Dr. Alexander McPhail has more than 35 years of professional experience, with 33 years with the World Bank. After retiring from the World Bank in 2021, he has been an independent consultant for the water sector.

At the World Bank, Dr. McPhail specialized in all aspects of the water sector including water supply and sanitation, resources planning and conservation, utility management, financing strategies, wiliness to pay, policy development and stakeholder consultation. Over the last decade of work at the World Bank, he increasingly turned his attention to developing climate resilient policies and projects, and especially in the Middle East and South Asia. Dr. McPhail is an experienced team leader, having formed and led more than 20 multi-disciplinary teams during his World Bank career. Overall, he was either a team leader or team member for more than 75 projects during his World Bank career.

Dr. McPhail routinely interacts and negotiates with government officials, including Ministers, Directors and technical staff. He also interacts frequently with the donor community, both multilateral and bilateral. He is an experienced speaker and presenter at international conferences and forums and has designed and drafted hundreds of presentations for a variety of audiences. He is known and sought after for his ability to explain complex concepts and operations to audiences in a simple and coherent manner.

Dr. McPhail served 6 years on the Board of Directors for the District of Columbia Water & Sewer Authority, chairing the Customer Service Committee and participating in the Operations and Audit Committees. He contributed to policy development, strategic direction, and minority and women contractor procurement, and guided a $2 billion capital program. He initiated a low-income assistance fund and led efforts to replace lead service lines. Dr. McPhail holds degrees in Business Administration from Portland State University and in Social Change & Development and Environmental Engineering from Johns Hopkins University.