Kumaresh Misra has more than 35 years of professional experience, including the United Nations, international organisations, academia, the private sector and the government both at the implementation and policy level. He holds a Master of Arts in Political Economy from Boston University (United States of America) and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (India). He also holds bachelors’ degree in Economics and law. Prior to joining the HabitatIII Secretariat, he served as Head of the International Cooperation Branch at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), The Hague, The Netherlands, for 7 years. He also served at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Vienna, as Senior Technical Advisor. As a member of the Indian Administrative Service in India he also served in the Prime Minister’s Office, as well as in the offices of ministers of finance, civil aviation and rural development. At the field level he led and closely planned, implemented and supervised all development and regulatory activities including integrated area development programmes.