Despina Pachnou

Competition Expert, OECD, Paris

Despina Pachnou is a competition expert at the OECD, where she manages the work of the OECD Competition Committee Working Party on International Co-operation and Enforcement. Despina conducts reviews and capacity building in competition and procurement. The reviews cover legal, institutional and operational procurement reforms and mechanisms for the professionalization of procurement and competition authorities’ workforce.
Before joining the OECD, she worked as a lawyer in public procurement and corporate transactions, advising companies and public sector bodies in structuring and implementing large scale projects in Greece. Despina has advised the Greek Chapter of Transparency International on transparency and compliance in public contracts.
She holds a PhD in public procurement law from the University of Nottingham and a Master’s degree in European Union law from the College of Europe in Bruges.