Agenda

Ms. Scarlett Fondeur has worked since 2003 with UNCTAD’s E-Commerce and Digital Economy Branch, which produces the Digital Economy Report. Every two years, this UNCTAD flagship report examines how the digital economy contributes to sustainable international trade and development. As part of the Digital Economy Policy Research Section, Ms. Fondeur helps countries develop statistics on these issues with a view to improving the evidence base for digital economy policy. This includes the development of methodology and reference material such as the UNCTAD Manual for the Production of Statistics on the Digital Economy, and technical assistance through training and advisory services to developing countries. Ms. Fondeur also coordinates UNCTAD's Working Group of Experts on Measuring Electronic Commerce and the Digital Economy, and the collection of official statistics on the use of ICT in business, on the ICT sector, and on the international trade of ICT goods and services. Ms. Fondeur is a graduate of Economics from the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC) in the Dominican Republic and has a Master's degree in International Relations from the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Stéphane Herrmann is in charge of the project and product management of the mail solutions developed by UPU’s Postal Technology Centre. He is also responsible for the account management and the deployment of these software applications.

He has 25 years of experience in the IT industry. He started as a network administrator in France; he joined UPU’s network team in 2004.

In 2007, Stéphane Herrmann had the opportunity to move to an operational role by being in charge of the deployment and training of the mail applications. After six years in the field, he used his experience to write the functional specifications of the mail applications. He is now leading the team.

190 designated postal operators use the mail solutions.

Mr. Nelson CENTEIO is a Systems Engineer graduated at the University of Konstanz Germany with extensive experience in IT Project Management and Postal Sector in Africa.

Mr. James Howe is Senior Adviser at the International Trade Centre, a joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. ITC’s mission is to enable small-business export success by connecting small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries and transition economies to the global trading system.

James and his team work to enable enterprises to activate their marketing strategies through branding, sales and marketing programmes and e-commerce.

Ms. Rhea Abboud is the co-founder of hadiyati.com, an award-winning online marketplace for gifting based in Lebanon. With more than 12 years of experience in the fields of management, consulting and audit, Rhea has worked in multiple sectors like banking, technology, telecommunications and networks, and healthcare. 

She has worked at Deloitte Paris as a Consultant in Finance, helping financial institutions in addressing their business problems on an international basis. She has also worked at Eli Lilly Suisse as a financial associate for the Near East area, after which she worked at the Lebanese American University Medical Centre (Lebanon) in management and internal audit.

She is currently an e-commerce advisor with the International Trade Centre and helps SMEs in the Arab region digitalize their products, become visible on regional and international marketplaces and access new markets.

Rhea holds a master’s degree in Management and Finance from Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Paris (ESCP Business School), with an exchange program at University of Texas (Red McCombs Business School). She also holds a Telecommunications and Networks Engineering Degree from Ecole Supérieure des Ingénieurs de Beyrouth – University Saint Joseph (Lebanon).