Nigel Clarke proposed as IMF's next deputy managing director

Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, has proposed the appointment of Jamaica's Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke as Deputy Managing Director of the Fund.

She announced the proposal to the Executive Board of the IMF today.

The appointment would take effect on October 31, 2024, with him succeeding Antoinette Sayeh, who steps down on September 12.

In announcing her selection of Clarke, Georgieva said: “Mr Clarke is an exceptional public servant and policymaker, with proven leadership in institution building and economic crisis management, who has stewarded his country's economy to a stronger and more sustainable position.

"Since 2016, he has been the IMF's chief counterpart on successive and historically successful programmes for Jamaica, including an Extended Fund Facility, a precautionary Stand-By Arrangement, and most recently a Precautionary Liquidity Line plus Resilience and Sustainability Facility, leaving the country with robust economic fundamentals. Nigel also brings a wealth of experience from a stellar private sector career, she stated.

Clarke has been Jamaica's Minister of Finance and the Public Service, and a Member of Parliament, since March 2018.

Prior to this, he served as Ambassador of Economic Affairs from 2016. During this period, he spearheaded ambitious national reforms, including central bank independence, creation of an independent fiscal commission, as well as other tax policy, public body governance, public procurement, public sector compensation, and public investment management reforms.

The IMF also noted that he led Jamaica's economic policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic with "innovative and well-targeted policy support" and completed privatisations and public-private partnerships of major infrastructure assets.

Under his stewardship, Jamaica also implemented a multi-layered disaster risk financing model, and became the first small country to independently sponsor a catastrophe bond, with World Bank assistance. 

In 2022, Mr. Clarke was elected Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank and the Inter-American Investment Corporation. Prior to his public service career, he was Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer of the Musson Group, a regional conglomerate, having started his career as an Equity Derivatives Trader at Goldman Sachs in London.

Clarke holds a PhD in Numerical Analysis from Oxford University where he was a Rhodes Scholar, and a Master of Science Degree in Applied Statistics, also from Oxford, while he was a Commonwealth Scholar. He also holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of the West Indies where he was a Jamaica Independence Scholar.

Follow The Gleaner on X and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.