Appointments
The World Bank President controls appointments in four general categories: within his own office, at the Vice-Presidential level, at the Country Director level, and to assist with special initiatives.
Turnover of some key staff is common when a new President takes office, as is slight remodeling of the institution. Critics are concerned that Wolfowitz's appointments to the Bank of former high-level US government cohorts is a signal of his intention to align the institution's strategy with the objectives of the Bush administration. Many of his appointments have aggravated tensions with Bank staff, as has his apparently rough management style.
But what impact will shuffling of the Bank's management structure actually have on performance? Changing the institution's organizational structure in the somewhat naive hope that the large bureaucracy will respond more effectively to leadership from the top may be misguided. The real challenge lies less in moving boxes around and more on how effective Wolfowitz will be in connecting and inspiring staff -- the vast majority of whom opposed Wolfowitz's nomination.
turnover at the top
World Bank Organization Chart under Wolfensohn--February 2005 (Acrobat pdf, 84 KB)
World Bank Organization Chart under Wolfowitz--February 2007 (Acrobat pdf, 165 KB)
The President's Office
Letitia Obeng: Director, Office of the President
Appointment effective September 6, 2005. A Ghanaian national, Obeng has served as the Director of Strategy and Operations for the Bank's Latin America and Caribbean Region, Sector Director for Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development (ESSD) in the Middle East and North Africa Region, and Sector Manager in Infrastructure in the Africa Region.
Ms. Obeng's responsibilities include coordinating the relationships between the President's office and other units within the Bank, facilitating communication betwen Bank staff and the President, providing information and advice to the President, and overseeing the Office of the President staff.
Kevin Kellems: Senior Advisor to the President and Director of Strategy, External Affairs
Kevin Kellems was appointed Senior Advisor to the President on June 7, 2005. In addition to having served as the Communications Director and Spokesman for Vice President Dick Cheney, Kellems has advised both Paul Wolfowitz and Senator Richard Lugar, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
On January 10, 2006, Kellems was officially appointed Director of Strategy in the External Affairs, Communications and United Nations Affairs Vice Presidency. He currently serves in both positions.
Robin Cleveland: Counsellor to the President
Appointment effective June 6, 2005. Cleveland was formerly Associate Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in the Executive Office of the President of the United States. Supervising a portfolio of more than $500 million a year, Cleveland helped develop the United States' response to the tsunami disaster, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPfAR) and the Millenium Challenge Corporation.
Karl Jackson
Karl Jackson, the current Director of Asian Studies at Johns Hopkins' Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies is advising World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz.
Considered to be close friends, Karl Jackson and Paul Wolfowitz's career paths have crossed several times. From 1986-1989, while Wolfowitz was the ambassador to Indonesia, Jackson served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia. Following his post, Wolfowitz assumed the role of US Undersecretary of Defense for Policy and Jackson became the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs from 1991-1993. In 1993 Wolfowitz became the dean of SAIS and Jackson joined the faculty shortly thereafter in 1996.
Vice Presidents
Lars H. Thunell: Executive Vice President, International Finance Corporation
Appointment effective January 15, 2006. Thunell joined the Bank from his current position as CEO of the Swedish corporate bank SEB, where he has focused on international capital and emerging markets. As a member of President Wolfowitz’s senior management team, Thunell helps the President develop his strategy for the World Bank Group.
Thunell’s prior experience includes high-level management positions at financial and industrial companies in Sweden and Switzerland. He has recently been appointed a member of Statoil, and sits of the board of SLA, an international forestry and paper product company.
Vincenzo La Via: Chief Financial Officer, World Bank
Appointment effective November 1, 2005. An Italian national, La Via has served as Director General in the Debt Management Department of the Italian Ministry of the Treasury, and as Managing Director of Akros S.p.A., an investment management company. He has most recently served as Chief Financial Officer of Banca Intesa.
In addition to his private sector experience, La Via worked for the World Bank from 1985-1991 as both an Advisor to the Italian Executive Director and a Senior Investment Officer in the Treasury Department.
Country Directors
John Briscoe: Country Director, Brazil
John Briscoe, currently a World Bank Senior Advisor on Water in India, has been appointed as Country Director for Brazil.
Other Initiatives
Suzanne Rich Folsom: Director, Department of Institutional Integrity
Following Martin de Jong's departure from the position in 2005, Folsom assumed the role of Acting Director after serving as Counselor to the President for two years under both Wolfensohn and Wolfowitz. She is now the Director of the Department of Institutional Integrity. Wife of George Folsom, President of the International Republican Institute, Mrs. Folsom is charged with investigating allegations of fraud and corruption associated with World Bank projects. Her performance will undoubtedly be closely monitored by many organizations and observers who have been pushing for more accountability, transparency and a greater focus on corruption.
Graeme Wheeler: Managing Director of the World Bank
New Zealander Graeme Wheeler was officially appointed to the position of Acting Managing Director, following Shengman Zhang's departure shortly after Wolfowitz's arrival.
Before joining the World Bank in 1997, Wheeler was the Deputy Secretary to the New Zealand Treasury and also has experience as Treasurer of the New Zealand Debt Management Office.
Juan Jose Daboub: Managing Director of the World Bank
Daboub has previously served as Finance Minister of El Salvador. As the position of Managing Director was previously held by only one person, work will need to be done to parcel out the Managing Director's responsibilities to both Wheeler and Daboub. Dadoub assumed his new post on July 1, 2006.
Robert Pozen: Special Consultant
On July 28, 2005, World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz announced the short-term appointment of Robert C. Pozen to evaluate and recommend mechanisms to strengthen transparency, accountability, ethics and integrity in World Bank operations. Hailed by Wolfowitz as a “distinguished authority on corporate governance”, Pozen has served as a visiting lecturer at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, the Vice-Chairman of Fidelity Investments, and the President of Fidelity Management & Research.
The review reportedly lasted several weeks, with Pozen delivering recommendations to President Wolfowitz before the 2005 World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings. Pozen’s exact responsibilities and report were never made public.
Stefan Koeberle: Director, Operations Support Unit in the Latin America and the Caribbean Region
Koeberly previously managed the country economics unit in the Operations Policy and Country Services Vice Presidency. His appointment was effective January 16, 2006.
Hartwig Schafer: Director of Operations in the Africa Region
Schafer currently serves as WB's country director for Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. He assumed this new assignment on February 1, 2006.
Laura Tuck: Sector Director, Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development Unit (ESSD) in the Latin America and the Caribbean Region (LCR)
Appointment effective February 15, 2006. Tuck was formerly the Sector Director, ESSD, in the Europe and Central Asia Vice Presidency.
Departures
Shengman Zhang: Managing Director, the World Bank
Shengman Zhang left his position shortly after Wolfowitz's arrival. He held the position of Managing Director since 1997.
In addition to directing the Bank's global operations, Zhang managed the institution's quality assurance function and chaired the Sanctions Committee, through which he supported the Bank's anti-corruption efforts. He has furthermore been instrumental in promoting the Bank's increasing involvement in infrastructure and middle-income countries.
The departure of such a key figure came at a time when many were eagerly watching the new President for clues on the direction in which he will steer the institution.
Martin de Jong: Director, Department of Institutional Integrity
Maarten de Jong left his position as the Director of the World Bank's Department of Institutional Integrity (INT), which is charged with investigating allegations of fraud and corruption in World Bank operations and staff. Suzanne Rich Folsom, who has served as Counselor to the President for the last two years, assumed the position of Acting Director as of October 4, 2005
Jemal-ud-din-Kassum: Vice-President of East Asia and the Pacific
Jemal stepped down in mid-December 2005.
Robert Danino
Danino informed his staff of his resignation on January 13, 2006. Danino has previously served as both the Prime Minister of Peru (2001-2002) and the Peruvian Ambassador to the United States (2002-2003). He has also been a partner in the law firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, as well as Chairman of both the Latin American Practice Group and the Inter-American Development Bank's External Review Group for Private Sector Activities. Ana Palacio, former Foreign Minister of Spain, is rumored to be his replacement.
Geoffrey Lamb: Vice President of Concessional Finance & Global Partnerships
Lamb's responsibilities included directing the negotiations and replenishment processes for IDA, GEF and HIPC. He also oversaw the institution's relationships with development and export credit agencies as well as its strategic approach to partnerships. Mr. Lamb worked at the World Bank since 1980.
Ian Johnson: Vice President and Head of Network of Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development, and the Chairman of Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)
Johnson has worked at the World Bank since 1980, and has previously served as the Senior Manager of the Environment Department, the Principal Sector Economist in the Policy, Research and External Affairs Department, and as a Senior Economist in the Europe, Middle East and North Africa (EMENA) Projects Department.