SECRETARIAT

Giorgi Cherkezishvili

Head of Secretariat

Before joining the IC Secretariat, Giorgi worked on different high-level positions, both in the public and private sectors. He served as Chief Investment Officer at Wings & Freeman Capital; Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia; Head of Investment Department at JSC Partnership Fund; and held different positions at Corporate Banking Department of JSC Bank of Georgia.

Giorgi holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration, specialization in Global Management from Grenoble Ecole de Management and Caucasus School of Business (Joint MBA Program); as well as Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in International Economic Relations from Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University.

George Jugeli

Legal Expert

George has more than 10 years of experience in legal practice, research and teaching. Prior to joining the IC Secretariat, George served as Commercial Law Adviser of USAID rule of law projects.

He teaches corporate law and governance at the Free University of Tbilisi.

George holds a PhD degree in law from the University of Bremen (Germany).

Megi Phartenadze

Communications and Office Manager

Megi acquires nine years of experience in Public Relations and Strategic Communications, spanning both the private and public sectors. She actively contributed to the implementation of numerous international and regional-scale projects.

Megi holds a Bachelor's Degree in Public Relations from the University of Georgia, a Master's Degree in European Studies, and is presently pursuing a Doctoral Degree in Public Administration from Technical University of Georgia.

Salome Mekvabishvili

Business Analyst

Salome has extensive experience in the field of strategic management. Before joining the IC Secretariat, Salome led the Strategic Development Department at the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, covering various sectors. In her capacity as the Head of the Department, she participated in the development and implementation of economic policies and worked closely with the private sector.

Salome graduated from King’s College London, where she pursued an MSc in Public Policy and Management.

Anna Iluridze

Gender Expert

Anna is a feminist lawyer, working on women's economic and social empowerment on grassroots, institutional and policy level.

Prior to joining the ICS team, Anna has been working as an independent consultant for various projects. She served as a Head of Gender Department at the Public Defender's (Ombudsman) Office of Georgia.

Anna holds the MSc in Gender, Development and Globalization from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Otar Antia

Green Economy Transition Expert

Otar has more than 10 years of professional experience in private sector and SME development, economic policy analysis, Sustainable Development and Green Growth. Prior to joining IC Secretariat Otar held various key positions both in private and government sectors. Throughout his career Otar was directly engaged in elaboration of inclusive mechanisms for improving SMEs access to finance, shaping country’s Sustainable Economic Development Strategy, in line with supporting the process of Green Economy Transition. In addition, Otar has also actively been involved in providing the private sector with tailored business consulting, elaborated as a result of thorough analysis of their needs.

Otar holds an MSc in Carbon Finance from the University of Edinburgh and an MBA with concentration in Energy Management from Grigol Robakidze University (In framework of USAID Energy Capacity Initiative).