The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has named a Kenyan, Ceda Ogada, as its next Secretary and Director of the Secretary’s Department.
Ogada will succeed Jianhai Lin, the first Chinese to occupy the position, who proceeds on retirement.
Announcing the changes on Wednesday, July 15, IMF Managing Director Kiristalina Georgieva exuded confidence on Ceda Ogada’s ability to hold the key position.
“Ceda has outstanding institutional knowledge, strategic and intellectual heft, and people leadership. His unparalleled ability to bring people together, combined with his profound appreciation of the Fund’s institutional history and legal principles, as well as a strong service orientation, will help the Fund to even more effectively serve our member countries in a very challenging economic environment,” said Georgieva.
Ogada is expected to begin work in his new capacity on Spetember 1, 2020.
Ogada joined IMF’s Legal Department in 1999, rising through the ranks to become Deputy General Counsel in 2014 up to his recent appointment.
He has achieved a lot in terms of governance, country operations, developing policies and implementation guidance as well as providing technical assistance to member countries in his 21 years with IMF.
He was heavily involved in the work on Euro-zone crisis during the global financial crisis at the start of last decade.
Prior to joining the IMF, Ogada worked at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development as a legal expert. Before that, he was in private legal practice in the United States.
He holds a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School and a B.A. in history from Dartmouth College.
