Revealed: World Bank's new global practice leaders

The names of the people who will be advancing key World Bank reforms have finally been revealed. The World Bank announced the appointment of most of the senior-level directors for its global practices to staff on Thursday. The technical offices are the pillar of bank President Jim Kim’s internal reforms intended to help practical development knowledge at the bank move more easily between countries and regions. “Our entire leadership at the World Bank Group, including the heads of global practices, will be responsible for spreading knowledge and then scaling up successful programs, what we've called at the World Bank Group a science of delivery,” Kim said earlier this week, in a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations. Critics of the design of the reorganization have said that it places too much emphasis on consolidating technical expertise in Washington, D.C., rather than delivering solutions in the field. Others have questioned the reshuffle itself, which has taken almost a year to complete, leading to uncertainty and anxiety within the staff. Approximately 5,700 staff members were placed in one of the 14 global practices or five “cross-cutting solutions areas.” The senior directors theoretically replace a level of middle managers at the bank known as sector directors, although it remains to be seen whether those managers will find positions inside the new structure. Some of them have now been appointed senior director. The appointments will be effective July 1. Foreshadowing what can now be confirmed as a high number of internal appointments — instead of external hires — to the rank of global practice leader, Kim called the senior directors a “new career path” at the bank in a call with reporters this week. That seemed at odds with earlier rhetoric about finding the best talent from a variety of institutions. “We had a shortlist of 89 people, all of whom demonstrated strong technical and leadership skills,” Kim told staff in the memo. “We have tremendous talent within the World Bank Group and while today we are focusing on the senior leadership positions, I expect many of these remarkable colleagues to play key roles in our organization going forward.” Thirteen of the fourteen leaders of global practices were announced Thursday, and three of five leaders of cross-cutting solutions. Kim said the selection process for the agriculture global practice and the conflict and stability cross-cutting solutions area was still ongoing. Rachel Kyte, the vice president in charge of climate change at the bank, will run that cross-cutting area. The global practices senior directors announced on Thursday are: Water: Junaid Ahmad, a World Bank staff member from Bangladesh and current director for sustainable development in the Middle East and North Africa. Social Protections and Labor: Arup Banerji, a sector director for the World Bank’s social protection and labor office from India. Environment and natural resources: Paula Caballero, currently the director of environment, social and economic affairs at Colombia’s ministry of foreign affairs. Education: Claudia Costin, currently the secretary of education for the city of Rio de Janeiro. Health, nutrition and population: Tim Evans, a Canadian-American who is the current director of the health, nutrition and population office at the bank. Energy and extractives: Anita George, a bank staffer from India, who is currently the director of infrastructure and natural resources at the International Finance Corp. Macroeconomics and fiscal management: Marcelo Giugale, an Argentine-Italian who is currently director of poverty reduction and and economic management for the Africa region at the bank. Trade and competitiveness: Anabel Gonzalez, a Costa Rican-American who is currently the minister of foreign trade of Costa Rica. Finance and markets: Gloria Grandolini, an Italian who is currently the World Bank’s country director for Mexico and Colombia. Poverty: Ana Revenga, a Spanish-U.S. citizen, and currently acting vice president for the poverty reduction and economic management office at the World Bank. Transport & ICT: Pierre Guislain, a Belgian and currently the director for the joint investment climate department of the World Bank, IFC and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency. Governance: Mario Marcel, a Chilean and Spanish citizen, currently deputy director for public governance and territorial development at the OECD. Urban, rural and social development: Ede Ijjasz-Vasquez, a Colombian and Hungarian national who is the director for sustainable development in the banks Latin America and Caribbean office. The names of senior directors who will be leading cross-cutting areas are: Gender: Caren Grown, an American, and economist-in-residence at the department of economics at American University. Public-private partnerships: Laurence Carter, a U.K. citizen and IFC’s director of PPPs. Jobs: Nigel Twose, a U.K. citizen and IFC’s director of development impact. Read more development aid news online, and subscribe to The Development Newswire to receive top international development headlines from the world’s leading donors, news sources and opinion leaders — emailed to you FREE every business day.