IMF Connect

Kristalina Georgieva
Managing Director, IMF

Kristalina Georgieva is the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). She is the first person from an emerging market economy to lead the IMF since its inception in 1944. Before joining the Fund, Ms. Georgieva was Chief Executive Officer of the World Bank and also served as Interim President for a time. Previously, she served at the European Commission as Vice President for Budget and Human Resources – and as Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response. She was named “European of the Year” and “Commissioner of the Year” by European Voice for her leadership in the European Union’s humanitarian response to crises.

Mohammed Al-Jaadan
Minister of Finance, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

His Excellency Mr. Mohammed Aljadaan is the Minister of Finance for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, appointed in November 2016. He previously served as Chairman of the Board of the Saudi Capital Market Authority from January 2015 to November 2016, and was acting Minister of Economy and Planning from March 2020 until May 2021. He represents Saudi Arabia as Chair of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) at the IMF.

As Minister, Mr. Aljadaan also chairs the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA), the National Center for Privatization, the Financial Sector Development Program Committee, the Privatization Program Committee, and the Expenditure and Project Efficiency Authority (EXPRO). He is also a member of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, the Board of Directors of the Public Investment Fund, the Board of Directors of the National Development Fund, and the Board of Directors of Saudi Aramco, and holds leadership roles in several other key government entities. 

Tony Elumelu
, Founder and Chairman, Heirs Holdings

Tony O. Elumelu is an African investor and philanthropist, and one of the world’s most prominent voices on Africa’s transformation agenda.

He is the Founder and Chairman of Heirs Holdings, a family-owned investment company, which invests in strategic sectors of the African economy, including financial services, hospitality, power, energy, technology, and healthcare, as part of its commitment to improving lives and transforming Africa.

Tony is the Chair of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Group which operates in 20 countries across Africa, as well as the United Kingdom, France, the UAE, and the United States. He also chairs Nigeria’s largest quoted conglomerate, Transcorp Group, whose subsidiaries include Transcorp Power, a leading producer of electricity in West Africa, and Transcorp Hotels Plc, Nigeria’s foremost hospitality brand.

Simon Johnson
Ronald A. Kurtz Professor of Entrepreneurship, MIT Sloan School of Management

Simon Johnson is the Ronald A. Kurtz (1954) Professor of Entrepreneurship at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where he is head of the Global Economics and Management group. He is also co-director of MIT’s James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Center on Inequality and Shaping the Future of Work, a Research Affiliate at Blueprint Labs, and co-founder with Michael Mina of a new Public Health Engineering initiative.  In December 2024, Johnson received the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel, jointly with Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson, “for studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity.” In 2007-08, Johnson was chief economist and director of the Research Department at the International Monetary Fund. He currently co-chairs the CFA Institute Systemic Risk Council with Erkki Liikanen. He is a Research Associate at the NBER and a Fellow at CEPR. 

Ruth Porat
President and Chief Investment Officer, Alphabet and Google

Ruth Porat has held the position of President and Chief Investment Officer of Alphabet and Google since September 2023. In this role, she is responsible for the Company’s corporate investments and investment vehicles, including GV and CapG, the Other Bets investment portfolio, Real Estate and Workplace Services, and other Company infrastructure. She engages with policymakers and regulators about the Company’s business and impact across markets related to economic growth, job creation, and opportunity. She was previously SVP and CFO of Alphabet and Google.