Our Experts
Md. Shahjahan, MSc, PGD
Environmental Specialist & Former Additional Director General, Department of Environment (DoE), Bangladesh
Md. Shahjahan is a distinguished environmental professional with over 45 years of experience, including 35 years of high-level service in the Government of Bangladesh’s Department of Environment (DoE), where he served as Additional Director General and Director General (In-charge). His career spans environmental policy development, regulatory compliance, environmental impact assessments (EIA), and capacity building across national and international development projects.
Throughout his government tenure, Mr. Shahjahan designed, directed, and monitored major environmental projects at both headquarters and field levels. He served as Project Director for 11 government-implemented projects, including the development of DoE’s regional laboratories in Dhaka, Chattogram, Khulna, and Bogra—overseeing construction, equipment procurement, and operational setup. He was also a key contributor to drafting Bangladesh’s environmental policies, rules, and regulations, including the original draft of the Environmental Conservation Rule 2023.
Mr. Shahjahan has been extensively involved in reviewing Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and Environmental Management Plans (EMPs) submitted to DoE, and has led 31 EIA study teams across diverse sectors including textiles, power, cement, steel, pulp and paper, and housing—all approved by the Department of Environment. He also led the upgrading of eight sector-wise EIA guidelines and one ETP guideline for DoE, covering industries such as cement, pharmaceuticals, textiles, coal mining, and natural gas exploration.
His international exposure includes work with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as Environmental Consultant (2015–2023), the World Bank-funded Clean Air and Sustainable Environment (CASE) Project (2017–2019), and the Canadian Executing Agency (CEA) under CIDA-funded Bangladesh Environmental Management Project (BEMP), where he supervised and provided technical feedback for 16 NGO-implemented projects.
Mr. Shahjahan has represented Bangladesh at numerous international conferences, seminars, and workshops across France, Switzerland, Canada, Germany, Japan, Australia, China, South Korea, and other countries. He served as a member of the Implementation Committee of the Montreal Protocol under the Vienna Convention on Ozone Layer Protection, and participated in study tours on ETP sludge management in China and Germany organized by GIZ.
He has also contributed to key national strategies, including the National Strategy for Sustainable Brick Production in Bangladesh (ICIMOD, Nepal, 2017) and the preparation of the Environmental Inspection Manual for DoE under the GIZ-supported STILE project, which he also translated into Bangla.
Mr. Shahjahan holds an MSc in Tropical Coastal Zone Management from the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK; a Post-Graduate Diploma in Environmental Science and Technology from IHE, Delft, Netherlands; and a BSc in Civil Engineering from Rajshahi University of Engineering & Technology (RUET), Bangladesh. He is a proud member of The Institute of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB) .
His unparalleled expertise in environmental compliance, regulatory affairs, and project management makes him an invaluable asset to Axora’s expert panel—bringing deep technical knowledge and government insight to support clients navigating Bangladesh’s evolving environmental landscape.
Dr. Mohammad Shahjahan, MBBS, MSc
Public Health Specialist & Former Team Leader, World Health Organization (WHO)
Dr. Mohammad Shahjahan is a distinguished public health professional with over 30 years of international experience spanning southern Africa, the Middle East, and South-East Asia. He brings deep expertise in maternal and child health, nutrition, health systems strengthening, and emergency response—having worked with the World Health Organization (WHO) for nearly two decades until his retirement in early 2022.
Dr. Shahjahan began his career in Bangladesh with Save the Children-UK, where he served as Program Coordinator and Acting Medical Director at the Children Nutrition Unit (CNU). He managed hospital-based and home-based nutrition rehabilitation programs, MCH services, training, and research, and oversaw emergency relief operations for flood-affected populations and Burmese refugee programs.
He later joined The Micronutrient Initiative (MI) in Bangladesh as National Program Officer, contributing to the strategic development and implementation of national micronutrient malnutrition programs. He coordinated the drafting of the community-based component of the National Nutrition Program for the Ministry of Health and played a key role in shaping Bangladesh’s longer-term micronutrient strategy.
In 2003, Dr. Shahjahan joined the World Health Organization (WHO) , serving in progressively senior roles across multiple countries:
- As Nutritionist for the WHO Inter-country Team in Southern Africa (Zimbabwe), he supported nutrition and health activities in Lesotho, Swaziland, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe during regional crises—strengthening nutrition surveillance systems and building national capacity.
- As International Consultant for UNICEF in Uganda, he standardized nutrition survey methodologies, finalized therapeutic and supplementary feeding guidelines, and provided technical support for internally displaced populations.
- As Nutrition Officer for WHO in West Bank and Gaza, he managed USAID and Norwegian Government-funded projects, supporting the Ministry of Health in establishing a national nutrition surveillance system and coordinating nutrition interventions.
- In Indonesia, he served as Technical Officer and Team Leader for the Health Systems team, advising the Ministry of Health on district health system strengthening, essential drugs, and patient safety. He later led the NCD cluster and supported health systems development across the country.
- In Myanmar, as Public Health Administrator and later Team Leader for the RMNCAH team, Dr. Shahjahan led WHO’s support for maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health. He managed biennium workplans, resource mobilization, and health systems strengthening initiatives—overseeing NCD and disease surveillance activities until his retirement.
Dr. Shahjahan holds an MBBS from Sir Salimullah Medical College, Dhaka University, and an MSc in Mother and Child Health from the Institute of Child Health, London University, UK. He also completed post-graduate training in Nutrition Program Monitoring and Evaluation at Tufts University, USA.
His extensive international exposure includes participation in IVACG meetings across Guatemala, Egypt, South Africa, and Vietnam; presenting at the 8th World Salt Symposium in the Netherlands; and study tours on food fortification in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, as well as food engineering at the University of Toronto and University of Guelph, Canada.
Dr. Shahjahan has authored over 15 publications in national and international journals and proceedings. He is proficient in English and Bangla, with working knowledge of Persian (Farsi), Urdu, and Hindi, and basic knowledge of Arabic and Bahasa Indonesia.
His unparalleled experience in public health, nutrition, health systems strengthening, and emergency response—combined with his deep understanding of government and international agency operations—makes him an invaluable asset to Axora’s expert panel, supporting clients in the development and health sectors.
Mr. Zubair Sayeed, CPA (USA)
Mr. Zubair Sayeed, CPA (USA)
Financial Audit Specialist & International Consultant
Zubair Sayeed is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) from the USA with over three decades of international experience in financial audit, compliance, capacity building, and academia. His career spans public accounting firms in Washington D.C., international development organizations, and leading universities in Bangladesh—bringing a rare combination of technical rigor, global standards, and pedagogical excellence.
Mr. Sayeed began his career in the United States as a Staff and Senior Auditor with Leonard G. Birnbaum CPAs and Myint and Buntua CPAs in Alexandria and Fairfax, Virginia. During this time, he conducted compliance audits of U.S. federal government grantees, successfully identifying and recovering over $3 million in questioned costs. He prepared audit reports for various federal agencies and represented his firms in audit resolution meetings—defending findings by interpreting applicable rules and regulations. He also supervised audits of over 60 federal grants and directly managed a team of eight professional staff.
From 1993 to 1996, he served as Financial Specialist and Financial Consultant with The Asia Foundation in San Francisco, California. In this role, he designed accounting systems, audit programs, and internal control frameworks for 16 field offices across Asia. He conducted internal audits, prepared evaluation reports, oversaw financial reporting, and maintained liaison with the Foundation’s headquarters and the USAID Regional Office in Singapore. He also reviewed budgets, forecasts, and financial analyses for field operations.
Between 2008 and 2012, Mr. Sayeed worked as International Audit Specialist on two major donor-funded projects:
- With Maxwell Stamp (2008–2010) on an ADB-funded project in Bhutan, providing technical assistance to the Royal Audit Authority in strengthening audit methodologies and practices.
- With Cowater International Inc. (2010–2012) on the CIDA-funded Strengthening Comptrollership and Oversight of Public Expenditures (SCOPE) project in Bangladesh, where he provided technical support to the Office of the Auditor General—reviewing audit methodologies, designing and delivering training, and organizing pilot audits using revised approaches.
Since 2013, Mr. Sayeed has continued to serve as a Financial Audit Specialist and Trainer, conducting over 50 training workshops across the United States and Asia on accounting standards, compliance matters, and audit practices for international organizations and their grantees.
In parallel with his professional career, Mr. Sayeed has made significant contributions to academia in Bangladesh. He served as Associate Professor at East West University (1997–2001) and University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (2007–2008), and as Visiting Professor at North South University (1995–2001). He taught accounting and auditing courses at graduate and undergraduate levels, and was consistently rated by students as one of the most effective faculty members. He actively participated in curriculum design, served on the Academic Council, Selection Committee, and Library Committee, and was known for synthesizing textbook materials with real-world professional experience.
Mr. Sayeed holds an MBA from Eastern Illinois University, an MBA from the University of Dhaka, and an MA in Economics from the University of Dhaka. He also completed 30 credit hours toward an MS in Accounting at the University of Houston, Texas. He is fluent in English and Bengali, with extensive travel experience across North America and Asia.
His unique blend of U.S. public accounting experience, international development consulting, and academic leadership makes him an invaluable asset to Axora’s expert panel—bringing deep expertise in audit methodology, compliance, and capacity building to clients across sectors.