Right person at right time: IMD's reasons behind Gita Gopinath's elevation

The IMD has recognised her exceptional intellectual leadership in helping global economy and the Fund to navigate the "twists and turns" of the "worst economic crisis."

Now, Gopinath will take the lead on surveillance and related policies, oversee research and flagship publications and help foster the highest quality standards for IMF publications.

Here are the big reasons for the elevation

1) Gopinath's recent work on a pandemic plan to end the COVID crisis by setting targets to vaccinate the world at feasible cost has earned her respect and admiration across the world

2) Under Gopinath's leadership, the IMF's Research Department had gone from strength to strength, particularly highlighting its contributions in multilateral surveillance via the World Economic Outlook, a new analytical approach to help countries respond to international capital flows (the integrated policy framework).

3) Gopinath, universally recognised as one of the world's leading macroeconomists, has precisely the expertise that IMD needs for the FDMD role at this point.

4) Her particular skill set combined with her years of experience at the Fund as Chief Economist make her uniquely well qualified, according to Kristalina Georgieva, IMF's Managing Director.