The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has appointed Silvana Tenreyro as its new Economic Counsellor and Director of the Research Department, succeeding Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, who has returned to academia, CNBC-TV18 reported. She will assume office on 10 August.
Announcing the appointment, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva described Tenreyro as “a globally respected economist” with an exceptional blend of academic excellence, policymaking experience and engagement with international institutions.
“Silvana is a globally respected economist who combines outstanding academic achievements with extensive policy-making experience and a close engagement with leading international institutions,” Georgieva said, according to CNBC-TV18. She added that Tenreyro's expertise would help keep the IMF's analytical work, multilateral surveillance and policy advice “at the cutting edge” amid heightened global uncertainty and structural changes in the world economy.
Career spanning academia and central banking
According to Bloomberg, Tenreyro takes over as the IMF's chief economist at a time when the global economy is grappling with renewed inflationary pressures linked to the Middle East conflict, while businesses accelerate investments in artificial intelligence.
Bloomberg also noted that Tenreyro joined Anthropic's Economic Advisory Council last year, advising the AI company on the economic and labour market implications of artificial intelligence.
Tenreyro is currently the James E Meade Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics, where she has taught since 2004, CNBC-TV18 reported. Her research has appeared in leading academic journals, and she has received several international honours, including the Yrjö Jahnsson Award, the Bernhard Harms Prize, and the Birgit Grodal Award.
She previously served as an external member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee from 2017 to 2023. Earlier in her career, she worked as an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and served on the Bank of Mauritius' Monetary Policy Committee. Bloomberg also noted that she served as president of the European Economic Association.
An Argentine, British and Italian citizen, Tenreyro holds a PhD and an MA in Economics from Harvard University, along with a degree in economics from the National University of Tucumán in Argentina, according to CNBC-TV18. She is also a member of the IMF Managing Director's External Advisory Group and advises public and private institutions on economic and financial issues.
Bloomberg noted that Tenreyro becomes only the second woman to serve as the IMF's chief economist after Gita Gopinath. Previous holders of the post have typically served between three and seven years, including Olivier Blanchard, who held the role from 2008 to 2015.
