Dr. Eugene Owusu

Eugene Owusu is an International Policy and Development Management expert with over 25 years of experience in strategic leadership and advocacy with the United Nations throughout Africa, managing complex political, development and humanitarian challenges. He has been a facilitator of institutional partnerships between the UN, Governments, private sector and civil society entities, and is adept in negotiations and policy-driven solutions.

Presently, Eugene is the Special Advisor to the President of Ghana on the Sustainable Development Goals and Sherpa to the President in his role as Co-Chair of the Eminent Group of SDGs Advocates and as a member of the High Level Panel on the Ocean Economy. He is the Substantive Lead on the President’s advocacy and engagement team for mobilising support for the accelerated implementation of the SDGs  at both the sub-regional and  international levels.

As the Senior Advisor (Strategic Africa Partnerships) at UNDP Brussels from 2007-2010, he facilitated institutional partnerships with the European Union and its institutions in support of Africa’s development agenda in countries like Uganda, Sierra Leone  and Tanzania.

From 2015-2017, Eugene served in various capacities at the UN. Among these, are UN Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in South Sudan, UN Secretary-General and Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Ethiopia where he performed many roles including providing leadership role in the implementation of the UN’s system and operational activities.

Prior to joining the UNDP, Eugene worked with the world-renowned private sector entity, Dun and Bradstreet Ltd in the United Kingdom as a Senior Country Risk Analyst, and then as Head of Economic Research, where his functions included  managing Dun and Bradstreet’s macroeconomic and strategic research and the company’s portfolio of director-level sovereign risk reports for international trade, investment and business decision-making. From 1989 -91, Eugene was an Economist/Market Analyst at the British Sulphur Corporation/CRU International in London where he had responsibility for Strategic and Market Studies, Economic Forecasting, Investment Analysis, and Analysis of Industry and Economic Trends.

Eugene Owusu holds a PhD in Agricultural Economics from the Pennsylvania State University. His passion for the humanitarian agenda cannot be underestimated considering his contribution to UN in the area of humanitarianism. He also has keen interest in conflict mediation and peace maintenance.