Ivan Lukas

Director of Business Development and Country Director for India
ivan.lukas@dotglasses.org

Along the way he’s built extensive expertise in partnership management, outreach, advocacy, policy analysis, and project management – all with the goal of shifting the international aid paradigm more towards commercially sustainable model.Upon completion of his PhD studies with a focus on the regional trade policies of South Africa, he worked at Glopolis, a Prague-based think tank, where he headed the Economic and Development Finance section. Through the cooperation with foreign partner organizations, he contributed to the revision of the Free Trade Agreements between the EU and Columbia.
He then moved to the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, working in the Czech Development Agency (CzechAid), where he set up the strategic and legal structures of the Business Partnership programme – a matching grant scheme for companies with positive development impact.
In 2016, he was seconded to the UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub, where he managed the Czech-UNDP Trust Fund, while also serving as a Programme Specialist for engaging the private sector in development, which included extensive project management and communication with partners (governments, private sector, NGOs) and the public. Before leaving, he initiated successful transition of the Czech Trust Fund into Innovation Challenge Fund, currently flagship of Czech – UNDP partnership.
Immediately before joining DOT Glasses, he served as the Outreach and Membership Lead for Business Call to Action (BCtA) – hosted by the UNDP in Istanbul – which aims to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by challenging and supporting companies to develop inclusive business models that engage people at the base of the economic pyramid (BoP).
Ivan has a PhD in International Political Economy from the Charles University in Prague, as well as a Masters in International Relations and European Studies from the Central European University in Budapest.