The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has nominated Dan Katz, chief of staff at the US Treasury Department, to serve as its next First Deputy Managing Director, the Fund announced Thursday.
Katz, a longtime confidant of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, will assume the IMF’s number-two position on October 6, pending approval by the Fund’s executive board.
He would succeed Gita Gopinath, who stepped down in August to return to Harvard University after a trailblazing tenure that included becoming the IMF’s first female chief economist in 2019 and later its deputy chief in 2022.
“Mr. Katz has been the principal advisor to the [Treasury] Secretary on a wide range of domestic and international matters,” the IMF said, highlighting his central role in shaping Washington’s economic partnership with Ukraine and in major global negotiations, including with China.
Katz, who previously worked at Goldman Sachs as an investment banker, is a Yale University graduate and a seasoned policy strategist. He also served as a senior Treasury official during Trump’s first term and previously consulted for Bessent’s hedge fund, according to sources familiar with his career.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva praised the nomination, saying Katz “believes deeply in the important role of the Fund in helping our member countries ensure economic and financial stability at a time of significant global transformation. His ability to build trust with diverse partners will be a vital asset to the Fund.”
AFP, which first reported Katz’s likely appointment earlier this week, quoted him as saying he remains focused on his Treasury role for now.
The nomination comes against a backdrop of criticism from President Donald Trump’s administration, which has accused the IMF and World Bank of drifting from their original mandates. In April, Bessent himself argued the two institutions must be “made fit for purpose again.”
If confirmed, Katz will step into the IMF’s leadership at a time when the institution faces mounting challenges—from global debt distress to fallout from conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East—making his role pivotal in shaping the Fund’s policy responses.
