Managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva on Monday welcomed Jamaica’s Minister of Finance and the Public Service Dr Nigel Clarke to serve as her deputy, noting that he brings the “voice of small island states to the fund”.

“I’m very excited that Dr Nigel Clark is going to join our senior management team as the deputy managing director. This is a tremendous addition to our skills and capabilities, strongly supported by [the] staff at the IMF and by the board of the IMF with whom I just shared this news. It is a testament to Nigel Clarke’s skills, experience and dedication to public service,” Georgieva shared in a round-table discussion with journalists from the Caribbean.

“And it is also a very important reflection of the voice, the credibility of the Caribbean region. You have been on the front line of one of the most dramatic challenges we face – the climate challenge – and you have a lot to teach the rest of the world on how to handle it,” she continued.

The IMF announced the managing director’s appointment of Dr Clarke to the role of deputy managing director, noting that he will succeed Antoinette Sayeh who will step down on September 12.

Commenting on the scope of Dr Clarke’s responsibilities, the IMF managing director said Clarke will join the “most senior leadership team of the IMF”, as one of her four deputies, serving the fund’s 190-strong membership.

“And in that sense, he will have responsibilities towards the programmes and engagements [that] we have with our member states. He will speak on behalf of the fund and represent me in international fora,” Georgieva explained.

“And he will have the important responsibility to bring through his experience the voice of small island states to us at the fund. And I want to add that I’m particularly excited [about] him joining us, as I start my second term. And I know that in my second term attention to vulnerable island countries will be even more elevated,” she added.

In this regard, Georgieva underscored the value of the experience, wisdom and care that Clarke will bring to his role.

Qualified to serve

When asked what qualifies the Jamaican for his new role as IMF deputy managing director, the IMF head highlighted three reasons.

First, she noted his “hands-on experience as minister of finance in transforming an economy from a weaker to a much stronger position in which institutions and policies provide for a good performance and translate into jobs for the people of Jamaica and better opportunities for people in Jamaica”.

Beyond his work at the local level, Georgieva pointed out that Clarke, as finance minister, has worked alongside the IMF and, therefore, the board of directors have witnessed his “decisiveness” and “dedication”.

As finance minister, Clarke also served as the chairman of the board of governors of the Inter-American Development Bank and the Inter-American Investment Corporation from March 2023 to March 2024. 

“Second, as I said in my previous answer, he represents a group of countries that are particularly challenged in a world of changing climate. He can effectively transmit the experience [and] the aspirations of these countries, but also speak to them, speak to our members in the Pacific – not just in the Caribbean, in the Pacific – speak to …climate vulnerable countries in Africa in a way that is strengthened by where he comes from,” she stated.

The third reason for Clarke’s appointment, Georgieva highlighted, is his previous experience in the private sector. Clarke started his career as an equity derivatives trader at Goldman Sachs in London and served as vice chairman and chief financial officer of the regional conglomerate Musson Group.

Georgieva added that Clarke’s educational background is a bonus. A holder of a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Computer Science from The University of the West Indies, Clarke earned a Master of Science in Applied Statistics from Oxford University while he was a Commonwealth Scholar. As a Rhodes Scholar, he also earned a PhD in Numerical Analysis from Oxford University.

‘Get things done’

According to the IMF managing director, the fund drew from “a very wide net” of candidates when selecting the deputies. A panel evaluates each candidate based on his or her experience, knowledge, and how the candidates who “help us meet these challenges.

“…I have interacted with Nigel Clark. He’s very clear. He’s very combative when he has to be, when he has to defend his point. But he also is reaching cultural consensus. He wants things done, and I like that a lot about him because I fall in the same category. Our membership deserves from us to get things done,” Georgieva said.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness has hailed Clarke’s appointment to the role of deputy managing director of the IMF “as a historic and important development in which I take immense pride”.

“It is to the benefit of Jamaica and the Caribbean region for one of our nationals to serve in such a consequential global position. This development is, therefore, a tremendous net gain for Jamaica and the Caribbean. Furthermore, this elevation of Minister Clarke is demonstrative of the depth, strength and capacity of my Administration,” he added.

In addition to his work in the private sector and as finance minister, Dr Clarke has chaired the National Housing Trust, HEART Trust/NSTA, and the Port Authority of Jamaica. He started his political career as a senator and served as ambassador plenipotentiary of economic affairs from 2016 until his election to Member of Parliament of St Andrew North Western in 2018.