The Center for Global Development is a nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank. We use independent, evidence-based research to devise practical policy solutions for today’s most pressing development challenges.
Lawrence H. Summers was elected in March 2014 by a unanimous vote of the CGD Board to succeed founding Board Chair Edward Scott Jr.. Shortly before assuming his role as CGD board chair on May 1, Summers gave a speech at CGD at which he urged greater U.S. leadership at international financial institutions, such as the World Bank and IMF. Summers is the Charles W. Eliot University Professor and President Emeritus of Harvard University. During the past two decades, he has served in a series of senior policy positions in Washington, D.C., including the 71st Secretary of the Treasury for President Clinton, Director of the National Economic Council for President Obama and Vice President of Development Economics and Chief Economist of the World Bank.