Robert Skidmore is Chief of Sector and Enterprise Competitiveness Section (SEC) at the International Trade Centre (ITC) where he leads teams focused on SME performance, access to finance, marketing and branding, market entry, ecommerce and sector development in apparel and the tech sector among other areas. His teams improve competitiveness of 5,000-10,000 MSMEs a year. He leads ITC’s core area on Improved MSME Capacities to Trade and ITC’s SWITCH On initiative combing ecommerce, digital entrepreneurship and connectivity. In another life, he managed private sector development initiatives for US-based consulting firms including PwC, DAI and Abt Associates, and worked as a butcher. He holds an MA from Johns Hopkins SAIS and a BA from the University of Wisconsin.