Andrew Zerzan is an author,[1] former World Bank official [2] and working group secretary for the United Nations Counter Terrorism Implementation Task Force. He is a frequent speaker on economic development and financial crime issues. Zerzan has published and co-authored several policy papers including new research on the money laundering risks of mobile phone financial services, the risks of new technologies for payments and counter-terrorism.
Zerzan is involved in public discussions on the impact of technology on the poor. For instance, he was a guest speaker to the mobile industry at the global Mobile Money Summit in Barcelona, Spain in 2009.[3] His speech covered mobile banking and financial crimes in developing countries. In 2006, Zerzan was noted for contributing to an information technologies report from the non-profit think tank RiOS Institute in Berkeley, California.[4]
He is currently Director of Regulatory Projects for Mobile Money for the Unbanked, a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation sponsored initiative to extend financial services to those living under $2 day.
Zerzan is the grandson of Charles Joseph Zerzan Jr. who was a noted physician and decorated military officer[5] and nephew of Greg Zerzan, who served in senior positions in the U.S. Treasury.
Zerzan was educated in the United States, Canada, Spain and the United Kingdom. He graduated from the University of Toronto and studied financial regulation at the London School of Economics.[6] He subsequently moved to Kobe, Japan where he started a grassroots business on business communications. He also witnessed the inauguration of President Barack Hussein Obama on January 20, 2009.[7]