IMF's Gita Gopinath to return to Harvard University at end of August

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Gita Gopinath, First Deputy Managing Director (FDMD), will be leaving the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at the end of August to return to Harvard University, a press statement from the IMF said on Monday.

 

She will become the inaugural Gregory and Ania Coffey Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics at Harvard University. Gopinath joined the Fund in January 2019 as Chief Economist and was promoted to First Deputy Managing Director in January 2022.

 

Announcing Gopinath’s upcoming move, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said that Gopinath, the first female Chief Economist in IMF history, has a rare combination of brilliance and humility. “Gita has been an outstanding colleague—an exceptional intellectual leader, dedicated to the mission and members of the Fund, and a fabulous manager, always showing genuine care for the professional standing and wellbeing of our staff,” Georgieva added. 

 

Georgieva said that Gopinath’s analytical rigor was paired with practical policy advice to the membership during an especially challenging period, which included the pandemic, wars, the cost-of-living crisis, and major shifts in the global trading system.

 

On her departure, Gopinath said: “I am truly grateful for my time at the IMF, first as Chief Economist and then as First Deputy Managing Director. I have had the privilege of working closely with the IMF’s brilliant and committed staff, colleagues in management, the Executive Board, and country authorities.”

 

The IMF press statement mentioned that a successor to Gopinath is expected to be named in due course by Managing Director Georgieva.