Two top executives at the World Bank are set to leave the institution this year in a move at a crucial time for the bank’s evolving focus on poverty reduction in the next decade.
Caroline Anstey, current managing director, and senior vice president for change management Pamela Cox will step down after the member countries’ meeting in October. Anstey and Cox have worked at the bank for 18 and 17 years, respectively.
The changes at the top — which foreshadow looming shakeups in mid-level management — were communicated to the staff in an email from President Jim Yong Kim.
“As we move from design to implementation, a realignment of responsibilities among senior management is needed to take forward the next phase of our change program,” Kim said in the email, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg. “We have made some important decisions, and with today’s announcement, we have the leadership team that will deliver the results we need.”
A bank spokesman confirmed to Devex the email was sent but refused to discuss its content.
The latest shakeup at the World Bank follows Kim’s last major staff overhaul in December. That was when he appointed Cox and demoted then managing director Mahmoud Mohieldin, a former investment minister of Egypt’s deposed dictator Hosni Mubarak, to special envoy on MDGs and financial development.
Mohieldin was replaced by Indonesia’s former finance minister Sri Mulyana Indrawati, who will now become the bank’s chief operating officer.
Kim’s email also noted that the vice president for human resources and external relations will now report to the president.
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About the author
John Alliage Morales
As a former Devex staff writer, John Alliage Morales covered the Americas, focusing on the world's top donor hub, Washington, and its aid community. Prior to joining Devex, John worked for a variety of news outlets including GMA, the Philippine TV network, where he conducted interviews, analyzed data, and produced in-depth stories on development and other topics.