Outgoing Reserve Bank Governor Bollard to be next Executive Director of APEC for three years from January 2013

By Alex Tarrant in Vladivostok

Outgoing Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard, who finishes the role on September 25, has been named as the next Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat.

Bollard will begin a three-year term heading the trade body on January 1, 2013.

See the release from APEC below:

Vladivostok, Russia, 6 Sep 2012 - During their meeting on Thursday in Vladivostok, APEC Ministers welcomed the successful selection and appointment of New Zealand Reserve Bank Governor Dr Alan Bollard who will be the Secretariat's second Executive Director for a fixed term. He was introduced to APEC Ministers on Thursday.

Dr Bollard will begin his three-year term on 1 January 2013 as head of the Singapore-based APEC Secretariat, the coordinating, technical and advisory body that supports sustainable economic growth and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific.

Russia’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Igor Morgulov, who is the chair of the APEC 2012 Senior Officials, said that Dr Bollard brings to APEC experience as one of the region’s key economic architects. This includes a decade as New Zealand Reserve Bank Governor as well as serving as the Treasury Secretary and Commerce Commission Chairman.

“APEC Ministers welcome Dr Bollard’s selection to fill this important and challenging position after competing against a strong pool of candidates,” said Morgulov. “He will continue to strengthen the operational and institutional capabilities of the APEC Secretariat and we look forward to working with him in the years to come.”

“Dr Bollard’s astute management of financial and economic policy and experience running policymaking institutions, even during volatile times, adds value to APEC’s shared commitment to sustainable growth and development,” Morgulov continued. “His leadership will help guide APEC’s work to advance its agenda to boost trade and recovery.”

Further bolstering Dr Bollard’s credentials are his former roles as New Zealand Advisory Member of the Financial Stability Board and Chair of the Executives’ Meeting of East Asia-Pacific Central Banks, a cooperative organization of central banks and monetary authorities in the region.

“I am honored to join the APEC Secretariat to help drive forward APEC member economies’ framework and initiatives for achieving reinvigorated growth and development through greater cooperation,” said Dr Bollard.

“In this capacity, I look forward to working closely with all 21 members and, in particular, with Indonesia, China and the Philippines as incoming APEC hosts for the next three years, to achieve APEC’s common objective to expand free and open trade and investment in the region.”

Over the past 20 years, Dr Bollard played a role in helping guide New Zealand’s development to a more sophisticated and globally integrated economy. These reforms ushered in significant change that transformed its technological capabilities.

He also helped to steer New Zealand out of a recession that hit in 2008 and was exacerbated by the global financial crisis. Furthermore, Dr Bollard helped lead New Zealand’s financial response to the disruptive Christchurch earthquakes in 2011 which resulted in around USD24 billion in estimated damage claims.

A prolific writer, Dr Bollard has commented extensively on the financial crisis, foreign direct investment and economic trends and policies.

Dr Bollard will be the APEC Secretariat’s second fixed term Executive Director, succeeding Ambassador Muhamad Noor who has served in that role since 1 January 2010.

Dr Bollard’s term as the APEC Secretariat’s new leader will run until 31 December 2015.