GIZ Thailand and Malaysia are pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Reinhold Elges as Country Director for Thailand and Malaysia, effective June 2020. He replaces Tim Mahler who completed his tenure earlier this year.

Prior to this appointment, Mr. Reinhold held various leading positions at GIZ in Brussels, Belgium including the Head of Unit to the Liaison Office to the EU, Head of Unit – Strategy, Controlling, Coordination, Industrialised Countries and Head of Section – Strategy, Controlling, Communication, German Public Sector Clients.

He has closely collaborated with EU institutions in monitoring and evaluating political developments in the implementation of European development cooperation and in strengthening cooperation with other entities with the aim of encouraging the exchange of ideas on current issues and approaches in international cooperation.

He brings to the position his vast experience in nonprofit management, stakeholder engagement, professional development, and organisational stewardship. Throughout his career, he has fostered a culture of passion and excellence in international cooperation particularly in the areas of strategy and business development with a focus on people, process, cooperation and change management, bringing these to new heights of sustainability through improved organisational management practices and a greater number of engaged stakeholders.

Mr. Reinhold holds a Master’s Degree in Political Science, English and American Studies, Communication from Freie Universität Berlin and Universität Potsdam.

“I am truly excited and honoured to take over the position as country director of GIZ Thailand and Malaysia. In the coming years we will be working on extending our cooperation in the framework of the Thai-German cooperation on our priority topics such as climate change, agriculture, energy, waste, water, transport, education and health, achieving to sustainable development. To do so, we will continue our work with the German ministries, the European Union, bilateral donors, international foundations, UN agencies, private companies and many more. But most of all, I am looking forward to further deepening our cooperation with our Thai partners in the years to come.”

We will have no doubt that the coming years are going to bring new and exciting challenges and successes and we look forward to each and every one of you being a part of it.