Cosmas is an expert in natural resource governance and economic development in Africa. Before joining the African Development Bank, he was Professor of the Practice of Global Development Policy at the Pardee School of Global Studies, Boston University. He has also served as the Executive Director of the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) in Nairobi, Kenya and as the Technical Coordinator of the Business, Economics and Biodiversity Programme of the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Eastern and Southern Regional Office in Pretoria South Africa. His other past appointments include: Lecturer, Sustainable Agriculture, Land and Water (Lancaster University, UK); Director, Policy and Markets in Africa (Eco-Agriculture Partners, Nairobi and Washington D.C.), Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute (Washington D.C. and Addis Ababa), and Trade and Investment Policy Officer, (Action Aid International, London).

Cosmas holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Development Studies from Oxford University, a Masters in Development Studies from Cambridge University, and a Bachelor of Arts from Kenyatta University, Kenya.

Cosmas is a panellist at the AIX Gas meeting at RSA House on 2-3 May 2019.