Dr. Winston Set Aung is the former Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Planning and Finance of Myanmar. He also held several key national positions, including:
Chairman of the Management Committees for both the Thilawa and Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zones
Secretary of the Development Assistance Coordination Unit (DACU), chaired by State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
Member of the National Economic Coordination Committee (NECC), also chaired by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
Secretary of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Steering Committee, chaired by the Vice President of Myanmar
Member of the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC)
He served in these capacities until February 1, 2021.
Prior to these roles, Dr. Set Aung served as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Myanmar, Deputy Minister at the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development, Economic Advisor to the President of Myanmar, Founding Director of the Myanmar Development Resource Institute (MDRI), and Secretary of the National Economic and Social Advisory Council (NESAC).
Before entering public service, he was actively involved in the private sector. He co-founded and served as Director of Asia Development Research Co., Ltd. and Asia Language and Business Academy Co., Ltd. He also gained significant international experience working with several multinational corporations in the financial and energy sectors, including Lazard, Deutsche Bank, Peregrine, and Shell.
Dr. Set Aung obtained a Bachelor's degree and an MBA in Myanmar. He later earned a Master’s degree in Banking and Finance in Scotland, followed by a Master’s degree in Investment Management in London. He also holds a Doctoral degree from Keio University in Japan.
He has been actively engaged in numerous international and regional research projects focusing on economic development, social policy, and institutional reform across countries such as Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Sweden, and Japan. To date, he has contributed to the successful implementation of more than 40 international and regional economic and social research projects in over 10 countries.
Dr. Set Aung is also the author of numerous research papers produced in collaboration with leading academic and policy institutions, including the ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, the University of Tokyo in Japan, the Institute for Security and Development Policy (ISDP) in Sweden, Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, the Mekong Institute in Khon Kaen, the Stockholm Environment Institute – Asia, and the Research Institute on Contemporary Southeast Asia (IRASEC) in France, among others.