Dr. Susumu Ito is currently Dean and Professor of International Development at the Graduate School of International Studies and Regional Development, University of Niigata Prefecture, Japan. He has lectured at various institutions both in Japan and abroad and is also a Visiting Professor at University of the Philippines. He is a recipient of award from the Secretary of Socioeconomic Planning of the Philippines. Dr Ito is author of numerous publications on infrastructure development and Public Private Partnership (PPP) in developing countries.
Prior to the current position, Dr. Ito was at the helm of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), both are international development agency of Government of Japan, in the ASEAN region with a particular focus on infrastructure and PPP. He also served in key executive positions related to finance management and development under the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund of Japan (OECF) including Resident Representative in Nairobi and Washington DC. Dr. Ito was formerly assigned in the Philippines as Chief Representative and Senior Representative of JICA.
Dr. Ito holds Ph.D. in International Development from Takushoku University, Japan and M.Sc. in Development Economics from University of Oxford.