Mark Sobel, Anne Simpson and Udaibir Das are taking up new senior roles at OMFIF to reinforce the research group’s offering in macroeconomics, long-term asset strategies, financial system architecture and digital money. The appointments reflect the multiple shifts taking place in global money and finance.
Chairman David Marsh and Deputy Chairman Philip Middleton said: ‘A fresh layer of expertise in addition to the board and management helps bolster OMFIF’s position at the heart of the financial system.’
Sobel, with 40 years of experience at the US Treasury, becomes chief economist and vice chair, moving from the post he has held since 2018 as OMFIF’s US chair. He will support OMFIF’s economic research and analysis, deepen engagement with policy-makers across regions and continue to anchor OMFIF’s understanding of US Treasury and Federal Reserve dynamics.
Simpson becomes a second vice chair, focusing on long-term asset management strategies, corporate governance and sustainability. She is a lecturer at University of California, Berkeley, and a visiting fellow at Oxford University. She was formerly global head of sustainability at Franklin Templeton and managing investment director, board governance and sustainability, at CalPERS, the California pension fund.
Das takes a third vice chair position strengthening OMFIF’s expertise in governance, fiscal, monetary and macrofinancial interactions and emerging markets, including Asia and Africa. Das is a visiting professor at India’s National Council of Applied Economic Research, and held senior roles at the International Monetary Fund, Bank for International Settlements and Reserve Bank of India.
The three vice chairs will work closely with Marsh and the management team, engaging with John Orchard and Katie-Ann Wilson, chair and managing director of OMFIF’s Digital Monetary Institute, in line with the widening of DMI work. They will also interact with Andrea Correa, who becomes head of research after leading several projects in the OMFIF research team.
Sofia Melis, chief commercial officer, said, ‘As economic fragmentation, geopolitical tension and fiscal constraints coincide with technological change, these appointments reinforce OMFIF’s capabilities supporting institutions across the public and private sectors.’
Wilson said, ‘The spreading of DMI’s activities reflects how digital finance and technology now sit at the centre of central banking and financial governance.’
Sobel commented, ‘I look forward to continuing and strengthening my work with the OMFIF team.’
Simpson said, ‘Global asset owners and capital providers will set the pace in exerting greater control over governance standards. Governance and sustainability are a potent combination for the safety and soundness of the global financial architecture.’
Das commented, ‘These changes position OMFIF to provide independent, rigorous analysis of international financial system arrangements and fiscal–monetary coordination, as well the rapid integration of digital finance and artificial intelligence into financial infrastructure.’
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