The Atlantic Council today announced that Andrea Montanino, Italian economist and current executive director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), will join the Atlantic Council in November as director of the Global Business and Economics Program. In that position, he will lead the Council’s work on economic growth, global trade, and finance.
Montanino currently represents the governments of Italy, Albania, Greece, Malta, Portugal, and San Marino at the IMF. He is also jointly responsible for the conduct of the day-to-day business of the IMF, including approving financial policy programs in member countries.
“Andrea comes to the Atlantic Council at a crucial moment for the global economy, compounded by uncertainty surrounding strategic trade deals,” said Frederick Kempe, president and CEO of the Atlantic Council. “His world-class economic statecraft and leadership experience will be a great asset to the Council’s efforts to foster transatlantic competitiveness and global prosperity.”
Before joining the IMF, Montanino served in the Italian Ministry of Finance from 2006-2012. As director general at the Italian Treasury Department, he worked to alleviate the impact of the great recession on the business sector, drafting and implementing laws intended to advance competitiveness. As a member of the cabinet and an economic adviser to the Italian minister of finance, Montanino contributed to a comprehensive public budget reform effort. During four years (2001-2005) at the European Commission in the Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs, he helped reform European Union budgetary rules, and was responsible for long-term sustainability analysis of European countries.
“The role of economic policies is dramatically changing, and policymakers will face completely new challenges in the future. In a world of high public debt, countries must find new ways to boost their economies, relying more on the role of the private sector. The Atlantic Council will have a crucial role in providing insights and promoting policies that will encourage a growth-friendly economic environment,” said Montanino.
Montanino’s addition to the team reflects the Council’s commitment to strengthening its work on global business and economic issues, underscoring the links between prosperity and security. The Global Business and Economics Program brings together business and government leaders from both sides of the Atlantic and around the world to exchange ideas, engage in dialogue, and design solutions to the most vital global economic issues. Among the program’s many projects and initiatives, it leads the Atlantic Council’s work on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), a potentially ground-breaking accord between the United States and the European Union that would more fully integrate half of the world’s economy. The program is also the home of the Transatlantic Finance Initiative, which has recently focused on divergence between US and European regulations on financial services and also on global issues, such as the growing role of the renminbi.