Meeting Schedules

Professor Emeritus, Chulalongkorn University

Prof. Suthiphand Chirathivat is Chairman of the Board of Central Group and Professor Emeritus of Economics at Chulalongkorn University. He is also Founding Executive Director of the ASEAN Studies Center and Chairman of the Chula Global Network. He previously served as Dean of the Faculty of Economics at Chulalongkorn University. His academic interests include international trade, investment, finance, regional integration and development, with a particular focus on Asia and its relationship with the global economy. He has published extensively in books, edited volumes, and academic journals. Prof. Suthiphand has also served as an advisor to the Prime Minister of Thailand and several Thai government ministries, as well as parliamentary committees on economic and foreign affairs. He holds a Doctorat en Économie from Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Thailand

Dr. Ekniti Nitithanprapas was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance on September 22, 2025. Dr. Ekniti was Director-General of the Revenue Department, Excise Department, Treasury Department, and State Enterprise Policy Office. Previously, he served as Minister for Economic and Fiscal Affairs to the United Kingdom and Europe, Senior Advisor to the Executive Director at the World Bank in Washington, D.C., and Spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance. In addition, he served as Chairman of the Board of Directors in various organizations including Krung Thai Bank Public Company Ltd. and Thai Airways International Public Company Ltd. Dr. Ekniti holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Claremont Graduate University, a Master’s from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Thammasat.

Governor, Bank of Thailand

Vitai Ratanakorn has been the Governor of the Bank of Thailand and Chairman of the Monetary Policy Committee since October 2025. Currently, he also serves as a member of the National Economic and Social Development Council, a Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and a Commissioner of the Office of Insurance Commission. Mr. Ratanakorn spent most of his career in the banking sector and capital markets, beginning in the securities industry before moving into senior financial‑sector leadership roles across major institutions. Between July 2020 and July 2025, he served as the President and CEO of the Government Savings Bank, during which he led the organization’s transformation into a Social Bank. Prior to that, he was the Secretary-General of the Government Pension Fund from 2018 to 2020, Director and Acting President of the Islamic Bank of Thailand from 2017 to 2018. Earlier in his career, he held executive roles as CFO of Nok Airlines Public Company Limited and Senior Deputy Managing Director at Charoen Pokphand Group. Mr. Ratanakorn holds a Master of Science in Finance from Drexel University, a Master of Arts in Political Economy, a Master of Laws in Business Law from Chulalongkorn University, and a Bachelor of Economics from Thammasat University.

Director of the Asia and Pacific Department, IMF

Krishna Srinivasan is the Director of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department (APD). In this capacity, he oversees the institution’s work on all countries in the Asia-Pacific region. He was previously a Deputy Director in the Western Hemisphere Department (WHD), where he supervised the institution’s work on several countries in the Americas, including Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Ecuador and the island economies of the Caribbean, the department’s research activities, and its flagship product, Regional Economic Outlook (REO) for Latin America and the Caribbean. He also co-edited several books, including Brazil—Boom, Bust and the Road to Recovery; Unleashing Growth and Strengthening Resilience in the Caribbean; and Challenges for Central Banking: Perspectives from Latin America. Prior to joining WHD, Krishna was in the European Department, where he served as the IMF’s mission chief for the United Kingdom and Israel, and before that in the Research Department, where he led the IMF’s work on the G 20 in the context of the global financial crisis. In the context of the work on the G20, he edited a book titled Global Rebalancing: A Roadmap for Economic Recovery. Krishna has been with the IMF since 1994 and has served in several departments across the institution. He secured his PhD in International Finance from Indiana University and a post-graduate degree from the Delhi School of Economics, India, and has published several papers both at the IMF and in leading academic journals.

Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund

Mr. Kenji Okamura assumed office as Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund on December 3, 2021. Before joining the IMF, Mr. Okamura served as Special Advisor to the Prime Minister of Japan on International Economic Policies. Prior to that position, he was Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs from 2020-21, Japan’s highest civil servant position in international finance. In this position, he oversaw all international finance work of the Ministry and participated in IMFC, G7, G20, ASEAN + 3, and other meetings, representing Japan as the Finance Minister’s Deputy. Mr. Okamura held a number of high-level positions in the Japanese government, including Director-General of the International Bureau in Ministry of Finance and Deputy Commissioner of the Financial Services Agency. His extensive experience in international fora also includes his work at the OECD as Vice Chair of the Corporate Governance Committee, and at the World Bank as IDA Deputy for the successful IDA18 replenishment. Mr. Okamura graduated with a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Tokyo and holds a Master of Public Policy degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Reporter, Bloomberg Television

Avril Hong is a Singapore-based journalist with Bloomberg TV. With more than a decade of experience in broadcast journalism, she covers global financial markets with a focus on Asia, and interviews newsmakers on geopolitics and market-moving events.