The Importance of Spending Well
Deparmental Event
DATE: Apr 14, 2026
DAY: Tuesday
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
LOCATION: HQ1 Atrium, HQ1-1-700
DATE: Apr 14, 2026
DAY: Tuesday
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
LOCATION: HQ1 Atrium, HQ1-1-700

Sariha Moya is Minister of Economy and Finance of Ecuador. She previously served as acting Vice President from November to December 2024 and led the National Secretariat for Planning and Development (SENPLADES) between 2023 and 2025. An economist by training, she has more than a decade of experience in the public sector, specializing in strategic planning, budgeting, and the design, monitoring, and evaluation of public policies and investment projects. Her career includes senior government roles, as well as participation in Ecuador’s engagement with investors and multilateral institutions. She holds a degree in Economics from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, completed academic training at Université Pierre Mendès, and earned a Master’s degree in Economics from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid.

Ahmed Shide is Minister of Finance of Ethiopia. He previously held cabinet positions as Minister of Transport and Minister of Government Communication Affairs, and earlier served for more than eight years as State Minister at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, where he led economic cooperation and regional development initiatives and supported the government’s reform agenda. He is currently leading Ethiopia’s economic reform program aimed at expanding private sector participation and improving economic efficiency. Minister Shide is a member of the Federal Parliament of Ethiopia and has served the government in various national and regional roles. He holds a BA in Economics from the Ethiopian Civil Service College, an MA from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, a postgraduate diploma from the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, and an MBA from Greenwich University.

Michael Faulkender is Finance Chair at University of Maryland; Fmr. Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Treasury and the William E. Longbrake Chair of Finance at the University of Maryland. He previously served as the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, Acting Commissioner of the Internal Revenue, and Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy. He has held academic roles as Dean's Professor of Finance and former associate dean of master's programs and professor of finance at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. His expertise lies at the intersection of finance, economics, and public policy. He holds a B.S. in managerial economics from the University of California, Davis, and a PhD in finance from Northwestern University.

Rodrigo Valdés, a national of Chile, became Director of the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department in October 2025. He previously served as Director of the Western Hemisphere Department and has held senior roles across academia, government, and the Fund. Before returning to the IMF, he was Chile’s Minister of Finance from 2015 to 2017 and earlier taught economics at the Catholic University of Chile. Rodrigo brings more than 16 years of experience in Chile’s public institutions, including leadership positions at the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank, where he directed research and oversaw macroeconomic analysis. He has also held senior roles in the financial sector, including at BTG Pactual and Barclays Capital. He holds a PhD in Economics from MIT and a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Chile. was a professor of economics in the School of Government at the Catholic University of Chile and held the position of Chile's Minister of Finance from 2015 to 2017.