Panelist: Mauricio Cardenas

Mauricio Cardenas is the Minister of Finance and Public Credit of the Republic of Colombia. He has been Minister of Mines and Energy, Minister of Economic Development, Minister of Transport and Director of the National Planning Department. Previously, he served as President of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association and as the Executive Director of Fedesarrollo, a Colombian think-tank. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California at Berkeley.

Panelist: Ricardo Hausmann

Ricardo Hausmann is Director of Harvard's Center for International Development and Professor of the Practice of Economic Development at the Kennedy School of Government. He also teaches a capstone course on the MPAID program. Previously, he served as the first Chief Economist of the Inter-American Development Bank. He has served as Minister of Planning of Venezuela and as a member of the Board of the Central Bank of Venezuela. He also served as Chair of the IMF-World Bank Development Committee. He holds a PhD in economics from Cornell University.

Panelist: Denny Kalyalya

Denny H. Kalyalya is the Governor of Bank of Zambia since March 2015. He previously served as Executive Director and Alternate Executive Director at the World Bank. He previously served as Deputy Governor for Operations at the Bank of Zambia. Prior to that, he served as Economics Lecturer, Assistant Dean, and Head of the Economics Department, at the University of Zambia. He spent a year at the IMF, African Department, as a special appointee. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from University of Massachusetts/Amherst.

Panelist: James Manyika

James Manyika is the Chairman of the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI). Based in Silicon Valley for over 20 years, he has worked with the chief executives of many of the world’s leading technology companies on a variety of issues, including strategy and business transformation and the launch of several market-shaping products and services. Manyika also works with chief executives in other sectors on opportunities from technology and other global trends.

Panelist: Sahar Nasr

Sahar Nasr is the Egyptian Minister of Investment and International Cooperation. She is a Professor of Economics at the American University in Cairo. She is the National Coordinator of the National Committee for the Follow-Up on the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Dr. Nasr also serves as Governor of Egypt to several institutions such as The World Bank, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

Panelist: Mthuli Ncube

Mthuli Ncube is Professor of Public Policy at Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, where he teaches and researches in the areas on macroeconomics, finance, development economics, political economy, and health economics. He joined from the African Development Bank Group, where he was as Chief Economist and Vice President, and championed the “inclusive growth” agenda for Africa.  Professor Ncube holds a PhD in Economics from University of Cambridge.

Panelist: Dani Rodrik

Dani Rodrik is the Ford Foundation Professor of International Political Economy at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. Professor Rodrik is an economist whose research covers globalization, economic growth and development, and political economy. He is affiliated with the National Bureau of Economic Research, Centre for Economic Policy Research (London), and the Center for Global Development among other research organizations. He is currently President-Elect of the International Economic Association. Professor Rodrik holds a Ph.D. in economics from Princeton University.

Panelist: Carolina Sanchez

Carolina Sanchez is the Senior Director of the Poverty and Equity Global Practice at the World Bank. Prior to this assignment, she was the Poverty and Equity Practice Manager in the Europe and Central Asia region. Carolina has worked on operations, policy advice and analytical activities in Eastern Europe, Latin America and South Asia, and was part of the core team working on the WDR2012, “Gender Equality and Development”. Carolina has a PhD in Economics from Harvard University.

Panelist: Abebe Selassie

Abebe Aemro Selassie is the Director of the IMF’s African Department, with responsibility for the Fund’s operations and engagement with the 45 member countries from sub-Saharan Africa. He assumed this role in September 2016. Prior to this assignment, he oversaw the IMF’s work on Portugal under its IMF/EU/ECB-supported adjustment program. Previously, he was the mission chief for South Africa. Earlier in his career, he worked on the Fund’s lending programs with Turkey, Thailand, Romania, and Estonia. Before joining the IMF, he worked for the Government of Ethiopia and the Economist Intelligence Unit in London.

Panelist: Gayle Smith

Gayle E. Smith is the President and CEO of the ONE Campaign. She served as a top advisor on development issues for two American presidents. In her most recent role, Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Smith led a staff of more than 10,000 people working to end extreme poverty, and promote resilient, democratic societies. Smith had previously served as special assistant to President Obama and senior director for development and democracy at the National Security Council, and as special assistant to President Clinton and senior director for African affairs at the National Security Council. Smith earned a B.A. from the University of Colorado.

Panelist: Vera Songwe

Vera Songwe of Cameroon is the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa since April 2017. Prior to her appointment, she was the International Finance Corporation’s Regional Director covering West and Central Africa. Previously, she was the World Bank’s Country Director for Senegal, Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania. Before that, Ms. Songwe held the post of Adviser to the Managing Director of the World Bank for the Africa, Europe and Central Asia and South Asia Regions. Ms. Songwe holds a PhD in Mathematical Economics from the Université Catholique de Louvain, in Belgium.

Panelist: Melanne Verveer

Melanne Verveer is the executive director of the Institute for Women, Peace and Security at Georgetown University. Ambassador Verveer most recently served as the first U.S. Ambassador for Global Women’s Issues, a position to which she was nominated by President Obama in 2009. President Obama also appointed her to serve as the U.S. Representative to the UN Commission on the Status of Women. She also serves as the Special Representative on Gender Issues for the OSCE Chairmanship. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Trilateral Commission and serves on the Boards of the National Endowment for Democracy, the Atlantic Council, and the World Bank Advisory Council on Gender and Development. Ambassador Verveer has a B.S. and M.S. from Georgetown University.