BIS-SARB Centenary Conference: Policy Challenges After the Pandemic

Agustin Carstens

General Manager

Bank for International Settlements

Agustín Carstens became General Manager of the BIS on 1 December 2017. Mr Carstens was Governor of the Bank of Mexico from 2010 to 2017. A member of the BIS Board from 2011 to 2017, he was chair of the Global Economy Meeting and the Economic Consultative Committee from 2013 until 2017. He also chaired the International Monetary and Financial Committee, the IMF's policy advisory committee from 2015 to 2017. Mr Carstens began his career in 1980 at the Bank of Mexico. From 1999 to 2000, he was Executive Director at the IMF. He later served as Mexico's deputy finance minister (2000-03) and as Deputy Managing Director at the IMF (2003-06). He was Mexico's finance minister from 2006 to 2009. Mr Carstens has been a member of the Financial Stability Board since 2010 and is a member of the Group of Thirty. Mr Carstens holds an MA and a PhD in economics from the University of Chicago.

Jerome H. Powell

Chair

United States Federal Reserve Board

Jerome H. Powell took office as Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on February 5, 2018, for a four-year term. Mr. Powell also serves as Chairman of the Federal Open Market Committee, the System's principal monetary policymaking body. Mr. Powell has served as a member of the Board of Governors since taking office on May 25, 2012, to fill an unexpired term. He was reappointed to the Board and sworn in on June 16, 2014, for a term ending January 31, 2028. Prior to his appointment to the Board, Mr. Powell was a visiting scholar at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C., where he focused on federal and state fiscal issues. From 1997 through 2005, Mr. Powell was a partner at The Carlyle Group. Mr. Powell served as an Assistant Secretary and as Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury under President George H.W. Bush, with responsibility for policy on financial institutions, the Treasury debt market, and related areas. Prior to joining the Bush administration, Mr. Powell worked as a lawyer and investment banker in New York City. In addition to service on corporate boards, he has served on the boards of charitable and educational institutions, including the Bendheim Center for Finance at Princeton University and the Nature Conservancy of Washington, D.C., and Maryland. Mr. Powell was born in February 1953 in Washington, D.C. He received an AB in politics from Princeton University in 1975 and earned a law degree from Georgetown University in 1979. While at Georgetown, he was editor-in-chief of the Georgetown Law Journal.

Lesetja Kganyago

Governor

South African Reserve Bank

Mr Lesetja Kganyago was appointed Governor of the SARB with effect from 9 November 2014. He was reappointed by the President of South Africa for a second five-year term effective 9 November 2019. He is the Chairperson of the Monetary Policy Committee, and the Financial Stability Committee. Prior to his appointment as Governor, Mr Kganyago served as Deputy Governor of the SARB from 16 May 2011 until his elevation to Governor. Mr Kganyago chairs the Committee of Central Bank Governors of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), co-chairs the Financial Stability Board’s Regional Consultative Group for Sub-Saharan Africa, and chairs the Financial Stability Board’s Standing Committee on Standards Implementation. In addition, Until recently he served as the Chairperson of the International Monetary and Financial Committee, which is the primary advisory board to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Board of Governors, from 18 January 2018 – 17 January 2021 Before joining the SARB, Mr Kganyago was the Director-General of the National Treasury. He represented South Africa at international organisations such as the World Bank, the IMF, the G20 and the African Development Bank. In this role, he served as the Chair of the Development Committee Deputies and also co-chaired a G20 Working Group on the reform of the IMF. He holds an MSc in Economics from SOAS University of London and a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Economics and Accounting from the University of South Africa. He also received various training in Finance, Economics and Management.

Francine Lacqua

Editor-at-Large

Bloomberg TV

Francine Lacqua is an award-winning London-based anchor for Bloomberg Television. She co-anchors the weekday 3-hour daily program “Bloomberg Surveillance” with Tom Keene, where she provides insight on foreign policy, global markets and the top business stories of the day. She also presents “Leaders with Lacqua,” a special series where she sits down with top CEOs, entrepreneurs and public figures. Since joining Bloomberg in 2000, Lacqua has covered the World Economic Forum in Davos, IMF in Washington, G20 meetings, the EU Leaders Summit and OPEC. She also led Bloomberg Television’s coverage of the Italian and French elections where she was one of the first international reporters to interview cabinet members. While at Bloomberg, Lacqua has interviewed high-profile figures such as French President Emmanuel Macron, former UK Prime Minister David Cameron, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, Billionaire financier George Soros and ECB President Mario Draghi. She has also interviewed finance ministers from South Korea, Russia, France, Mexico, Italy and Greece, as well as moderating televised debates from the World Economic Forum in Davos and the European Economic Governance package.