Stanley Fischer

To call Stanley Fischer an “economist” is like calling the great Michelangelo “someone who liked to paint.” In the world of economics, Fischer is a bona fide “rock star,” renowned for his strategic ingenuity and methodologies for building stability in very unstable environments. His unique perspectives and keen understanding of the relationships between world markets, politics and regulatory concerns have made him an international thought leader. Throughout his 40+ year career, Fischer has achieved many of the highest honors in his field while serving in senior roles at some of the world’s most influential and successful financial institutions.

Most recently, Fischer served as the Governor for the Bank of Israel, where his successful handling of the Israeli economy in the aftermath of the global financial crisis enabled it to be the first bank in the developed world to raise interest rates. Under Fisher’s bold leadership, the 2010 IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook ranked The Bank of Israel first among all central banks as a result of its efficient functioning.

Prior to joining the Bank of Israel, Fischer was Vice Chairman of Citigroup from 2002 through 2005, where he was also Head of the Public Sector Group, Chairman of the Country Risk Committee, and President of Citigroup International. He was also the First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), from 1994 until 2001.

Fischer is the co-author of Macroeconomics, Economics, and author of Lectures in Macroeconomics, IMF Essays From a Time of Crisis, and Indexing, Inflation, and Economic Policy. From 1986 to 1994, he was editor of the NBER Macroeconomics Annual and his articles have been published extensively throughout the world.

In the field of Academia, Fisher served as Humanitas Visiting Professor in Economic Thought at the University of Oxford in 2012. He also was bestowed an honorary doctorate from Hebrew University in recognition for his contributions to field of economics. He began his career as an associate professor at the University of Chicago, followed by his role as the Killian Professor and Head of the Department of Economics at MIT.

Fischer is a Fellow of the Econometric Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a member of the G-30 and the Trilateral Commission, a Guggenheim Fellow, and a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research. He has served on the Boards of the Institute for International Economics, Women's World Banking and the International Crisis Group, as well as the International Advisory Board of the New Economic School, Moscow. He recently joined the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) as a distinguished fellow.

Fischer’s extensive knowledge of the global economy and mastery of building financial stability make him a strong speaker for both financial organizations and academic institutions interested in learning from one of the chief bastions of global economic leadership.