Graduated from the University of Bonn in 1990, and from MIT with a Ph.D. in Economics in 1995. Staff member of the International Monetary Fund from 1994 until 2008 (Research, Western Hemisphere and European II Departments). Director of Research and Deputy Chief Economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) between 2008 and March of 2014. Director-General for Economic Policy, German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy from April 2014 until September 2016. Presently Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics, Washington, DC. Research and policy interests include: financial crises, international financial architecture, economic growth, economics of transition, Euro area, emerging markets.