Affiliation: Strategic Advisor, Bretton Woods Committee

Gerry Rice is a leader in the communications field, with the unique experience of being the only person to have served as Communications Director at both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Gerry retired from the IMF at the end of 2022. For the previous 11 years, he was responsible for IMF strategy on external engagements with media and the Fund’s key stakeholders, including legislatures and parliaments, civil society groups, labor groups, and academics, as well as the Fund’s internal communications. As Communications Director, Gerry worked closely with several IMF Managing Directors and with senior managers on the communication of IMF operations, including policy and lending decisions.

Prior to joining the IMF, Gerry had a 25-year career at the World Bank. Among other positions — including speechwriter to several World Bank Presidents — he also served there as Communications Director, managing all aspects of the Bank’s external and internal communications.

From time to time, Gerry has returned to his native Scotland, including to help with the international economic dimensions of the devolution project that was launched with the establishment of the first Scottish Parliament in 300 years. In that context, he published a book entitled Scotland’s Global Opportunity.

Gerry earned a PhD in Modern History from the University of Glasgow and was selected as a Kennedy Scholar at Harvard University. His PhD thesis on the establishment of the US Peace Corps was later published as The Bold Experiment. Gerry is also a graduate of Harvard’s Management Development Program and has served as Visiting Professor at Glasgow University.