OUR TEAM

Paul M. Sacks, President and Founder of MNS International, Inc. (MNS), a financial advisory firm. Prior to joining MNS Dr. Sacks worked at Chase Manhattan Bank, where he helped establish their commercial country risk subsidiary. He has carried out assignments for more than 12 sovereigns mostly in Central and Eastern Europe. Dr. Sacks has had extensive experience with a wide array of US and foreign government-backed funding programs. In the United States, this includes several large financings from the Overseas Private Investment Agency (OPIC), projects (in over 10 countries) funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) including privatizations, local debt and equity raisings, advisory work for local investment promotion agencies, and external debt restructurings. Dr. Sacks has also sourced grant funding from the United States Trade Development Agency (USTDA). Dr. Sacks also has extensive experience working with multi-lateral development agencies, including the World Bank, IFC, IMF, UNDP, ADB, AfDB, EBRD, and IADB. As part of his work with emerging economies he has provided technical assistance to several investment and export promotion agencies, including their export guarantee programs. Dr. Sacks holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles, and an A.B. from the University of Rochester. From 1975-1979 he taught Political Economy at the University of California, Los Angeles. Over the past decade Dr. Sacks also served as Adjunct Professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and at New York University. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Kirsten Sonnenberg joined MNS briefly in 2002 and again from 2005 to present. She is responsible for project analysis and preparation of loan applications (and supporting documentation) to project lenders such as OPIC, Export Import Bank, Inter-American Development Bank and the International Finance Corporation. In addition, Ms. Sonnenberg manages the administrative aspects of MNS’ activities. Previous to MNS, Ms. Sonnenberg was a Senior Insurance Representative at USBank Corporation, where she was responsible for new consumer loans and refinancings. Ms. Sonnenberg majored in Accounting at The University of South Carolina and completed her Bachelors Degree at the City College of New York, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa.

Rumu Sarkar is an attorney with extensive emerging markets and development finance institution experience. In the course of her career she has structured, drafted and negotiated project finance documents for capital infrastructure public-private partnerships (PPP) in Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Zambia in the power, transportation, and telecommunications sectors, negotiated various teaming and joint venture agreements and established wholly-owned LLCs to operate in Thailand and Vietnam, and conducted due diligence related thereto. She is currently an Assistant Professor at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences & Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Division of Global Health, in Bethesda, MD. Prior to working with MNS Ms. Sarkar served as Assistant General Counsel for Administrative Affairs for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). Prior to that she served as staff attorney with the Office of the General Counsel of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Ms. Sarkar was also the former General Counsel for the 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment (BRAC) Commission. She also served as the General Counsel for the Overseas Basing Commission, prior to joining the BRAC Commission. She began her career as a litigation associate with two Wall Street law firms in New York. Ms. Sarkar was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 2016 during which period she lectured at the John Paul II School of Law in Lublin, Poland. She served on the Advisory Board for Loyola University Chicago School of Law, and was also an Adjunct Law Professor and a Visiting Researcher at the Georgetown University Law Center. Ms. Sarkar is a member of the Bars of New York, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Supreme Court. She completed her undergraduate studies at Barnard College, Columbia University; her law degree from the Antioch School of Law; and her Masters of Law (LL.M.) degree, and her Ph.D. in Philosophy from Newnham College, Cambridge University.

MNS Advisors

Our Experience