International development is often described through strategies, frameworks, and large-scale reforms. However, behind every meaningful outcome are the people who translate ideas into practical, measurable impact. Sofia Gurgenidze, Business Development Lead at Loialte, spoke with one such leader, Mark McCord, a seasoned development strategist whose career spans nearly 25 years across 93 countries. His roles have included Chief of Party for USAID’s Economic Security Program in Georgia and, more recently, Vice President of Field Engagement at DAI.
Mark’s leadership in Georgia from 2019 to 2023 coincided with one of the most dynamic and challenging periods in the country’s economic landscape, from global tourism shifts and trade disruptions to the onset of COVID-19. During this time, he and his team supported businesses, strengthened public-private collaboration, and championed the expansion of economic and digital opportunities beyond major cities.
In this conversation, Mark reflects on:
- The practical side of development work
- Navigating unexpected disruptions
- Aligning donor, government, and private-sector interests
- Ensuring digital transformation remains inclusive
- The philosophy that has guided him through two decades of global work
What emerges is a clear message: listening, flexibility, and practical implementation matter more than perfect plans.
Q: Mark, could you begin by telling us how your career in international development began?
M: I didn’t set out to work in international development. My academic background is in history, and I trained to become a history professor. However, when I graduated, I entered the workforce when the U.S. economy was struggling, particularly in my region. Because the situation was difficult, local institutions were more willing to take chances on young professionals with limited experience. I was hired by a Chamber of Commerce in Oklahoma, where I quickly discovered a talent for economic development, community engagement, and building relationships across business sectors.
I spent about 15 years in the U.S. running chambers of commerce and economic development organizations, first in Oklahoma and later in Colorado. During that time, I began collaborating with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on international training programs in places like Russia, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. That experience opened my eyes to the global side of economic development, and I found that I enjoyed working cross-culturally.
In 1999, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce received a USAID award to lead a private-sector development project in Romania. They asked me to move there and lead the project for three years as Chief of Party. My family and I decided to go. I assumed we would return to the United States after the project ended, but those three years turned into almost 25 years of working internationally. Over the course of those years, I have worked in 93 countries, leading major private-sector, economic growth, and capacity-building initiatives, including the four years I spent in Georgia from 2019 to 2023.
Q: In your experience, what transforms a global development strategy into a real, measurable impact on the ground?
M: The single most important ingredient is people. You can have the most polished project design on paper, an elegant strategy, perfectly worded objectives, and impressive terminology and still fail if that strategy is applied theoretically.
The first priority is to engage the right people: project staff, partners, government counterparts, and private-sector actors. More importantly, you must listen to them. You cannot assume your project document is correct just because it was approved. The stakeholders who work and live in the context every day know what is possible and what is unrealistic.
I’ve seen many projects with excellent designs fail because the team tried to implement the plan exactly as written, without adapting. On the other hand, I’ve taken over projects that were poorly designed from the start, but they succeeded because we translated the structure into something practical.
My approach is always:
- Read the project scope carefully.
- Redesign the implementation from the end goal backwards: What outcomes do we want to see, and what sequential milestones must be met to get there?
That milestone-driven approach allows us to measure progress and correct our course in real time. When we applied that approach in Georgia, the results were strong because everything we did was structured to achieve impact step-by-step, not just to complete activities.
Q: How do you ensure that donor or global strategic frameworks stay relevant to local realities?
M: The key is flexibility. Always. You have to be willing to adjust, sometimes dramatically.
Be ready to listen deeply to your local colleagues, to government and private-sector partners, and to community members. They often know far more about the dynamics and history of the issue than the donor does. Be willing to attempt an approach, learn from it if it fails, and try another. Be willing to put aside pride or attachment to theoretical solutions.
Theory does not solve problems. Practice does. And practice comes from listening, observing, testing, and adjusting.
Q: Can you give an example of a time when the strategy had to be significantly adapted in Georgia?
M: Certainly. There were two major moments.
First, in 2019, the Russian government suspended direct flights to Georgia. At the time, the tourism sector was a core area of our support, and Russia was one of Georgia’s largest tourist markets. Overnight, a major portion of tourism demand collapsed. We had to pivot quickly, working with the Georgian National Tourism Administration (GNTA) and private-sector partners to diversify tourism marketing toward new international markets.
Second, in 2020, COVID-19 arrived, and the entire context changed again. Travel paused. Business slowed. Tourism came to a standstill. Many organizations simply went remote and waited. But we knew that if we stepped back, many of the businesses and stakeholders we supported would suffer significantly.
So we shifted to relief-focused support, digital delivery formats, online training, and remote advisory services. But, importantly, we also maintained a physical presence whenever it was safe to do so. Our Economic Security Program office was the first USAID implementing partner office in Georgia to reopen after COVID restrictions began. We continued to visit beneficiaries, continued to travel to the regions where we were permitted, and continued to show up.
And something important happened: stakeholders remembered who stood beside them during the hardship. We learned more in that period, about resilience, adaptability, and service than during any of the easier years. Those lessons shaped our later success.
Q: What have you found most effective in building partnerships among government, the private sector, and civil society?
M: Sustainable partnerships are not built on charity. They are built on mutual interest.
Corporate social responsibility is fine, but it is rarely lasting because CSR is based on a sense of obligation rather than strategic value. If you want a partnership to endure, you have to identify where the partnership aligns with the business’s core commercial objectives.
Our approach in Georgia was always to:
- Understand government priorities
- Understand private-sector business incentives
- Understand donor goals
- And find the intersection where all three benefit
When partnerships align with each party’s real interests, they are strong, meaningful, and long-term.
Q: Georgia is accelerating its digital transformation. How do you ensure that technological advancement reaches rural and vulnerable communities?
M: You must design for inclusivity deliberately. If you do not intentionally plan to include rural areas, women, youth, or vulnerable groups, they will be excluded by default, simply because resources and opportunities are concentrated in major urban centers.
Within the USAID Economic Security Program, we made inclusivity a structural priority. We supported digital skills and employment programs in rural regions so that young people outside Tbilisi could participate in the growth of Georgia’s digital economy. We also had a dedicated inclusion specialist whose role was to ensure that every initiative considered gender balance, regional access, and equitable participation.
Digital transformation is only meaningful if everyone can access it, Not just those already positioned at the center.
Q: Finally, if you had to express your approach to development work in one formula, what would it be?
M: Listening creates understanding. Understanding creates practical programming. Practical programming creates impact. Impact changes lives.
That is the formula I’ve followed throughout my career, in every country where I have worked. And it works.
