The Albanese Government will nominate Rob Nicholl for appointment as the Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund and Kerstin Wijeyewardene as the Alternate Executive Director at the World Bank for two‑year terms starting in November.
Mr Nicholl will represent a constituency of countries at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) comprising Australia, Kiribati, Korea, Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Mongolia, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
Mr Nicholl is well‑qualified for the IMF Executive Director role.
He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Office of Financial Management and he has extensive public and financial policy experience, having held a number of senior executive appointments in the Tasmanian Treasury and Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources.
Prior to joining the public service, Mr Nicholl spent several years in academia as a research fellow and economics lecturer. He has a Master of Economics from the University of Alberta and a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Tasmania.
Ms Wijeyewardene will work with the Korean Executive Director to represent a constituency of countries at the World Bank comprising Australia, Cambodia, Kiribati, Korea, Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Mongolia, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
Ms Wijeyewardene is well‑qualified for the World Bank Alternate Executive Director role.
She is a senior executive in the Australian Public Service. Her international experience includes a role as Treasury’s senior representative in the United Kingdom and Europe, as head of Treasury’s International Division, and in shaping and leading policy agendas in the G20.
Ms Wijeyewardene has led major reforms to corporate and financial sector policy, including the Government’s response to the global financial crisis.
Most recently this has included advising on policy settings applying to the activities of digital platforms in Australia, with a particular focus on bringing an economic lens to their regulation.
She has a Bachelor of Laws (Graduate) Honours from the Australian National University and a Bachelor of Arts (Social Sciences) from the University of Canberra.
Under current arrangements, the Executive Director and Alternate Executive Director positions of the constituencies at the IMF and World Bank rotate between Australia and the Republic of Korea.
Mr Nicholl and Ms Wijeyewardene are outstanding nominations and I have every confidence that they will do Australia proud in their new roles.
I would like to sincerely thank Mr Nigel Ray in his role as Executive Director of the World Bank Group and Dr Angelia Grant for her role as Alternate Executive Director of the IMF over the past two years.
The Government has valued their contributions to these important institutions and the experience and knowledge they have brought to represent Australia and the members of our constituencies, particularly during a period of global uncertainty throughout the COVID‑19 pandemic.