How must global institutions and firms involved in emerging market economies now operate in the aftermath of the world's financial crisis? In this audio interview, Stanford MBA student Lisa Scheible talks with James Wolfensohn, former president of World Bank, about what international financial organizations are doing to promote long-term development and prosperity. Drawing on decades of international leadership in business and public service, Wolfensohn describes how the crisis has affected progress to promote economic development, how previous thinking about development should now change, and what the rise of China and India means for the world.
This conversation was recorded as part of the 2009-2010 Public Management Initiative (PMI) at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Hosted by the Center for Social Innovation’s Public Management Program, the PMI is a yearlong, student-driven academic project focused on a specific public issue. The theme for 2010, Debating Tomorrow: The Changing World of Business, explores how business will have to change in light of the recent financial crisis and how, in turn, business might shape change in the future.
James D. Wolfensohn has had a long, visible, and highly distinguished career in business, finance, and public service. The central focus of his career has been investment banking and the economic development of emerging market economies. Wolfensohn is the chairman of Wolfensohn & Company, LLC, a private investment firm and an advisor to corporations and governments. He also serves as chairman of the International Advisory Board of Citigroup, Inc., and chairman of the advisory group of the Wolfensohn Center for Development, a new research initiative at the Brookings Institution focused on global poverty. From 1995 to 2005, he was president of World Bank, and was
the third president in the organization's history to be reappointed for
a second 5-year term by the board. During his tenure, World Bank became the largest external financier of primary education, basic health, HIV/AIDS programs, the environment, and biodiversity.
Lisa Scheible is a member of the Class of 2010 at the Stanford Graduate
School of Business and is a student leader for the 2009-2010 Public
Management Initiative. Her professional background is in management
consulting and international development. She holds a BA in public
policy and economics from Duke University.
Resources
This free podcast is from our Stanford Discussions series.
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