IMF Chief Georgieva proposes Scott Bessent’s chief of staff for No. 2 role

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday, September 18, its Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has proposed the appointment of Daniel Katz as first deputy managing director, the Fund’s second-highest position.

Katz currently serves as chief of staff to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and is regarded as his point person on China.

His proposed appointment is subject to approval by the IMF’s Executive Board.

If approved, Katz will take charge on October 6, 2025.



The vacancy follows the resignation of Gita Gopinath, who stepped down last month and plans to return to Harvard University. She had been nominated to the role by the Biden administration.

Katz, a Yale graduate and former Goldman Sachs banker, previously held a senior role in the first Trump administration. He was a key player in negotiations on the US economic partnership agreement with Ukraine and has been described as Bessent’s point person on China.

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His personal ties extend into global central banking circles — his 2019 wedding was officiated by former Bank of England Governor Lord Mervyn King.

What Katz's boss Scott Bessent said about IMF

The move comes against the backdrop of criticism of IMF from Katz’s current boss. In a recent speech in Washington, Bessent accused the IMF of “mission creep” and of promoting “woke causes.”

He argued that the Fund had devoted disproportionate resources to climate change, gender, and social issues, at the expense of its core macroeconomic work. “The IMF has been whistling past the graveyard,” Bessent said at the Institute of International Finance Forum.