Gita Gopinath To Replace Geoffrey Okamoto As IMF’s No. 2 Official

Washington: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) named its chief economist Gita Gopinath as its second-ranking official on Thursday. The Fund said Gopinath will replace First Deputy Managing Director Geoffrey Okamoto who will leave the global lender in early 2022, reported Reuters.

According to IMF, Gopinath was scheduled to leave the IMF to be back at Harvard University in January but chose to remain in the wide-ranging policy role under IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva.

Gopinath was “universally recognized as one of the world’s leading macroeconomists” and precisely had the expertise for the No. 2 job.

“Indeed, her particular skill set — combined with her years of experience at the Fund as Chief Economist — make her uniquely well qualified. She is the right person at the right time,” Georgieva was quoted as saying by Reuters.

She said that the IMF would realign some positions and duties in its senior management team, with Gopinath to oversee surveillance activities, and research and flagship publications, while working to “foster the highest quality standards for Fund publications,” agency report said.

I am honored to become the IMF’s First Deputy Managing Director. With the pandemic, the work of the Fund has never been more important. I look forward to working with my brilliant colleagues to help our membership face these important challenges.https://t.co/jpp3C7dRog

— Gita Gopinath (@GitaGopinath) December 2, 2021

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