IIMSAM Secretary General’s International Facilitators/Advisory Council on Institutional Development and Programme Support
Major General John F. Phillips
Special Adviser of the Secretary-General Security & Logistics
John Phillips is the former Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Logistics). He was Vice President of the Home Depot Government Solutions Group, which he formed. The organization propelled Home Depot into the federal business, growing to over $100M in the first 12 months of operations. He is now president of Phillips Defense Consultants.
John Phillips is the former Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Logistics). He was Vice President of the Home Depot Government Solutions Group, which he formed. The organization propelled Home Depot into the federal business, growing to over $100M in the first 12 months of operations. He is now president of Phillips Defense Consultants. His organization boasts of subject matter experts across the range of Defense operations from IT, supply chain management, and acquisition, to Network Centric Warfare.
John brings more than 30 years of comprehensive acquisition, aviation, IT, logistics and leadership experience to the organization. He served as Vice President of Government Services for Honeywell, where he has held several positions of increasing importance since 1997. Prior to joining Honeywell, John served as the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Logistics), overseeing an organization of 850,000 military and civilian personnel with a budget of $114B where he established an outsourcing and privatization program for the federal government. He led the 1994 Quadrennial Defense Review. The recipient of over 250 awards and decorations, John was honored with Vice President Al Gore’s Hammer Award in 1999.
John served for more than 27 years in the United States Air Force, retiring with the rank of Major General. His last assignment was Commander, McClellen AFB, California. The military depot was responsible for aircraft, satellites and microelectronic technology. John earned the highest Department of Defense certifications (level III) in Program Management, Acquisitions Logistics, and Computer Systems Development (DOD Black Belt equivalent). He is a fighter pilot with over 3,000 flying hours, 300 hours in combat. He earned wings as a navigator and pilot and was awarded German pilot wings. He has flown the F-15, F-111, T-38, KC-135 and T-37 aircraft.
John holds a B.S. degree in biology and chemistry from Jarvis Christian College, Hawkins, Texas, and a Masters of Science degree in Logistics Management from the Air Force Institute of Technology. He was awarded the Degree (Honorary) Doctor of Laws, from Jarvis Christian College. In addition, he is a graduate of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; the National War College; Defense Systems Management College; Industrial College of the Armed Forces; and the University of Southern California, School for Safety Engineering. He is an internationally known speaker and consultant on National Defense.
Active in civic and professional affairs, John is a member of the following boards: Army Science Board; International Society of Logistics Engineers ; Association for Enterprise Integration; US-China Policy Foundation; Maintenance Repair & Overhaul Conference; Defense Acquisition University; Shades of Blue (Aviation Mentoring), Americorps National Civilian Community Corps, Board of the Air Force Association; and is a former chairman of the Board of Advisors of the Tuskegee Airman, Inc and formerly served on the Board of Boys and Girls Club of America. His other accomplishments include authoring the book, “Navigating the Pentagon” and co-authoring the book, “Military Project Management,” as well as numerous articles and lectures on leadership and management. John is a current member of the Navy League and the Association of U.S. Army. He was the 2010 recipient of the DOD Acker award. He and his wife Blanche have three daughters, one son and six grandchildren.
Dr. Raúl Benítez-Alías
Legal Adviser
Dr. Raúl Benítez-Alías is a lawyer and expert on international affairs, business negotiations and an e-business consultant. For more than 20 years he has been trained and worked within the United Nations system on International Affairs on issues related to Justice and Development and International Education.
From 1997 to 2002 (based in Buenos Aires), Dr. Raúl Benítez-Alías has worked with the Great Lakes Council of Government (USA) representing companies from all member-states, in Argentina, Brazil and Chile.Currently, he is associated with ABC-ON, a company dealing with e-business solutions for local and foreign clients (www.aibicon.com).
Mr. Anis Chtioui
Special Adviser to the Secretary General
H. E. Mr. Kunwar Vikkrant Sandal
H.E. Ambassador Kunwar Vikrant Sandal is a Social Entrepreneur and a Senior Diplomat with IIMSAM. He is an Oxford University Alumnus (Hertford 2008), where he read for Social Entrepreneurship, before which he attained an Honor’s degree in Engineering from Coventry University.
Since 2006 H.E. Sandal has been with the Autonomous Intergovernmental Institution for the use of Micro-algae Spirulina Against Malnutrition. An Observer to the United Nations Social & Economic Council (UN ECOSOC).
Working towards eradication of malnutrition and to achieve food security. In IIMSAM, Ambassador Sandal plays a vital role in global policy planning to fight severe hunger and malnutrition to save millions of lives in accordance with the Rome Declaration and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs).
H.E. Ambassador Sandal has taken a lifetime objective of “Eradication of Malnutrition Globally & Achieve Food Security” and his entire working, be it corporate or social, is aligned with it. He has established the Research & Development Centre which is engaged in carrying out high-end R&D in the field of Phycology for producing various microalga including Spirulina in a most cost-effective way.
The United Nations has declared Spirulina, a super-food, a potent tool to eradicate malnutrition and has advised global governments to incorporate it into their national policy planning. Endorsed by WHO, FAO, UNICEF, NASA & various agencies, Spirulina has the potential to combat malnutrition most effectively.
To support the global effort of streamlining Spirulina microalgae to counter severe humanitarian crises worldwide, he has established one of the biggest Spirulina Cultivation Farm in south-east Asia at his home town in India. This facility not only serves as IIMSAM’s backbone to its worldwide humanitarian endeavors but also offers employment opportunity to numerous individuals in the area which as one of the underdeveloped regions of India.
Furthermore, to give his endeavors and objectives a perceptible shape, H.E. Ambassador Sandal has developed one of its kind, multi-objective, replicable Micro Social entrepreneurship model for socio-economic upliftment of underprivileged at grass root level & making them part of the Global endeavor of ‘Eradication of Malnutrition and Achieve Food Security.’
This distinctive socio-economic model entails growing Spirulina in villages by imparting training to marginal and underprivileged farmers/women living below the poverty line and creating a source of income for them. This multi-objective model meets eight United Nations Sustainable Development Goals including, Combatting Poverty (SDG-1), Achieving Food Security (SDG-1), Sustainability & Skill Development (SDG-2), Women Empowerment (SDG-3), Eradication of Malnutrition (SDG-4: Reduce Child Mortality , SDG-5:Improve Maternal Health) , Enhancing Public Immunity towards diseases ( SDG-6), Creating Clean Environment (SDG-7), Rural/Tribal Development by partnering with them (SDG-8).
H.E. Ambassador Sandal is an active Public Speaker and interviewed/and highlighted various times in national and international media. He is credited with organizing different awareness camps and seminars on Malnutrition along with the teams of Experts throughout India. Amb. Sandal has adopted and successfully treating hundreds of Cancer patients in the Malwa belt of Punjab, India. He has also assisted with initiatives on behalf of the IIMSAM aimed to help the undernourished/underprivileged individuals suffering from acute malnutrition in India and the IIMSAM Sh. Zayed Centre in Kisumu-Republic of Kenya were thousands have been recipients of the benefits of Spirulina since the Centre’s inception in 2009.
Special-Adviser Institutional Development (Pakistan)
Principal Special-Adviser of the Secretary General (Institutional-Development in Republic of Central African Republic)