22 October 2025
Private investors are looking for respected and independent signals of quality and risk management to inform investment decisions. In the first year of operations, Edwin’s leadership of the BDN Secretariat has poised BDN certification to be the preeminent signal to investors that infrastructure projects – wherever they are situated in the world – have taken the necessary measures to maximise economic returns, promote sustainability, and mitigate risk
On Wednesday 17th September 2025, the OECD announced the appointment of Edwin Lau as Head of the Blue Dot Network (BDN) Secretariat.
Following service in the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, a career at the OECD – including as Head of the Infrastructure and Public Procurement Division – and the successful launch of the Blue Dot Network Secretariat in May 2024, Edwin‘s appointment will allow the BDN Secretariat to continue and scale up its work to provide a standardized and comprehensive signal of infrastructure projects that meet – and exceed – global infrastructure standards such as the Quality Infrastructure Investment (QII) principles of the G20. To achieve this, Edwin will support the seven member countries steering the BDN Initiative (Australia, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, Türkiye, United Kingdom and the United States), and work with private investors and developers through the BDN Executive Consultation Group (ECG) to ensure that BDN certifications are responsive to investor needs.
Philippe Valahu, CEO of the Private Investment Development Group (PIDG) and ECG Chair congratulated Edwin: “Private investors are looking for respected and independent signals of quality and risk management to inform investment decisions. In the first year of operations, Edwin’s leadership of the BDN Secretariat has poised BDN certification to be the preeminent signal to investors that infrastructure projects – wherever they are situated in the world – have taken the necessary measures to maximise economic returns, promote sustainability, and mitigate risk.”
In its first year of operation, the BDN has certified infrastructure projects in Latin America, East Africa, the South Pacific and Türkiye, and established partnerships with certification bodies, Bureau Veritas, SGS and Ricardo, as well as with multilateral development banks and global infrastructure actors, to deliver on a shared agenda of narrowing the infrastructure finance gap in Emerging Markets and Developing Economies. At the Financing for Development Conference (Ff4D) earlier this year, countries recognised the need for independent and trusted information on quality infrastructure projects by including the Blue Dot Network in the Sevilla Platform for Action.
Please join us in congratulating Edwin on his new position.