Robert Montgomery Persaud (born May 9, 1974 in Berbice, Guyana) is an accomplished professional with 20 years of leadership experience at the international and country level in the areas of corporate affairs, governmental relations, and international business with expertise in environmental management, integrated natural resources management, and the production and management of the extractive industry and agricultural sectors in Guyana with the desire to contribute to the advancement of the people of Guyana through leadership, innovation, and reform.
His skills include:
Professional competence in policy-making, programme administration, planning and development, and monitoring and evaluation;
Exceptional capacity for strategic planning and organization, including identification of priorities, goal-setting and strategy alignment, resource allocation, and monitoring and evaluation;
Ability to advise various high-level domestic and international development actors and private sector actors;
Strong capacity for conceptual and strategic approaches to addressing a spectrum of development issues;
Insightful understanding of national and international institutions, respective mandates, policies, and guidelines;
Sound and proactive leadership, motivating and empowering others to advance visions with courage and mutual respect;
Clear, responsive, and effective communication skills.
University of West Indies (Cave Hill, Barbados)
Master in Business Administration (M.B.A.); 2003 - 2005
University of Guyana (Georgetown, Guyana)
Bachelor of Arts (B.A); 1997 - 2001
Indian Institute of Mass Communication (India)
Diploma in Public Communications; 1993 - 1994
Ministry of Natural Resources & Environment (Guyana) 2011 – 2015
Senior Cabinet Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment
Ministry of Agriculture (Guyana) 2006 – 2011
Senior Cabinet Minister of Agriculture
Office of the President (Guyana) 2003 – 2006
ICT4D Strategy Coordinator
Guyana Information Agency (Guyana) 1999 – 2006
Presidential Advisor
Mirror Newspaper (Guyana) 1993 - 1998
Editor
SPECIAL EVENTS & NOTABLE SPEECHES:
National Consultation on Log Export February 17, 2007
IICA’s Annual Accountability Seminar June 07, 2007
WWF 6th steering committee of the Guianas June 21, 2007
National Consultation: Activities to develop the Rice Industry September 12, 2007
Washington International Renewable Energy Conference March 05, 2008
Symposium: Climate Change and Flood Management on the ECD May 08, 2008
Regional Agri-Business Investment Forum June 06, 2008
National Consultation – Global Climate Change August 15, 2008
International Forum on Food Security – Canada September 26, 2008
Launch of Forest Products Development & Marketing Council October 14, 2008
Grant Agreement signed to establish REDD Secretariat in Forestry Sector January 20, 2009\
Commissioning of Skeldon Factory August 22, 2009
Conference - Towards Lower Greenhouse Gas Emissions October 12, 2009
26th Session of the Latin America and Caribbean Forestry Commission May 24, 2010
Stakeholders’ Workshop on Mangrove Restoration February 05, 2010
Stakeholders’ Aquaculture Workshop June 15, 2010
6th Committee Meeting of the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership June 28, 2010
Launching of Guyana Food & Nutrition Security Strategy Oct. 15, 2011
Launching of the Agricultural Diversification Fund Nov. 09, 2011
Launching of Guiana Shied Facility Feb. 13, 2012
Energy Governance & Capacity Building Workshop Feb. 28, 2012
National Stakeholders Workshop on Rio+20 Mar. 11, 2012
Workshop on Sustainable Resources Management Mar. 14, 2012
Launching of the GPAS Phase II Apr. 03, 2012
Launching of the Conservation Trust Fund July. 28, 2012
Guyana’s Engagement with the European Union Forest Law Sept. 27, 2012
Enforcement Governance and Trade Initiative
Launch of the Pick it up Volunteer Program Nov. 1, 2012
Two Day Seminar of the Extractive Sector Nov. 14, 2012
US Embassy Oil & Gas/Energy Seminar Jan. 22, 2013
Launching of Three Parks Initiative Feb. 05, 2013
Launching of Guyana Land Use Plan Mar. 15, 2013
Signing of Grant Agreement between the MNRE & WWF May. 13, 2013
10th National Mining and Quarrying Conference Aug. 26, 2013
Consultation on Styrofoam Ban Nov. 28, 2013
Environmental Stakeholders Consultation Mar. 07, 2014
Launching of the Geospatial Information Management Unit Apr. 10, 2014
Land Reclamation Stakeholder’s Workshop Jul. 16, 2014
Foreign Directed Investment Workshop Jul. 23, 2014
Incentives & Investment Opportunities for Value Added Processing Sept. 5, 2014
within the Forestry Sector
Scoping Study for the Potential Adoption of the Extractive Industries Oct. 10, 2014
Transparency Initiative (EITI) in Guyana