The new president of the Inter-American Development Bank wants to turn the anti-poverty lender into a “beacon of innovation,” he said in an inaugural speech Thursday that sought to motivate staff and move past a sex scandal that resulted in his predecessor’s ouster.
Ilan Goldfajn, a Brazilian and former Western hemisphere director at the International Monetary Fund, was elected to lead the IDB in November. He replaced Mauricio Claver-Carone after an ethics probe into a romantic relationship he had with a subordinate.
Goldfajn’s public speech Thursday followed a similar private one to staff, which was clearly aimed at getting the engines revved up for the new year. He made no explicit mention of the messy controversy that dogged the Washington-based institution last year.
About the author
Shabtai Gold
Shabtai Gold is a Senior Reporter based in Washington. He covers multilateral development banks, with a focus on the World Bank, along with trends in development finance. Prior to Devex, he worked for the German Press Agency, dpa, for more than a decade, with stints in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, before relocating to Washington to cover politics and business.