A French national, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas will be starting his role as IMF Chief Economist from 24th January, part-time and eventually transition to full time on 1st April. As Economic Counsellor, he will serve as director of the IMF‘s Research Department.

Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund describes Pierre-Olivier as an outstanding macroeconomic scholar and practitioner with his finger on the pulse of global economic issues.

Pierre-Olivier joined UC Berkeley in 2003 and is currently the University of California at Berkeley’s Faculty Director of the Clausen Center for International Business & Policy, and the S.K. and Angela Chan Professor of Global Management. He has also worked as an assistant professor of economics at Princeton University from 1998 to 2003 and before that, he was assistant professor of economics at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.

"He brings a stellar track record of scholarship and intellectual leadership in macroeconomic areas critical to our work—from global imbalances and capital flows to the stability of the international monetary and financial system, and more recently, to economic policies for the pandemic era," said Kristalina. 

The newly appointed Chief Economist is also Program Director of International Finance and Macroeconomics at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). He has also been a member of the French Council of Economic Advisors to the Prime Minister, from 2012 to 2013. In 2008 he was recognised for his work and awarded the Prix du Meilleur Jeune Économiste for best French economist under age 40. 

Kristalina added, "“Pierre-Olivier is known for his agility in spotting emerging trends and for his expertise in analyzing today’s most pressing economic problems."

Under his leadership, IMF looks forward to building on the Fund’s legacy for excellence in macroeconomics and research in service to their global membership.