Dr. Rastislav Vrbensky (Slovakia) is a senior advisor and lecturer as well as Founder and CEO of Avantgarde Ideas, consultancy on development, sustainability and innovation. He has worked for United Nations (UN) agencies and development banks, several Governments, leading think-tanks, and businesses. He is also a visiting lecturer on innovation and green transition at Masaryk University (Czech Republic) and Central European University (Austria). Previously, he worked as United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Deputy Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia and Manager of UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub. He also served as UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Montenegro, UNDP Country Director in Tajikistan and UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Serbia. He started his career in the Government of Slovakia.
Rastislav Vrbensky holds a PhD in Development Studies as well as two Master’s Degrees in Environmental Science from Comenius University Bratislava and Environmental Management from University of Amsterdam. In 2007, he was a Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Sciences.