Marie-Anne Birken was appointed General Counsel at the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in June 2014. Ms Birken is a member of the Executive Committee and various other committees of the Bank. Ms Birken joined EBRD from the Asian Development Bank where she was The Secretary and previously served as Deputy General Counsel and as Assistant General Counsel responsible for private sector operations. Ms Birken has extensive emerging markets experience and lived and worked in Asia from 1995 until 2014. She was previously a partner in two international law firms and held the position of regional general counsel at Barclays Bank where she supported corporate banking activities in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Ms Birken is a Dutch national; she has a Master’s degree in law from the University of Utrecht and also qualified as a solicitor in England & Wales.