STAFF

Peter is the Director of Finance and Administration at CMI. He leads the finance and administration team responsible for finance, administration, risk management and human resources.

Prior to joining CMI, Peter worked at Privaon Ltd as Chief Operating Officer in charge of operative, finance and administrative functions. In addition, he has 10 years of experience in the development finance field having led socially responsible investments into emerging countries. First, at Finnfund where he worked for 8 years as Investment Manager specializing in executing private equity fund, SME and microfinance investments. Then, at the UK development finance institution CDC as Investment Manager focusing on private equity fund investments into Africa. Peter has also worked at KPMG in emerging market advisory services. Furthermore, he has several years of corporate banking and investment banking experience and has also volunteered in Iquitos, Peru and served as a NATO peacekeeper in Kosovo.

Peter holds a MBA from the National University of Singapore and a M.Sc. in Business and Economics from Lund University, Sweden.

Itonde A. Kakoma is a member of the Leadership Team at CMI.  He serves as the Programme Director responsible for Africa (Sub-Saharan Africa, Sahel, and North Africa). He also oversees CMI’s Programme Management Office, especially concerning policy, learning and institutional cooperation.

Prior to CMI, he served as the Assistant Director of the Conflict Resolution Program at the Carter Center, managing the Center’s peace initiatives and supporting President Carter’s efforts in and between Sudan and South Sudan. He was an international observer for Sudan’s National Referendum on the Right to Self-Determination in 2011. Previously, he worked on the Carter Center’s peace initiatives in Liberia, where he was an advisor and report writer for the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission, specifically on the role of traditional and religious communities during the civil war and in peacemaking.

Mr. Kakoma has served as a guest editor for the Journal of Religion, Conflict & Peace and is a current member of the Board of Directors for The Fulbright Finland Foundation.

Roxana Cristescu is the Head of CMI’s Programme in Eurasia and Head of EU relations. She leads CMI’s programme activities in the region. Ms Cristescu joined CMI in 2009 and previously worked as Adviser for the Black Sea and Central Asia Programme, with a special focus on CMI’s mediation related activities. Before joining CMI, Cristescu worked in various conflict affected areas including Ethiopia, Sudan, Kosovo (Mitrovica Region), Moldova/Transdniestria, Ukraine and Lebanon.

She holds a BA in Political Sciences from the University of Bucharest, two Master’s Degrees from Florence and Rome University in Mediation and Security Studies. She is currently enrolled for a Master of Science in Mediation Studies at Queens University, Belfast. Cristescu is among others a member of the United Nations Mediation Roster and a member of the UN Women, Central and Southeastern Europe (CSEE) Sub-regional Roster of Experts.