Gita Gopinath, First Deputy Managing Director at the International Monetary Fund, will leave the organisation at the end of August to rejoin Harvard University, the IMF announced. She will assume the role of Gregory and Ania Coffey Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics.
Gopinath joined the IMF in January 2019 as Chief Economist and was promoted to her current role in January 2022. Her departure marks the end of a five-year tenure during which she helped steer the IMF’s analytical and policy work through a series of global economic shocks, including the pandemic, inflation spikes, geopolitical conflicts, and structural shifts in trade.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said Gopinath oversaw the Fund’s multilateral surveillance and policy coordination, including key programmes for Argentina and Ukraine. She represented the IMF in international forums, such as the G7 and G20. She was closely involved in the development of the Fund’s Integrated Policy Framework, which aimed to manage capital flows and promote macroeconomic stability.
As Chief Economist, Gopinath led the IMF’s flagship World Economic Outlook and co-authored a plan for global COVID-19 vaccine access, which the Fund cited as instrumental in global policy coordination during the crisis.
She will return to Harvard after a public service leave of absence and is expected to begin teaching in the spring semester. Gopinath was the first woman to serve as Chief Economist at the IMF. Her research has focused on exchange rates, capital flows and the global financial architecture.
The IMF has not yet named a successor.
Founded in 1945, the IMF has 191 member countries and provides financial assistance, surveillance and policy advice to promote global economic stability. Gopinath’s exit marks a significant change in the Fund’s leadership amid ongoing challenges facing the global economy, including rising debt burdens and shifts in monetary policy frameworks.
