Jihad Azour
Guest Speaker
Professional Affiliation
Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund
Expert Bio
Jihad Azour is the Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund where he oversees the Fund鈥檚 work in the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia and Caucasus.
Mr. Azour served as Lebanon鈥檚 Finance Minister in 2005-08, during which time he coordinated the implementation of important reforms, including modernizing the country鈥檚 tax and customs systems. Before and since his time as finance minister, he held a wide range of positions in the private sector, including McKinsey and Booz and Co. where he was a Vice-President and Senior Executive Advisor. Prior to joining the IMF in March 2017, he was a Managing Partner at investment firm Inventis Partners.
Mr. Azour holds a PhD in International Finance and a post-graduate degree in International Economics and Finance, both from the Institut d鈥橢tudes Politiques de Paris. He also did research on emerging economies and their integration into the global economy as a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard. Mr. Azour has published several books and articles on economic and financial issues and taught extensively.
