Gita Gopinath, the second-highest ranking official at the International Monetary Fund, will be leaving her role next month to rejoin Harvard University, the IMF said on Monday.
The global lender said, on return to the Ivy League university, Ms Gopinath will become the inaugural Gregory and Ania Coffey Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics. She first joined Harvard in 2005 before being appointed to the IMF as its first female chief economist in 2019.
Ms Gopinath was promoted to first deputy managing director in 2022.
“She came to the Fund as a highly respected academic in macroeconomics and international finance,” IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva said.
Ms Gopinath served as the fund's chief economist during the Covid-19 pandemic, which Ms Georgieva said was an “unprecedented challenge to our membership”. Ms Gopinath also co-wrote the fund's plan on how to help end the Covid-19 crisis, which the IMF described as a key contribution in setting global vaccination targets at a doable cost.
As first deputy managing director, Ms Gopinath oversaw the fund's surveillance and analysis on fiscal and monetary policy, debt and international trade.
She most recently represented the IMF at the G20 summit in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
There, she warned that economic uncertainty remains high due to downside risks dominating the global outlook. The fund is due to release its updated global economic forecast later this month.
She also spoke about priorities for policymakers, including building resilience and boosting medium-term growth.
The fund said Ms Georgieva will name Ms Gopinath's replacement “in due course”.
“I am truly grateful for my time at the IMF, first as chief economist and then as first deputy managing director,” Ms Gopinath said.
“I now return to my roots in academia, where, I look forward to continuing to push the research frontier in international finance and macroeconomics to address global challenges, and to training the next generation of economists.”
David Cutler, dean of social science and Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics at Harvard, praised Ms Gopinath's work on exchange rates, capital flows and the global financial architecture.
"Having her back strengthens our standing as a top university for international macroeconomics," he said.
FA CUP FINAL
Manchester City 6
(D Silva 26', Sterling 38', 81', 87', De Bruyne 61', Jesus 68')
Watford 0
Man of the match: Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
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TOURNAMENT INFO
Opening fixtures:
Friday, Oct 5
8pm: Kabul Zwanan v Paktia Panthers
Saturday, Oct 6
4pm: Nangarhar Leopards v Kandahar Knights
8pm: Kabul Zwanan v Balkh Legends
Tickets
Tickets can be bought online at https://www.q-tickets.com/apl/eventlist and at the ticket office at the stadium.
TV info
The tournament will be broadcast live in the UAE on OSN Sports.
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
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Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
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