Meetings Calendar

Deputy Director, Institute for Capacity Development, IMF

Franck Bousquet is deputy director of the IMF’s Institute for Capacity Development, overseeing the IMF’s global partnerships. Previously, he was the deputy director coordinating the IMF’s engagement with fragile and conflict-affected states, leading the preparation of the related strategy, approved by the Executive Board in March 2022. Before joining the IMF, he was the senior director of the World Bank’s Fragility, Conflict and Violence Group. Mr. Bousquet has also several years of leadership experience in low- and middle- income countries in Africa and the Middle East, including significant work on resilience and reconstruction issues. He led an international effort providing for the first-time concessional financing to middle-income countries facing refugee crises. He previously held roles in the public and private sectors, focused on sustainable development, finance and capital markets. He holds an MBA with a specialization in finance from Columbia Business School and a graduate diploma in engineering from France.

Deputy Director-General for the Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA)

Ms. Jager has been working in the European Commission since 2005, starting as Director for Security in DG Energy and Transport and later being Director for international energy and transport files and coordination, as well as being Head of Cabinet of the Transport Commissioner. Before joining the Commission, Ms. Jager was for more than a decade working on the accession of Slovenia to the EU for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and she was the first Deputy Permanent Representative of Slovenia to the EU.

Governor of the National Bank of Ethiopia 

Eyob Tekalign Tolina is the Governor of the National Bank of Ethiopia. Prior to that, he served as State Minister at the Ministry of Finance and headed the National Planning Commission. With over two decades of experience, He has played a pivotal role in shaping Ethiopia’s economic and social development through leadership positions in government, academia, international organizations, and the private sector. His career includes serving as Minister Counselor at the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington, DC, advisor to Ethiopia’s governors at the World Bank, and consultant for a global Fortune 500 company. He has held senior positions at key government institutions such as the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and led the Ethiopian Public Private Consultative Forum, the main platform for policy dialogue between government and business. Before rejoining public service, he was a director at SGI Frontier Capital, a US investment firm, focused on frontier markets. He holds a master’s degree from George Washington University and a PhD in Political Economy from the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy.

Practice Manager for the Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation, Practice Group for East Africa, World Bank 

Alwaleed Alatabani is the Practice Manager for the Finance, Competitiveness and Investment Practice Group for East Africa at the World Bank. He previously served as Senior Advisor to the Minister of Finance in Sudan’s transitional government. He has held senior leadership roles with the World Bank across Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, including Lead Financial Sector Specialist positions in Vietnam and Indonesia, and an external assignment with the Japan International Cooperation Agency in Tokyo as an Economic Advisor. Earlier in his career, he worked with the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency in Washington, DC, and with the Islamic Development Bank. Mr. Alwaleed has advised governments on economic and financial sector development in over 30 countries. He holds master’s degrees from the University of London and the London School of Economics.

Senior Financial Sector Expert, Monetary and Capital Markets Department, IMF

Bryan Gurhy is a Senior Financial Sector Expert in the Monetary and Capital Markets Department of the IMF, where he works on sovereign debt management and financial sector issues. His work includes contributions to IMF surveillance, technical assistance, and financial sector assessments. Prior to joining the IMF, Mr. Gurhy worked at the World Bank as a Senior Financial Sector Specialist on a global team, focusing on government debt management, capital market development, and macro-financial stability. Earlier in his career, he worked in the Market Operations Department of the European Central Bank, in the Funding and Debt Management Unit of Ireland’s National Treasury Management Agency, and on the fixed-income derivatives desk of a private sector bank. He holds a master’s degree in financial and industrial mathematics from Dublin City University.

Ethiopia Mission Chief, IMF

Alvaro Piris is an Assistant Director in the African Department of the IMF and mission chief for Ethiopia. A macroeconomist by training, his experience ranges across crisis and program countries in Latin America and Europe as well as surveillance and technical assistance. Prior to his current assignment, Mr. Piris was mission chief for Mozambique. In the Monetary and Capital Markets Department, he assisted in managing work in bank resolution, deposit insurance, management of impaired assets, and financial crisis management. Mr. Piris led the Financial Sector Assessment Program for Lebanon and was a deputy mission chief on the assessment of China. He has led technical assistance missions in Africa, Asia and Europe. He has also worked on IMF policy issues, including, among others, a paper for the IMF’s Executive Board on cross-border resolution, and previously the size of the IMF’s resource base. Prior to joining the IMF, Mr. Piris worked as an economist in the private and public sectors. He holds economics degrees from the London School of Economics and the University of Sussex.