Geert van der Linden is Vice President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development. He assumed this position in September 2003. ADB’s Regional and Sustainable Development Department, Economics and Research Department, and the Office of External Relations come under his responsibility.
Previously, he was Special Advisor to the President, developing ADB’s role in the areas of knowledge management, policy, and strategy. He also headed ADB’s response team to the region’s Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak.
In 2002, Mr. Van der
Linden was Director General of ADB’s East and Central Asia Department
covering Azerbaijan; People’s Republic of China; Hong Kong, China;
Kazakhstan; Kyrgyz Republic; Republic of Korea; Mongolia; Tajikistan;
Taipei,China; Turkmenistan; and Uzbekistan. He managed the operations
of the five divisions in the East and Central Asia Department—operations
coordination; infrastructure; agriculture, environment, and natural resources;
social sectors; and governance, finance, and trade. He was also responsible
for the ADB’s resident missions in People’s Republic of China,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, and Uzbekistan, as well as liaison
offices in Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.