New Director General for Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR)
February 10, 2009The Full Story
Prime Minister Bruce Golding, has announced the appointment of Mr. Zia Mian as Director-General of the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR). Mr. Mian’s appointment takes effect from February 9, 2009.
He succeeds Mr. J. Paul Morgan who resigned last year. Mr. Mian is an economist and financial analyst, with extensive experience in energy economics having worked with private, public, international and multi-lateral organisations. His work has covered areas such as infrastructure and energy projects; project operations and finance; Information and Communications Techniques, lecturing and publishing.
Mr. Mian holds the B.A (Hons), M.A and M.Sc degrees in Development, Quantitative Economics and Operational Research and an LLB in International and Corporate Law.
Born in India and educated at Punjab University and Karachi University in Pakistan, as well as the University of the West Indies, Mr. Mian became a naturalised Jamaican citizen in August 1994. His association with Jamaica began in 1974 when he was employed by the Government of Jamaica as Senior Economist, with responsibility for energy sector policy and economic analysis.
Mr. Mian was subsequently engaged by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as Chief Technical Adviser and Project Manager for energy policy in Jamaica and was a member of the Trilateral Review Commission Task Force on Energy for the then US President, Jimmy Carter. During that period, Mr. Mian assisted in negotiating petroleum supplies arrangements with Nigeria and the establishment of the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica.
Between 1980 – 1999, he worked with the World Bank and held various positions including Senior Energy Economist, Senior Operations Officer, and Senior Energy Planner. He has served as an adviser to the Government of Jamaica on energy policy since 2001.
Mr. Mian was selected for the position as Director General for the OUR from a pool of 23 candidates who applied in response to advertisements placed in the local and international press. The applicants were evaluated by a team led by Professor Gordon Shirley, Principal of the UWI (Mona Campus).