Spring Meetings

Gita Gopinath is the First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as of January 21, 2022. In that role she oversees the work of staff, represents the Fund at multilateral forums, maintains high-level contacts with member governments and Board members, the media, and other institutions, leads the Fund’s work on surveillance and related policies, and oversees research and flagship publications. Ms. Gopinath previously served as the Chief Economist of the Fund from 2019-22. Prior to joining the IMF, Ms. Gopinath was the John Zwaanstra Professor of International Studies and of Economics at Harvard University’s economics department (2005-22) and before that she was an assistant professor of economics at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business (2001-05). Ms. Gopinath received her Ph.D. in economics from Princeton University in 2001, after earning a B.A. from Lady Shri Ram College and M.A. degrees from Delhi School of Economics and the University of Washington. 

Vitor Gaspar is Director of the Fiscal Affairs Department at the IMF. He joined in 2014. Before that, he was Portuguese Minister of State and Finance from 2011–13 and has held various positions in European and Portuguese institutions, including head of BEPA at the European Commission, director-general of research at the European Central Bank, director of Economic Studies and Statistics at the Central Bank of Portugal, and Director of Economic Studies at the Portuguese Ministry of Finance. Mr. Gaspar holds a Ph.D. and a post-doctoral agregado in Economics from Universidade Nova de Lisboa; he graduated from Universidade Católica Portuguesa.   

Adelaide Retselisitsoe Matlanyane is the Minister of Finance and Development Planning and Member of Parliament in Lesotho, since 2022. Before that she was Governor and Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Lesotho, a position she held since 2012. She is Governor of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). She served the Central Bank of Lesotho as Deputy Governor from 2006 to 2012. She has also served as an Economist in the African Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). She previously served at various Universities and international institutions including as Chairperson of the Program Committee and Board Member of the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC); and as Vice Chairperson of the Board of Revenue Services Lesotho.  She is an accomplished economist as well as seasoned policy maker and practitioner with vast experience in Finance. She holds a PhD in economics from the University of Pretoria. 

Jasur Karshibaev is the Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance for the Republic of Uzbekistan with extensive experience in both domestic and international financial sectors. Prior to becoming the Deputy Minister, he served as a financial sector expert at the International Monetary Fund from October 2022 to August 2023. He previously held key roles within the Central Bank of Uzbekistan and the Ministry of Economy and Finance. He participated in the creation of the Debt Management Office in the Ministry of Economy and Finance and led this office from 2018 to 2022. With a Ph.D. in economics from the Kyushi University in Japan (2015), alongside his bachelor’s degree from the University of World Economy and Diplomacy (Uzbekistan), he brings a comprehensive understanding of economic policy and strategy to his current position, driving forward Uzbekistan's economic development goals.

Vincent Van Peteghem is Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, in charge of the Coordination of the Fight against Fraud and in charge of the National Lottery in the Belgian Federal Government. Minister Van Peteghem started off his career as professor of Operations Management and director of Education Innovation at the EDHEC Business School in Lille when he was sworn in as a member of the Chamber of Representatives for the political party cd&v in 2016. He became mayor of the Flemish town De Pinte in 2019. In the same year, he also took up his position as a Flemish Member of Parliament, until he was sworn in as deputy prime minister for cd&v and minister of finance in the federal government on 1 October 2020. He obtained a PHD in Economics from Ghent University in 2010. He is married and has three children.

Christoph König is Deputy State Secretary at the State Secretariat for International Finance SIF of the Ministry of Finance, Switzerland. Between 2014 and 2023 he held various management positions at the State Secretariat for International Finance, covering areas such as financial market analysis, bilateral relations as well as policy and strategy. Before joining SIF, Christoph König worked as senior expert for international affairs at the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA (2012-2014) and as diplomatic Counsellor for financial services, internal market and competition at the Swiss mission to the European Union in Brussels (2010-2012). From 2006 to 2010, he worked as a trade negotiator for trade in services at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO.

Steven Collet has been working on economic development, trade and investment throughout his career, active in multilateral, bilateral and private sector arenas. He served as a diplomat in Tanzania and Vietnam. He was Chief of Staff and Director for Sustainable Economic Development at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was Executive Board member of IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative, making the business case for sustainable global value chains. Steven studied Social Sciences in Brussels and Nijmegen. He is alumnus of THNK, the School for Creative Leadership. 

Elina Scheja is the Chief Economist of Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). She leads Sida’s analytical efforts at country level with a goal to improve living conditions for people living in poverty and under oppression. Her current areas of focus are multidimensional poverty analysis, financing for development, and green transition. Ms Scheja serves also as the co-chair of OECD DAC Community of Practice on Poverty and Inequalities.