Spring Meetings

Raj Kumar is the founding President & Editor-in-Chief of Devex, the media platform for the global development community. Devex was born in 2000 when Raj was a graduate student at the Harvard Kennedy School. Today, it is an independent news organization and social enterprise with over 100+ Devexers around the world serving a global audience of more than one million aid workers and development professionals. Beginning as a kid in Kerala, India, Raj has witnessed first-hand determined and courageous development work in over 50 countries - it’s what drives the Devex mission to “Do Good. Do It Well." Raj is the author of the book "The Business of Changing the World," a go-to primer on the ideas, people, and technology disrupting the aid industry.

Ilan Goldfajn currently serves as Director of the Western Hemisphere Department at the IMF.
Mr. Goldfajn was Governor of the Banco Central do Brasil (BCB) from May 2016 until February 2019. During his tenure at the BCB, he oversaw implementation of significant regulatory changes that opened the door to new players in the financial services industry, spurred innovation, and digitalization, and fostered the growth of fintech companies that has had a positive impact on Brazil’s financial sector. In 2017, he was elected Central Banker of the Year by The Banker magazine; and the year after, he was named Best Central Banker by Global Finance magazine.
Mr. Goldfajn’s experience in the private sector include positions as Chief Economist and Partner of Itaú Unibanco, founding Partner of Ciano Investimentos, and Partner and Economist at Gávea Investimentos—three leading financial institutions in Brazil. More recently he was the Chairman of Credit Suisse Brazil’s Advisory Board. He has also worked as a consultant to a number of global financial organizations including the World Bank, the United Nations, and the IMF.
He has taught economics at various universities in Brazil and the United States. He has worked as an editor of various publications, as well as written and published numerous articles and books. Mr. Goldfajn holds a PhD in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a master’s degree in Economics from the Pontifíca Universidade Católica and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the Universidade Federal, both in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Ms. Antoinette M. Sayeh assumed office as Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund on March 16, 2020.
Ms. Sayeh has been a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Center for Global Development (CGD) since November 2016 and was Co-Chair for the recently concluded 19th Replenishment of the International Development Association (IDA19), the World Bank’s Fund for the poorest. She previously oversaw and significantly enhanced the International Monetary Fund’s engagement with its sub-Saharan African members as Director of the African Department between July 2008 and August 2016. Full bio

Jason Rosario Braganza is a Kenyan Economist with over ten years of experience working on international development in Africa. Jason has focused his work over the past decade on trade and regional integration; finance for development and tax; illicit financial flows and domestic resource mobilization; and poverty and inequality. Jason is the Executive Director at The African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD). Prior to joining, Jason served as the Deputy Executive Director and Head of Research at Tax Justice Network Africa, where he led their research and advocacy on illicit financial flows and tax justice at the continental and global level. Jason holds a Master’s Degree in Development Economics from the University of Sussex (UK), and an Undergraduate Degree in Economics from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.

HE Dr. Nivine El Kabbag, Minister of Social Solidarity, Egypt. She has more than 25 years of experience in the field of international cooperation, strategic management, and institutional development. She also had considerable experience in social policies and in evaluation. Her graduate studies in international political economy and international relations in Canada complemented her practical experience in international organizations. Prior to her appointment as Minister of Social Solidarity in January 2020, she worked as Deputy Minister of Social Solidarity for Social Protection and Development. Ten years working for UNICEF enhanced her international experience on the development framework and specifically on women and children’s issues.

Gonzalo Hernández Jiménez, Vice Minister of Finance Colombia. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He was a Fulbright scholar, a Colfuturo scholar, a Political Economy Research Institute scholar and a Javeriana University scholar. He is a Javeriana economist and graduated from the Externado Nacional Camilo Torres public school. He was director of the Economics and Research Department at Universidad Javeriana, where he now teaches the Advanced Macroeconomics course. Some of his academic contributions are published in Cambridge Journal of Economics, Energy Policy, International Review of Applied Economics and Cepal Review.