Juan José Daboub, managing director of the World Bank, spoke about the global financial crisis and its impact on Latin America, as well as the reform experience from his country El Salvador. He joined the World Bank in June 2006. He is the managing director responsible for the bank’s operations in 74 countries spanning Latin America and the Caribbean, East Asia and the Pacific, and the Middle East and North Africa. In addition, Daboub oversees other administrative vice presidencies and functions, including the Information Systems Group and the Department of Institutional Integrity.

Prior to joining the Bank Group, Daboub served concurrently as El Salvador’s Minister of Finance and Chief of Staff to the President. In this capacity, he helped to navigate his native country through several regional economic challenges – securing and sustaining El Salvador’s investment grade rating, dollarizing the economy, and completing a Free Trade Agreement with the United States. During this period, he also oversaw the reconstruction of El Salvador after two earthquakes in 2001.

Daboub led family-owned businesses for nearly a decade before joining the Board of CEL, El Salvador’s electric utility, and he presided over El Salvador’s electric distribution companies. Subsequently, he was named president of ANTEL, the state-owned telecommunications company, which he restructured and privatized through a competitive process. He served in three different governments over 12 years and then returned to the private sector. In 2004, he joined former El Salvadorian President Francisco Flores in forming the America Libre Institute, where he worked on several projects implementing proven public policies that had been successfully deployed throughout Latin America.