Who we are

The professional staff of Partnership International, Inc. is multi-cultural and multilingual with extensive overseas experience. We believe in establishing a local presence in countries and markets of particular interest to our clients. By doing so, we work closely with local resources to identify and validate effective solutions, which are truly adapted to the needs of our clients in providing sustainable development.

Our Senior Partners and Technical Advisors have hands-on experience covering more than 50 countries. To meet our clients’ objectives, we have assembled at team of seasoned international professionals.

The senior advisors of Partnership International have :

• Complementary skills that will seamlessly deliver the quality and timely services required for a successful project implementation.
  
  
• Extensive experience in working in emerging countries at senior levels of both private and public enterprises and/or related governmental agencies responsible for regulatory, administrative, judicial and service programs.
  
  
• Know-how to instill transfer of best practices in all manners of legal, technical and professional environments.

• Infrastructure Investment & Restructuring Specialists
• Financial & Management Advisors
• Economists
• Legal and Regulatory Experts
• Environmental Specialists
• Accounting/Auditing Experts
• Privatization and Public-Private Partnership Experts

Our Principals
(click on name to see full biography)

Ian P. Brownlow
President, CEO

Mr. Ian P. Brownlow leads Partnership International, Inc. to help empower public and private sector clients in the creation of institutional, economic and financial strategies towards sustainable development. As President & CEO, Mr. Brownlow guides Partnership International, Inc. in providing best-practice solutions to clients such as the World Bank, U.S. government agencies, foreign governments and private companies.

Mr. Brownlow has managed numerous complex projects worldwide, requiring close coordination with consulting teams, public-sector partners, private-sector stakeholders and international financial institutions. He is a seasoned executive with over 20 years of professional experience in international project finance and leadership:

- Managed foreign exchange supply for the IFC and other development bank loans for sugar operations in Malawi
- Liaised with Boards of Directors for nine diverse operating regions including energy in the US and mining in Africa
- Consulted for the parastatal body responsible for marketing and distribution of agricultural produce in Malawi.
- Improved operations for a multi-million dollar joint venture South American oil and gas operating company project
- Turned around a loss-producing refinery into a product terminal facility and negotiated the sale of oil and gas assets for $150mn
- Headed due diligence efforts for acquisition of a billion-dollar property and mining group in Canada
- Directed sales of a glass manufacturing company and acquisition of a joint venture partnership in Germany
- Assisted the preparation of prospectus and advisor in government privatization of a major UK airline

Mr. Brownlow has worked with conglomerate executives at the highest corporate levels such as Tiny Rowland of Lonrho, Robert Anderson of Atlantic Richfield and Lord Michael Ashcroft of BHI Corporation. Earlier in his career, he worked with Ernst & Young in London and is qualified as a Chartered Accountant since 1984.

Gilles Foucher
VP, Finance & Operations

Mr. Gilles Foucher has over 30 years experience in both international finance and financial audits for both the public and private sector. At the World Bank from 1988-1991, Mr. Foucher was as an Audit Manager responsible for auditing World Bank project development around the world. He was in charge of the audit and control on how the project was managed and if the budget was used appropriately in accordance with the grant and the objective of the World Bank. He supervised audits concerning projects throughout Africa. Mr. Foucher has worked for over 30 years with IBM on a variety of assignments worldwide. At IBM, he was the Europe Middle East Africa (EMEA) Investment Manager where he assessed proposals for Strategic Alliances with IBM such as joint-ventures, subsidiary or equity partnerships and managed over USD 40 million. Over the last few years Mr. Foucher has been providing economic and finance advisory services. His most recent assignment was with the French Benchmarking Institute where he instructed small business enterprises on best practices and how to succeed as a small business enterprise. He also established for multinational businesses their “bid prices” for hardware and services in EU and subsidiaries located all around the world. Mr. Foucher was a Lecturer in Economics. He is a graduate from the Political Institute of Paris, and holds a M.A. In Economic Sciences form University of Paris and “Diplôme d'Etudes Supérieures de Doctorat” in Economic Sciences from University of Paris. Mr. Foucher is fluent in both French and English.

Tracy Mathieu
VP, Business Development

As a business development consultant for over 25+ years, Ms. Mathieu has extensive experience in developing, negotiating and managing strategic relationships from inception to implementation and/or completion.

Ms Mathieu has put together international collaborative deals for large-scale infrastructure projects and developments, multinational organizations and the Internet industry worldwide. She has planned and produced high-margin revenue business opportunities with new industries, companies and business partners. She has also designed and orchestrated multinational, tri-sectorial, and cross-border collaborative agreements. She recognizes opportunities via research and analysis, and presents these opportunities as new business concepts to executives with a plan for implementation. With international cross-sector, business development experience in over 55 countries, she thinks broadly and strategically about a broad range of business development issues oriented towards sustainable solutions. She holds a Bachelor's in International Relations with a concentration in Developing Countries' Economics, a Fellow at the Kennedy School of Ethics as well as a Masters in Public Policy from Georgetown University.

Our Senior Advisors
(click on name to see full biography)

Robert V. Huffman
Senior Advisor, Communications

Robert V. Huffman is Partnership International's VP Communications. He guides our consulting teams in providing best-practice solutions to clients such as the World Bank, NGOs, International Development Agencies, and Private Companies. Mr. Huffman manages numerous complex projects which require close coordination with our consulting teams, national public-sector partners, private-sector stakeholders and foreign donors.

Mr. Huffman is a seasoned executive with over 20 years of professional experience in international program management and leadership in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector. He has several years of experience serving as a senior leader and manager of specialized Government Departments. Earlier in his career, he held positions such as Information Systems Manager for the US Government in Information Systems, Modeling and Simulation consulting practice areas. He has provided a spectrum of information technology systems and services for several U.S. government agencies and private companies. He has exceptional leadership and interpersonal skills, creating productive, collaborative and collegial relationships on all levels of project management with subordinates, peers and superiors. Mr. Huffman has provided consulting to projects in over 20 countries. He has been personally responsible for revenue of $60+ million and has proven managerial skills supervising large multi-faceted concurrent business units and/or projects simultaneously.

G. Barry Schaeffer
Senior Advisor, Energy Financial Economist

Dr. Barry Schaeffer is Partnership International’s Energy Economist. He has over twenty years of experience in applied economics, financial analysis and research applied to renewable energy, and methodology for tariff determination. Areas of specialization include renewable energy connection to the grid, fiscal frameworks, energy modeling and project costing. Dr. Schaeffer has twelve years of experience in the financial aspects of electricity and public utilities. His expertise includes IAS restatement of accounts, financial analysis and modeling, business valuation, development of methodology and calculation of tariffs, cost of service studies, unbundling, restructuring, privatization, credit and loan repayment evaluation, financial management assessment, subsidy policy and risk analysis. Dr. Schaeffer has extensive experience worldwide in Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, MENA, Africa, Asia and China.

Robert Foster
Senior Engineer, Solar & Wind Energy Development

Mr. Foster has 35 years of renewable energy experience in 40 countries. He has managed and implemented a wide variety of solar, wind, micro-hydro, and geothermal projects for both stand-alone and on-grid applications. He is presently working with PI on completing the solar PV technical aspects for the development of a 100MW Solar PV Power Plant to provide clean energy to an industrial park in Mexico. Additionally, he recently completed an assignment designing five PV power system models for the Jamaica Tourist and Hotel Association members. He has served as a contractor/consultant for DOE, USAID, World Bank, UNDP, EPA, NASA, NREL, NSF, USTDA, USIA, Sandia Labs, as well as various solar companies and NGOs. He retired from the College of Engineering at New Mexico State University (NMSU) in 2014 after 25 years of service where he supported international solar projects for the DOE National Center for Photovoltaics. He served as the Technical Manager for Sandia National Labs supporting DOE in Mexico and Central America. Robert served as a solar energy advisor for the World Bank solar projects in Honduras and Nicaragua. He was the Tiger Team Leader for the DOE Solar America Initiative in Texas. He was Chief Engineer for the USAID Afghanistan Clean Energy Program. Robert began as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic, where he helped pioneer the use of off-grid solar home systems with Enersol Associates. Prior to that he worked at Cole Solar Systems in Austin fabricating solar thermal systems. Robert is a co-founder of SolAqua and serves on the Board of Directors. Mr Foster served as Chairman of the Texas Solar Energy Society and provided leadership to help the State of Texas adopt the Texas Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard in 1999, which paved the way for Texas to become the national leader in wind power. He served for six years on the Board of Directors of the Small Wind Certification Council. He holds a B. S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and a MBA from NMSU. Mr. Foster holds eight solar patents. He is now co-authoring his fourth solar book, published over 150 papers/articles, and written over 100 technical reports and feasibility studies. Robert grew up on the Mexican border in El Paso and is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, and knows basic Dari/Farsi.
A. John Armstrong
Senior Advisor, Renewable Energy Legal & Regulatory Council

Dr. Arthur John Armstrong is Partnership International’s Senior Legal/Regulatory Advisor. Dr. Armstrong is highly experienced in legal and regulatory matters with regard to government and corporate development of geothermal energy. Dr Armstrong was on special assignment to the Indonesia Ministry of Planning (BAPPENAS). Funded by KfW, the PI team provided on-going advisory services to the government in which Dr. Armstrong advised on all matters related to legal/regulatory development of geothermal resources. Dr. Armstrong has advised and counseled foreign governments in establishing Renewable Energy (RE) legal and regulatory policy and understands which practices (legal, regulatory, financial) work best to promote a sustainable RE strategy and platform. He has proposed recommendations in the RE development process to policymakers worldwide and to private sector financial and commercial institutions. Dr. Armstrong is a member of the Virginia and District of Columbia Bars, admitted to practice before the US Supreme Court. He is highly experienced in legal, regulatory, and financial matters in regards to government and corporate development of sustainable renewable energy. Dr. Armstrong has advised and counseled national governments and international organizations in establishing Renewable Energy (RE) legal and regulatory frameworks, and has implemented best practices that promote a sustainable energy strategy and platform. He has worked with national ministries of and concessions, which create the interface between the private-sector developer, concessions, and the granting governments on five continents. His transactional experience includes mergers and acquisitions; structuring financing with International Finance Corporation, Ex-Im Bank and OPIC; and privatization and capitalization issues in Latin America and Eastern Europe. Dr. Armstrong earned his BA frjustice, energy, and finance, as well as with public utilities and private developers in structuring national government energy-finance policy as well as in drafting and negotiating public-private power purchase and sales agreements and concomitant ministerial orders. In conjunction with drafting geothermal laws and regulations in more than thirty countries, he has drafted generation and transmission permits, licensesom Vanderbilt University, his JD from the University of Virginia, and his LLM from the National Law Center, George Washington University.

Jeff Ponsness
Senior Advisor, Energy Finance, Efficiency & ITC Development

Mr. Ponsness is Senior Financial Advisor to Partnership International providing finance and ICT technical assistants. For the Government of Barbados' Energy Smart Fund, he is developing a monitoring system to help the government evaluate renewable energy and energy efficiency loans. For the Indonesia Ministry of Planning (BAPPENAS), he is developing the Geo Portal comprising geothermal database and knowledge bank of geothermal information. Mr. Ponsness also worked on the Geothermal Risk Mitigation Fund of African Union Commission. Mr. Ponsness was responsible for reviewing each project's financial viability and economic risks during the application process for the 50 million EUR to co-finance geothermal power surface studies and drilling projects in 11 East Africa countries. He has also provided in-country training to multiple projects/countries on geothermal power project economic assessment which is being used by all project applicants. He is a Professional Trainer and Software Engineer specializing in energy services that include energy and systems simulation/optimization, energy modeling and economic analysis, and software application development. Mr. Ponsness has conducted numerous such projects in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) involving energy project financing and heat-mapping technologies for the Jumeirah Islands, the Gardens with a Factory Outlet expansion, The Palm, Dubai Metals and Commodities Center, and Dubai International Financial Center. Mr. Ponsness boasts more than twenty-five years of experience in energy and utility industry related fields. For the World Bank GEF Geothermal Workshop for South East Europe, as a consultant with Partnership International, he provided training that includes energy systems, economic/financial analysis, mitigating risk and systems optimization and feasibility analysis. Mr. Ponsness also acts as an Advisor of Partnership International, all financial and economic aspects of the MENA Geothermal heating/cooling feasibility study and implementation plan for this USTDA funded project. Mr. Ponsness holds an MBA from Portland City University (1986), and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from University of Portland (1980).

Eric Youngren
Senior Engineer, Solar & Micro Grid Development

Mr. Eric Youngren has over 10 years of experience in off-grid electrical power systems for use at remote sites as well as grid-interactive systems for backup power where energy grids are unstable or unavailable. He is an expert in the design and installation of small-scale renewable energy off-grid and grid-tied solar electrical systems for power and electricity generation in Africa and the Caribbean. Mr. Youngren has over 12 years of experience in off-grid electrical power system implementations at remote sites. In St. Kitts, he installed a complete off-grid solar electric system to power a woodworking shop, using a 12kW PV array. In 2008, he installed a 14kW off-grid system to power a rural school in Guinea Bissau and trained the students to operate and maintain the device. The system has been dependable in providing clean energy and has been in use since then. For Solar Aid in 2011-12, he designed and supplied over 100 off-grid systems for schools in Tanzania and Kenya. In 2012-13, he supplied over 1200 systems to power ICT in schools in Tanzania for the USAID’s TZ-21 project. He works with PI to develop state-of-the-art solar energy technology at appropriate scales for rural markets. Mr. Youngren holds a BA from Pomona College; MS in Geography from Huxley College in Washington State.

Richard Pearce
Senior Electrical Engineer, Rural & Renewable Energy Transmission/Distribution
Partnership International, Inc’s Senior Advisor Mr. Pearce is certified as a Journeyman Lineman, Master Electrician and Tester of Power Plants, and has extensive qualifications for the design and implementation of the technical aspects of electrical engineering projects with emphasis on power and transmission systems, as well as with the electrical (power plants, transmission lines, distribution networks, etc) and commercial aspects of operating a Utility. He has a vast experience in African electrical systems. He served as Partnership International’s Senior Rural Electrification Advisor in which he developed the rehabilitation and expansion plans for two isolated hydropower micro-grids in rural Angola. He also is experienced in power distribution line construction, system operations, commercial manager and staffing/training and operation of technical center within the Liberia Electricity Company. With Manitoba Hydro International (MHI), he was responsible for electrical testing, maintenance and troubleshooting techniques of power generation equipment, transformers substations and distribution network. He additionally provided ongoing assistance in implementation of the pilot projects and solar powered systems. Mr. Pearce designed and engineered 12 pilot power plants in Liberia and power distribution systems throughout capital city of Monrovia from 2007-10. Mr. Pearce received his BS in Electrical Engineering specializing in power generation from Penn State University in 1988.

Steven Hirsch
Senior Advisor, Electrical Engineer & Senior Advisor Renewable Energy
Mr. Hirsch is an electrical engineer with over 30 years of energy-related experience in Africa. He’s worked on the development of renewable energy (with particular expertise in geothermal energy) for US and international government agencies including USAID, US Department of Energy, US Trade and Development Agency, World Bank, United Nations Development Program and host country governments (Uganda, Djibouti, Morocco, and Burundi). He lived 14 years in Africa, including in the Ivory Coast, Guinea, Morocco, Djibouti, Uganda, Burundi, and Ethiopia, managing renewable energy projects (geothermal, solar, wind, biomass, energy efficiency). He initiated the organization of the first East Africa Regional Geothermal Conference in Nairobi in April 2003 and prepared country geothermal summary documents for the Conference. He worked from 2006-12 as VP for New Business Development for Geothermal Development Associates, based in Reno, Nevada, before becoming Director for the startup of the USAID-GEA East Africa Geothermal Partnership (EAGP) in Washington DC. He recently completed work for the EAGP Program as Senior Technical Advisor. Steve Hirsch holds a Masters in African Studies from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem (1978) and a Bachelors of Science in Electrical engineering from Lafayette College (1967).
Nasir Khattak
Senior Advisor, Clean & Renewable Energy

Mr. Nasir Khattak has over twelve years of experience in renewable energy and energy efficiency projected planning, promotion and development. He holds a Master of Engineering Management from The George Washington University (Focus on Environmental and Energy Management). His areas of specialization include sustainable energy program management, strategic and sustainable development planning, renewable energy and climate change policy development, and international outreach.

He is a consultant with the Climate Institute and founder of the Global Sustainable Energy Islands Initiative (GSEII). The GSEII was launched in 1998 as a consortium of international organizations to assist the small island states in their energy transformation efforts. His work includes development of sustainable energy plans in participating states and supporting the implementation of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. These Sustainable Energy Plans detail policy, regulatory, financing, and capacity building measures for the increased utilization of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies and services. He promotes practical solutions through cooperative action, serving as a catalyst to public private partnerships.
Bryce Fisher
Senior Advisor, Transport Safety & Security

As a recognized safety and security expert, Bryce Fisher enables Partnership International's customers to address a wide range of issues facing transportation concerns in a holistic way. Known for his creative and strategic thinking, he can help develop frameworks and strategies to meet transportation organizations' immediate and emerging safety and security needs. Within his 30 years of experience in aviation, Mr. Fisher has worked with both State regulatory agencies and industry on four continents. Mr. Fisher has published a number of articles on safety issues that have been featured in the ICAO Journal, amongst others. Fluent in both French and English, Mr. Fisher’s customers included the World Bank, UTA French Airlines, Air France, the Governments of Niger, Mali, Madagascar and Canada. Mr. Fisher is currently writing a book for regulatory agencies on how to build risk management based oversight programs.

Benvindo Tavares Rodrigues
Senior Advisor, Private Sector Development

Mr. Rodrigues has over eighteen years of work experience, of which five in export/import management, ten managing private sector development and poverty alleviation projects funded by international financial institutions and donors (WB, IFAD, ADB, USAID, ADF, etc.) and three providing regional (Africa) business and management consulting services. He is able to conduct business in English, Portuguese, French, Spanish, and Russian. Mr. Rodrigues worked with the Southern Africa Department of the World Bank Group (performed financial analysis of a US$ 32 Million line of credit to support Mozambican small and medium size companies) and the Arizona Department of Commerce as trade specialist assistant for Europe, Africa, and the Middle East (helped to set up the state office in Europe) in 1993. He holds a Master of Business Administration (Finance and Trade) American Graduate School of International Management (Thunderbird), Certificate in Economics, Economics Institute, Boulder, Colorado, and a BA in Economics, Economics Institute, Minsk, Byelorussia. He is also skilled in designing and carrying out training activities, seminars, and workshops in his areas of expertise. He is fluent in English, Portuguese, and French.

Timothy Healy
Senior Advisor, Enviro & Socio-Economics

Mr. Healy has over 20 years of experience in the field of natural resources management and economics initiated in Europe and now over 14 years in Africa predominantly in Madagascar. Mr. Healy also worked in Europe as an environmental consultant within an international consultancy managing environmental and social impact assessments (ESIAs). Later he was an independent consultant attached to institutes of environmental research in Namibia (4 years). Since 1996, Mr. Healy specializes in SEIAs in various development sectors for both governments and the private sector. His consulting assignments cover a broad range of environmental issues: Environmental Economics, Management of the Environment, Project Appraisal, Environmental Systems, Marine and Estuarine Pollution & Water Resource Management, Tropical Ecology, Conservation, Environmental Chemistry, Ecology, Physical Basis of Ecosystems, Applied Ecology Information Technology, Environmental Damage, Environmental Geology, and Wildlife Management.

Romeo Messier
Senior Advisor, ICT Enterprise Restructuring

Mr. Messier is a senior consultant and advisor at Partnership International, Inc. He is a senior executive with extensive experience in business planning, project management and many aspects of financial, operations and general management. His key qualifications are:

- An effective ICT leader with a strong customer and profit focus who creates and works in a results-oriented team environment.
- Diversified experience in directing, planning, performance and productivity measurement for operating budgets of more than $2.9 billion.
- Experienced in domestic and international ICT project management.
- Extensive experienced ICT accountant, public auditor and bookkeeper.

Among his many assignments include the development of a business plan for the Sri-Lanka Postal Service and the development and implementation of a model based on postal service activities resulting in a twenty percent profits to the assigned funds. He also has conducted a revision of the Bolivian Postal Service, which resulted in a restructuring and modernization plan, which is actually being implemented and developed a strategic plan for the Universal Postal Service in Bern, Switzerland. In Cape Verde, he was the Lead Marketing Expert for the Postal Service and Postal Banking.