14/12/2018 - Manuel Escudero, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Spain to the OECD, was appointed today as the new Chair of the OECD Development Centre’s Governing Board. The Development Centre brings together 52 member countries - both OECD and non-OECD - to advance mutual understanding on key development issues through analysis and policy dialogue.

 

Ambassador Manuel Escudero replaces outgoing Chair Mónica Aspe, former Ambassador of Mexico to the OECD. He starts his new role as of today.

 

Mario Pezzini, Director of the OECD Development Centre and Special Advisor to the OECD Secretary-General on Development, welcomed the new chair and his programmatic vision that “combines strong assets of continuity with a set of priorities that will further enhance the relevance of the Centre for its member countries and the impact of its work for all”. He also thanked Mónica Aspe for her extraordinary leadership throughout the past year.

 

In his address, Ambassador Escudero stressed the importance of the OECD Development Centre’s leadership at this critical time in history “where the values of openness, multilateralism and co-operation are being questioned; where inequality within countries remains high, trust in institutions declines, and citizens often feel they are not participating in the benefits that globalisation was supposed to deliver”. “In these difficult times, dialogue and co-operation are more necessary than ever and the Development Centre must continue to play its important role in promoting mutual understanding and co-operation”, he added.

 

Prior to taking up his duties as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Spain to the OECD in 2018, Mr. Escudero was Secretary of Economic Policy and Employment at the Executive Commission of the Partido Socialista Obrero Españo (PSOE), and Special Adviser to the Office of the United Nations Global Compact Initiative, in New York.

 

Manuel Escudero also has a long-standing career in the academic sphere. He was Professor of Macroeconomics, Dean of Research and Dean of Cloister at the Instituto de Empresa, IE Business School in Madrid, between 1991 and 2005. In 2010, Mr. Escudero returned to Spain as General Director of Deusto Business School (2010‐2014).

 

For further information, journalists are invited to contact the OECD Development Centre’s Media Office: +33 1 45 24 82 96 or Bochra.Kriout@oecd.org.

 

About the OECD Development Centre: www.oecd.org/dev.