IMF Connect

Dan Katz assumed the position of First Deputy Managing Director of the IMF on October 6, 2025. Mr. Katz most recently served as Chief of Staff at the United States Department of the Treasury. He was the principal advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury on a wide range of domestic and international matters, including on some of the most consequential international economic issues involving the United States. Mr. Katz has over a decade-long association with the Treasury, serving as Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary for International Affairs, Counselor to the Assistant Secretary for International Markets, and Policy Advisor in the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. In addition to his work at the Treasury, Mr. Katz spent several years in the private sector, where he worked at a global macro hedge fund, and as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs. He was also a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, focusing on central banking, international economic issues, and economic statecraft, and served as an advisor to the Commander of U.S. forces in Kabul, Afghanistan. Mr. Katz received a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University and a Juris Doctor magna cum laude from New York University School of Law.

Catriona Purfield is the Director of the IMF’s Institute for Capacity Development. She oversees the strategy, governance and fundraising of the IMF’s capacity development work. Prior to that, she was Director of the Human Resources Department. She has also held other senior roles across the IMF, including Deputy Director in the African Department, where she oversaw the IMF’s engagement with Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso, and Togo. She also served as Assistant Director in the Middle East and Central Asia Department, where she headed the work on inclusive growth and IMF’s surveillance missions to Iran. From 2013 to 2016, Ms. Purfield was based in South Africa as Program Leader for the Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions Global Practices of the World Bank, covering seven countries. Her earlier IMF experience spans the European, Asia and Pacific, and Fiscal Affairs Departments. Her research and publications focus on macroeconomics, growth, inequality, fiscal policy, natural resource management, competition policy, and labor markets. Ms. Purfield holds a Ph.D. from Trinity College Dublin. 

Ahmet Ismaili is the Governor of the Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo, chairing the Management Board of the Deposit Insurance Fund and representing the country on the Board of Governors of the IMF. He also serves as Alternate Governor for the World Bank Group. With over 20 years of experience in banking and finance, he has held senior management positions in the financial industry and public sector. Mr. Ismaili has also been a lecturer in banking and finance at the Public University of Prishtina, and served as a senior trainer for the Banking Association for nearly 20 years. Previously, he held key public roles, including the positions of Director General of the State Treasury of the Republic of Kosovo, Managing Director of the Kosovo Energy Efficiency Fund, and Board Member of the Health Insurance Fund.  

Abdullah Bin Zaraah is the Assistant Minister of Finance for Macro-Fiscal Policies and International Relations of Saudi Arabia. He has previously held several positions, including Credit Team Leader at Saudi Industrial Development Fund, Investment Team Lead at Riyad Capital, in addition to serving as General Manager for Industrial Development at the General Authority for Military Industries, and as an Advisor at the Public Investment Fund for the establishment of the Saudi Arabian Military Industries Company. He is also a member of several boards and committees, including the Center for National Health Insurance and the Saudi Electricity Regulatory Authority. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst certification, as well as a Master's degree in finance from Saint Mary's University in Canada, and a Bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia. 

Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi has been appointed in 2019 as Governor of the Central Bank of Somalia, where he spearheaded a series of transformative reforms. With nearly three decades of experience in public finance, economic policy, and institutional reform, he began his career at Somalia’s Ministry of Finance in 1986, gaining also international experience in Norway and the United Kingdom. Mr. Abdullahi also served as public finance policy advisor in the Office of the Prime Minister, where he played a key role in advancing Somalia’s debt relief process. He holds a degree from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and a master’s degree in finance and banking from Liverpool John Moores University. 

Tobias Adrian is the Financial Counsellor and Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In this capacity, he leads the IMF’s work on financial sector surveillance, monetary and macroprudential policies, digital money, financial regulation, bank resolution, and capital markets. He also oversees capacity building activities in IMF member countries with regard to the supervision and regulation of financial systems, bank resolution, central banking, monetary and exchange rate regimes, tokenized money and finance, and debt management. 
Prior to joining the IMF, Mr. Adrian was a Senior Vice President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Associate Director of the Research and Statistics Group. At the Federal Reserve, he contributed to monetary policy, to financial stability policies, and to crisis management.

Mr. Adrian has published extensively in economics and finance journals. His research spans macro-finance, monetary policy, and financial stability, with a focus on aggregate consequences of capital market developments. He has taught at Princeton University, New York University, and Seoul National University, and served on the editorial boards of the International Journal of Central Banking and the Annual Review of Financial Economics. 
Mr. Adrian holds a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Economics, an MSc from the London School of Economics in Econometrics and Mathematical Economics, a Diplom from Goethe University Frankfurt and a Maîtrise from Dauphine University Paris. He received his Abitur in Literature and Mathematics from Humboldtschule Bad Homburg.