Professor Ian Goldin

Professor Ian Goldin is an internationally respected academic working in areas of trade and finance and international development. He is Professor of Globalisation and Development and the Director of the Oxford Martin School and a Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford. He previously was the Vice President of the World Bank. Ian also chairs the Oxford Martin Commission for Future Generations.

During his time at the World Bank, Ian was directly responsible for the relationship with the UK and other European countries. He led the collaboration with the UN, and as Director of Development Policy played a pivotal role in the research and strategy agenda.

Ian was previously CEO of the Development Bank of South Africa, advisor to Nelson Mandela and Finance Director for South Africa’s 2020 Olympic bid. His earlier roles include a period as Principal Economist at the EBRD, and Programme Director for the OECD in Paris - working on trade and sustainable development.

Ian has been honoured by the French Government and named as a Global Leader of Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum.

He is the author and presenter of three BBC series, After the Crash, Will AI Kill Development and The Pandemic that Changed the World. Ian’s books include Age of the City: Why our Future will be Won or Lost Together, Rescue: From Global Crisis to a Better World, Terra Incognita: 100 Maps to Survive the Next 100 Years; Age of Discovery: Navigating the Storms of our Second Renaissance; The Butterfly Defect: How globalisation creates systemic risks; and The Pursuit of Development: Economic Growth, Social Change and Ideas.