Staff/Experts

Alexandra Readhead is the IGF’s Lead, Tax and Extractives and leads the Secretariat’s project to address tax base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) in mining. Her work involves designing mining sector-specific solutions to some of the most difficult taxation challenges for resource-rich developing countries.

Alexandra prepares policy and administrative guidance, provides technical assistance and training, and manages partnerships with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the African Tax Administration Forum, and Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations. She also represents the IGF on the UN Subcommittee for Extractive Industries Taxation.

Alexandra trained as a lawyer in Australia and specializes in international taxation. She has advised numerous tax authorities in Africa and Latin America on strengthening legal frameworks against abusive transfer pricing in the mining sector. She was named in the International Tax Review’s global tax top 50 for 2017.

Alexandra is based in the United Kingdom.

Thomas Lassourd is a Senior Policy Advisor, Tax and Extractives with the IGF Secretariat, working on its project to address tax base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) in mining. His areas of specialization include public finance and fiscal reforms with a strong focus on tax policy in extractive industries.

Thomas has more than 12 years of experience analyzing, designing, and implementing economic reforms in developing countries. His past experience includes acting as a senior economic analyst at the Natural Resource Governance Institute in New York, where he delivered high-level technical assistance, capacity building, and applied research in fiscal policy for resource-rich developing countries.

Thomas speaks French, English, Portuguese, and Spanish and is based in New York, USA.

Jaqueline is an expert in tax law and the extractive industries supporting the Intergovernmental Forum on IGF’s program to address tax base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) in mining.

Her work involves providing analysis and advising governments in resource-rich countries on laws, policies, and concession agreements relating to mining taxation, as well as designing and carrying out in-depth research and analysis. She manages the BEPS in Mining Program activities for Latin American countries.

Jaqueline previously worked in the private sector for over five years as an associate at a leading tax law firm in Peru and with Ernst & Young Peru. She also contributed with the EITI International Secretariat for over three years.

Jaqueline earned a Master of Laws in mineral law and policy at the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy (CEPMLP) at the University of Dundee, after Rio Tinto awarded her a scholarship. She also holds a specialization in tax law from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.

Jaqueline speaks English and Spanish and is based in Scotland, United Kingdom.

Viola Tarus is a Policy Advisor, Tax and Extractives focused on the IGF’s taxation and financial benefit optimization work. She is trained as an economist, specializing in extractives, and worked with Oxfam and the National Oil Corporation of Kenya before joining the IGF. Viola is based in Nairobi, Kenya.

Lionel Simeon is a Project Manager with the IGF and its BEPS in Mining Program. He brings a decade of experience in coordinating and managing projects, streamlining internal processes, overseeing, and managing budgets, and engaging in international partnerships.

Prior to his current role, Lionel’s work experience has spanned multiple agencies, sectors, and locations. He has worked in Canada, France, and Thailand, with his previous roles including posts at the University of Toronto, the European Metropolis of Lille, the French National Institute for Scientific Research, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ office in Bangkok, and the French National Council for Sustainable Development.

Lionel holds a master’s degree in international cooperation and management from Charles de Gaulle – Lille 3 University in France, as well as a master’s degree in the management of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from Paris 10 Nanterre University in France.

Lionel is based in Toronto and speaks fluent French, English, and Spanish.