Speakers

Qualifications

PhD in Economics (UCL)
Master’s degree in Public and International Affairs (Princeton)

Career 

• Governor of the National Bank of Belgium since 02.01.2019
• Vice-Governor of the National Bank of Belgium (11.03.2015-01.01.2019)
• Director of the National Bank of Belgium (01.06.2011-01.01.2019)
• Director of the "Cellule Stratégique des Finances" (01.10.2008-31.05.2011)
• Various positions held within Electrabel (2004-2008)
• Various positions held within Tractebel EGI (2001-2004)
• Head of cabinet of Alain Zenner, Government Commissioner to the Minister of Finance (2000-2001)
• Various positions, including deputy head of cabinet, held in the cabinet of Secretary of State Eric André
• (Brussels-Capital Region) (1996-2000)
• Expert at the Belgian Federal Planning Bureau (1995-1996)
• Assistant/researcher: CORE, FUSL, LEI-CREST (INSEE) and DELTA (Ecole Normale Supérieure/university-level teacher training college) (1992-1995)

Other current mandates or functions

• European Central Bank
  Member of the Governing Council and the General Council as from 02.01.2019
• International Monetary Fund
  Governor as from 02.01.2019
• National Bank of Belgium
  Chairman of the Resolution College as from 02.01.2019
  (Member as from 25.04.2015)
• Bank for International Settlements
  Director as from 25.01.2017
  Chairman of the Audit Committee as from 03.06.2020
• High Council of Finance
  Member as from 19.03.2012
  R.D. 19.03.2012 - M.B. 30.03.2012
• “Public sector borrowing requirements” section of the High Council of Finance
  President as from 07.04.2019
  R.D. 07.04.2019 - M.B. 19.04.2019
  Member as from 19.03.2012
  R.D. 19.03.2012 - M.B. 30.03.2012
• Bureau of the High Council of Finance
  Member as from 19.03.2012
  R.D. 28.03.2012 - M.B. 20.04.2012-Ed.2
• National Accounts Insitute
  Member of the Board of Directors as from 02.01.2019
• King Baudouin Foundation
  Chairman as from 14 January 2022
• European Systemic Risk Board
  Member as from 021.01.2019
• EUROPALIA
  Member of the Board of Directors as from 02.01.2019
• Carnegie Hero Fund
  Member of the Commission as from 02.01.2019

Born: February 27, 1949, Leoben

Education

1997/98 Executive Development Program, Harvard Business School

1983 Habilitation (venia legendi for public finance, economic policy and applied economic theory), University of Vienna

1977 Doctoral degree in economics, University of Vienna

1972/73 Doctoral studies in economics, Université de Grenoble

1972 Master’s degree in economics, University of Graz

Employment record and positions

Since Sept.2019 Governor of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank, Vienna, and member of the Governing Council, European Central Bank

Since 2016 Elected Fellow, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna

Since 2013 Honorary Professor, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

2012–2015 Old Age Financial Protection Chair, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2009–2011 Research Director, Center for Mediterranean Integration, and Senior Advisor, Financial Literacy & Education Research Program, both World Bank

2002–2003 Acting Senior Vice President, Human Development Network, World Bank

1997–2009 Sector Director and Sector Board Head, World Bank

1992–2003 Full professor for international economics and European economy, Department of Economics; Managing Director of the Europa-Institut, both Saarland University, Germany (leave of absence from 1997)

Since 1990 Consultant: IMF, World Bank, OECD, European Union, Oesterreichische Nationalbank, Council of Europe, International Labour Organization (ILO), etc.

1988–90 Senior Economist, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Washington

1985–87 Senior Economist, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Paris

1983–2005 Research Director, Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Economic Policy Analysis, Vienna 1975–92 Assistant/Associate Professor, Department of Economics, University of Vienna

1973–75 Lecturer of economics, Department of Economics, University of Graz

Fellowships and memberships

Research Fellow, CESifo, Munich

Research Fellow, IZA Institute of Labor Economics, Bonn

Associate Editor, Economics, e-journal

Member, Editorial and Advisory Board of the International Journal of Social Security and Workers Compensation, Australia

Member, Editorial Board of Journal of Public Policy

Member, Scientific Advisory Board, Population Europe

Distinguished Associate, International Atlantic Economic Society

Distinguished Research Fellow, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Evelien Witlox is the ECB’s digital euro program director. She has extensive managerial experience in the payments industry, including as ING Global Head of Payments and General Director Products and Innovation at equensWorldline. She has been board member of both European Payment Council and European Automated Clearing House Association.

Jan Ceyssens is Head of the “Digital Finance” Unit in the Directorate General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union at the European Commission. He was previously  Member and Deputy Head of the Cabinet of Vice President Dombrovskis and Member of the Cabinet of Vice-President Barnier, and Team Leader for Financial Supervision at the European Commission's Internal Markets and Services Directorate General. He graduated in law from Humboldt University in Berlin and holds a Masters degree in European Law from King's College London. He works at the European Commission since 2006, initially in the Directorate General for Competition's Cartels enforcement Directorate and since 2009 in the Internal Markets and Services Directorate General.

• Born in 1960, in Tessenderlo, Belgium
• Holds a Master’s Degree in Pedagogy (University of Leuven)
• Joined company in 1988
• Career: Between 1985 and 1988, he held various positions, including at the University of Leuven, teaching at a technical college and working as an after-sales representative for an Apple dealer. He began his career with Kredietbank/KBC group in 1988 as Computer Literacy & Self-Study Training Manager and was promoted to Payments & E-Banking Product Manager in 1991. At that time, he was also made a member of the Management Committee for Isabel (the main supplier of multi-bank services for business users in Belgium set up in 1995 on the initiative of four large banks, including Kredietbank/KBC). In 1996, he was appointed ICT Manager for the branch network, then General Manager, ICT Development, and in 2003, General Manager of the ICT Data Centre. From 2004 to 2006, he was a Member of the Management Committee of Nova Ljubljanska banka (NLB), KBC’s banking subsidiary in Slovenia, where he was responsible for ICT and preparing NLB for the introduction of the euro. He returned to Belgium in 2006 in the role of General Manager, Training, Education & Recruitment. He was Senior General Manager, HR, Facility Services & Financial Reporting at the Belgium Business Unit of the KBC group from 2008 to 2013. He has been Senior General Manager, Direct Channels & Support at that business unit since 2013 and was also appointed Chief Innovation Manager for the KBC group in 2016. In 2017, he became member of the Executive Committee of KBC Group.