World Bank staff to refocus on poverty goal in shake-up

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said two senior executives will leave and others will get new responsibilities, part of a management shake-up 13 months after he took over the institution as he prepares a new global poverty-reduction strategy.

Caroline Anstey, a managing director who worked for 18 years at the Washington-based bank, will step down after the member countries’ annual meetings in October, Kim said in an email to staff obtained by Bloomberg. Pamela Cox, a veteran of 33 years who most recently was senior vice president for change management, will retire at the same time, he said.

“Kim is clearly signaling that he plans to engineer a significant transformation in the bank’s orientation and operating procedures, starting with a revamp of top management,” said Eswar Prasad, a former International Monetary Fund official who teaches economics at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

Anstey was a close aide of Kim’s predecessor, Robert Zoellick, who made her his chief of staff and later appointed her vice president and then managing director.

Kim has pledged to refocus the bank, with a dual goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030 and lifting income of the 40 percent poorest.

Today’s announcements follow another memo to staff last week, in which Kim outlined steps to change the culture at the bank, make staff less risk-averse and improve the delivery of aid.

World Bank spokesman David Theis confirmed that an email on personnel changes had been sent to staff.

A town-hall meeting will be held in September for employees to ask questions, Kim said. He said a draft report of his strategy will be released “in coming weeks.”

Kim said in an interview last month that he would present the strategy to the bank’s shareholders in October.

Managing Director Sri Mulyani Indrawati, a former finance minister of Indonesia, will also become chief operating officer, Kim said today. The heads of human resources and external relations will report to Kim directly, he said. (Bloomberg)