Guy Pfeffermann was born in Montauban, France. He received his Licence en Droit et Sciences Economiques in Paris in 1962 and was awarded first prize, Concours General, a French national inter-university essay competition. Mr. Pfeffermann was a Besse scholar at St.Antony's College, Oxford from 1962-65 and received a B.Litt. (Oxon.) in 1967.

Mr. Pfeffermann joined the World Bank’s Young Professionals Program in December 1966. He served as Chief Economist for the Latin America and Caribbean Region from 1979-87 and Chief of Debt and Macroeconomic Adjustment division from 1987-88. He was the Director of the Economics Department and Chief Economist for the International Finance Corporation from 1988-2003. Since 2003, he has served as the Director of the Global Business School Network of International Finance Corporation. He retired from the World Bank in 2006. From 2000-2003 he was also an Adjunct Professor at Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies. From 2003-2007, he was a member of the Board of Directors of the Global Giving Foundation. He is currently on the Advisory Board of the Association of African Business Schools (AABS).

Nora Brown is currently Chief Operating Officer at GBSN. Prior to this, she managed projects for GBSN while it was still housed at the International Finance Corporation. While her primary focus was on the East Africa portfolio, she managed programs in West and Southern Africa as well. She has experience in the financial sector and has worked for non-profit organizations in development and human rights. Nora earned her M.A. in International Development and Economics from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and her B.A. in International Studies from Johns Hopkins University.

Lisa Leander joined GBSN as Program Officer overseeing the Karachi Education Initiative in Pakistan. In her previous position with Higher Education for Development (HED), she managed twenty-six global higher education partnership grants, including the partnership program to enhance the Executive MBA program at Alexandria University in Egypt. From 2002-2005 Lisa worked for The Services Group, an economic development consulting firm focusing on international trade. Lisa has field experience in Egypt, Jordan, Mexico, Botswana, Tanzania and South Africa. She has earned a Bachelors degree in History and Spanish from Sonoma State University, and a Masters degree in International Development from George Washington University.