Zia Mian has been appointed director general of the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR).

Mian's appointment becomes effective today, approximately nine months after the resignation of former Director General J. Paul Morgan.

Mian is an economist and financial analyst with extensive experience in energy economics, having worked with private, public, international and multilateral organisations. His work has covered areas such as infrastructure and energy projects, project operations and finance, information and communications techniques, lecturing and publishing.

Outstanding scholarship

Mian holds a Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts and Master of Science 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, 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 the energy sector policy and economic analysis.

Mian was subsequently engaged by the United Nations Development Programme 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 then United States President Jimmy Carter.

Positions held

During that period, He assisted in negotiating petroleum supplies arrangements with Nigeria and the establishment of the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica.

From 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.

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 University of the West Indies, Mona.