Who is Silvana Tenreyro, taking charge as IMF’s chief economist from August 10

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has named Silvana Tenreyro as its new Economic Counsellor and Director of the Research Department, succeeding Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, who recently returned to academia.

“Silvana is a globally respected economist who combines outstanding academic achievements with extensive policy-making experience and a close engagement with leading international institutions,” Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva announced on Wednesday.

She added that Tenreyro’s academic and policy experience would help keep the IMF’s analytical work, multilateral surveillance and policy advice “at the cutting edge” at a time of heightened uncertainty and major shifts in the global economy.
Tenreyro currently serves as the James E. Meade Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics, where she has been on the faculty since 2004.

Her research has been published in leading academic journals and she has received several international honours, including the Yrjö Jahnsson Award, the Bernhard Harms Prize and the Birgit Grodal Award.

She served as an external member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee from 2017 to 2023. Earlier in her career, Tenreyro worked as an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and was a member of the Bank of Mauritius’ Monetary Policy Committee.

She is also part of the IMF Managing Director’s External Advisory Group and advises public and private institutions on economic and financial issues.

An Argentine, British and Italian national, Tenreyro holds a PhD and an MA in Economics from Harvard University and a degree in economics from the National University of Tucumán in Argentina.