Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), recently announced the appointment of Julie Kozack as the IMF’s new director of strategic communications.
According to an IMF news release, Kozack succeeds Gerry Rice, who announced his retirement from the IMF in July.
“Julie’s stellar career at the Fund over more than two decades reflects not only her standing as a top-notch economist and institutional leader, including as mission chief and lead negotiator on high-profile crisis countries, but also her exceptional communication skills,” Georgieva said in the IMF press release. “Julie is well known for her strategic thinking and innovative ideas, as well as her capacity for building consensus and relationships.”
According to the IMF news release, Kozack currently serves as a deputy director in the IMF’s European Department, where she is responsible for its work on Ukraine. Previously, she was a deputy director in the Western Hemisphere Department and, according to the news release, served as the lead negotiator for Argentina on its latest IMF program.
“She is also an experienced manager who works collaboratively, and always has in mind the institution and our member countries,” Georgieva added in the IMF release. “I believe these skills will benefit COM, the Fund, and more widely, our membership.”
The IMF noted in its news release that Kozack also has worked closely with the Research and Strategy and Policy Review Departments, has served as a mission chief for Germany, Iceland (during the crisis program period), Lithuania, Poland, and deputy mission chief for Russia. She also did work in multilateral surveillance work, particularly on G20 and G7 engagement at the time of the global financial crisis, according to the release. A U.S. national, Kozack has a Ph.D. and two master’s degrees in economics from Columbia University. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University.
“Here, she also demonstrated her seasoned managerial and leadership skills, running an independent institute away from headquarters with a mix of headquarter, local, and expert staff,” Georgieva pointed out in the release. “Here, she oversaw the delivery of training and capacity development to the Asia-Pacific region and worked hard to broaden the understanding of the Fund by engaging with parliamentarians in the region through workshops and other training forums, as well as public and press engagements.”