eastern Europe and CIS region with UNDP.
At Strat!gos Elina leads the result-based financing portfolio and is also focusing on tapping into the opportunities of Islamic social finance. Elina is determined to create a positive impact through her work.
ELINA JÅRVELÅ
SENIOR ADVISOR 2030 AGENDA FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
For the past 15 years, Elham has specialized in multi-stakeholder strategies focused on social impact. She is an avid researcher, practitioner and academic, currently serving as chair of the International Studies department at the American University in Dubai where she teaches courses on international development, political science and international relations. Her current research focuses on global governance strategies and innovations with a focus on sustainable development goals. Having spent a decade working for the UN and the World Bank, she brings a practitioner’s eye to research institutions. She has worked in South Africa, Tunisia, Nepal, and served on a dozen missions in Africa and Asia.
ELHAM SEYEDSAYAMDOST
CEO
Peter has 20 years’ experience designing and leading large-scale development programs in developing and emerging economies. He’s worked with major donors and multilateral bodies, held C-level HQ positions for private consulting firms, and has spent extensive time in the field.
He has been involved in developing and implementing innovative financing structures for the last 10 years and brings extensive knowledge of the practicalities of pioneering new funding mechanisms for development programs using blended finance strategies.
He is passionate about building institutional and individual capacity, and believes that the aim of any development practitioner is to be so successful that they no longer have a role as one!
PETER VANDERWAL
GENDER LEAD
Shilpa’s background is rooted in the organizational development space, where she has spent the last 8 years creating and executing impactful learning solutions for companies across the globe. Her specialization is in strategic diversity & inclusion consulting, organisational diagnostics, cross-cultural communication and learning effectiveness evaluation. Shilpa designs learning solutions after careful diagnosis of the client’s current realities and desired direction. Her specialization in the diversity & inclusion space has led her to work extensively with organizations aiming to increase their gender- based inclusion and incorporate its principles at a more strategic level. She’s worked across four continents and has lived across three.
SHILPA SUBRAMANIAM
PARTNERSHIPS LEAD
Brad has a 30-year history working in over 25 countries with leading organizations ranging from UBS Financial to nonprofits and the Rockefeller Foundation, the UN & World Bank. Brad works with companies on best practices in Socially Responsible business and on Impact Investment strategies. He also provides business training and mentoring to help social enterprise clients to build viable business models and to become “investor ready.” His mantra is “bringin’ impact!”
He has an MPH from Columbia University (USA) and an MBA from Edinburgh University (UK).
BRAD MICHAELS
TEAM MANAGER
Amélie is a professional translator and a natural organizer based in Geneva, Switzerland. After starting her career in France and Ireland, she moved to India in 2003 where she immersed herself in supporting a start-up develop its operations, before moving to a Top 5 IT company in Bangalore, where she worked as a translator and project manager.
From localization project management for multinational IT companies, Amélie then used her expertise in the literary world to translate novels and screenplays. She also volunteered as an interpreter for French speaking families with special needs, who came to India for treatment for their children.
Today, she is the the coordinator for Strat!gos’ virtual team - the glue that holds together a team spread across five continents!
AMÉLIE DUVERT
ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT EXPERT
Guillaume is a Certified Professional Facilitator® with 15 years experience as an organisational development consultant in Asia, Europe and North America. He is expert in designing and facilitating processes to help diverse groups of stakeholders identify and implement strategies for collaboration.
He is also an intercultural management specialist who has trained and coached hundreds of managers and executives for large multinational companies. As President of the Society for Intercultural Education Training And Research (SIETAR) in India, he presented on this topic at conferences around the world.
Guillaume has co-founded 5 different companies, including a vocational education company to help high-school dropouts find employment in Karnataka, India.
GUILLAUME GEVREY
