Markus M. Gabbert is General Counsel and Chief Compliance of DEG Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH, one of the major development finance institutions for private companies in developing countries. In addition to his GC & CCO Function Markus holds a board seat at the EDFI Management Company (EDFIMC), an asset management company established in 2016 on behalf of EDFI’s members, as a full subsidiary of the EDFI Association in Brussels. Markus has more than 20 years of banking and emerging market experience; his principal areas of practice include banking related regulatory matters, corporate governance, general corporate and commercial law, private equity, project finance transactions, syndicated lending, guarantee and junior debt structures. He is a member of the German-South African Lawyers Association and is regularly invited to speak on international conferences on financing related issues. Before joining DEG, Markus worked in international law firms and for a chartered accountant firm in Hamburg, Cologne and London; specializing on consulting investors, international banks and insurers. He advised stock corporations and limited liability companies on a wide range of German corporate and commercial law matters. Markus is admitted to the Regional Court of Cologne in Germany and studied macroeconomics, political science and law. He earned his first State Exam from the University of Bonn and a Second State Exam from Düsseldorf.