Before becoming Director of the Legal Transition Programme, which is the EBRD’s initiative to help its countries of operations upgrade their legal framework for business, Michel worked for almost three years as counsel in the banking operations section. There he was responsible for legal aspects of various investments of the Bank, with a particular focus on SME financing.
Michel has practiced as a commercial lawyer in Geneva, Moscow and London. While in private practice, Michel acted as Swiss correspondent for various legal publications and has also published a number of articles on Swiss and Russian legal matters. Michel, who is a Swiss national, received his Masters Degree in Law from the University of California at Berkeley and also was a visiting scholar at Moscow State University.

Caroline Nicholas is a Head of Technical Assistance, Senior Legal Officer with the International Trade Law Division of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs (the UNCITRAL Secretariat). She has served as Secretary to its Working Group on Procurement and Infrastructure Development, which drafted the UNCITRAL Model Law on Public Procurement (issued in 2011), an accompanying Guide to Enactment (2012), and other UNCITRAL documents in the field.
As Secretary to this and other UNCITRAL Working Groups, she provides legal and policy advice and works in partnership with other international bodies engaged in public procurement policy activities. She advises on public procurement reform and its role in supporting international trade and development and the rule of law and provides regular technical assistance to national governments in all regions.

Gian Luigi Albano is Head of Division at Consip, the National Central Purchasing Body, Italy, and Adjunct Professor of Economics at University LUISS “G. Carli.” He obtained his Ph.D. in Economics from Université catholique de Louvain (Belgium) and a B.A. (Hons) from Università “L. Bocconi,” Milan (Italy).
He is the co-author of The Law and Economics of Framework Agreements - Designing Flexible Solutions for Public Procurement (Cambridge University Press, 2016). His current research and managerial interests comprise collaborative contracting in building design and construction, sustainable infrastructures, the applications of blockchain and big data in public procurement as well as new solutions for emergency procurement. Dr Albano is an expert on public procurement for the European Commission, the Inter-American Development Bank, the OECD, the OSCE, the World Bank and the UN.

Moderator of the webinar

Yulia has over 15 years of professional legal experience, including 8 years as a consultant and in-house counsel working with respected international finance institutions and international development agencies. These include EBRD, IFC World Bank Group, USAID, ADB and OSCE on providing legal and policy advice and assistance to government officials on the implementation of high profile legal and regulatory reform projects aimed at improving the investment climate in developing countries. Yulia also served as a senior legal official at the Ministry of Justice of the Kyrgyz Republic for 7 years.
With academic qualification and professional experience in both civil and common law jurisdiction, Yulia was awarded a master’s degree in International Business Law at Queen Mary University of London (UK) in 2015 focusing on International Investment and Trade Law (WTO), and International Commercial Arbitration.
Yulia has been working with the EBRD since 2016, when she joined as a consultant on the public procurement reform projects. Over the past two years (2017-2019), she worked as a Counsel for the Legal Transition Programme (LTP) at the EBRD on public procurement legal reform projects in the EBRD countries of operation. Since July 2020, Yulia started working as a Counsel on public procurement and dispute resolution reform projects for the LTP at the EBRD.
Yulia drafted more than 20 pieces of regulatory legislation and is an author of several publications and a chapter in co-authored textbook. She is fluent in English and Russian.