About this episode
Becky Milligan explores the life and career of Kristalina Georgieva, the first managing director of the IMF from an emerging economy.
Kristalina Georgieva is not like previous heads of the International Monetary Fund. She grew up behind the Iron Curtain in Bulgaria, which was then part of the Soviet bloc. Born in Sofia in 1953, her father was a civil engineer and her mother a shopkeeper. Life was tough because her family weren't part of the Communist Party regime. Her father fell ill when Kristalina was young and she was just fifteen when she went to work at the local food market. She studied economics at the then Karl Marx Higher Economic Institute and then in the late 1980s she headed to London to spend a year at the London School of Economics. Over the last 30 years she's landed top jobs at the World Bank and the European Commission. In 2019, she was appointed managing director of the IMF, becoming the first person from an emerging economy to lead the institution. In the rare moments when she's not working, friends, colleagues and family paint a picture of a fun-loving woman who likes nothing better than dancing and singing. Becky Milligan explores Kristalina's life and career. Contributors Dessislava Kinova - daughter Iliyana Tsanova - friend and Chief Risk Officer at the European Commission Lord Nick Stern…
People in this episode
Host: Becky Milligan
Guest: Kristalina Georgieva
Topics covered
- Kristalina Georgieva
- International Monetary Fund
- Bulgaria
- economics
- personal history
- career achievements
Keywords
- Kristalina Georgieva
- IMF
- Bulgaria
- World Bank
- European Commission
- economics
- career
- personal history
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: International Monetary Fund, World Bank, European Commission
Places: Bulgaria, Sofia, London
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