XVIII Meeting of Heads of Monetary Policy

André Amante is the Head of the Open Market Operations Department at Banco Central do Brasil (BCB). He is responsible for implementing the BCB's monetary operations, managing the central depository system for federal government securities, and providing assessments on monetary policy topics at the MPC meetings. Previously, he worked as a Senior Advisor in the same department from 2001 to 2018 and as a Researcher in the BCB's Research Department from 1999 to 2001. Mr. Amante holds a Master degree in Business Administration from the COPPEAD School of Business and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, both from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Óscar Arce is the Director General Economics at the European Central Bank (ECB). Previously, he worked at Banco de España, where he served as Director General of Economics, Statistics and Research, Associate Director General of Economics and Research, Director of Monetary and Financial Studies, and Head of the Macroeconomic Analysis and Forecasting Division. Formerly, he was the Director of the Research and Statistics Department at the Spanish Securities Markets Commission (CNMV), Deputy Director General at the Economic Bureau of the Spanish Prime Minister, and Senior Economist at the Banco de España. Mr. Arce holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a M.Sc. in Economics from University College London. He is an alternate member of the European Central Bank's Governing Council, member of the ECB's Monetary Policy Committee, and member of the EU's Economic and Financial Committee. Before, he was involved in the work of several international bodies, including the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB), and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).

Germán Feldman is the Economic Research Deputy General Manager at the Central Bank of Argentina. He holds an Undergraduate degree in Economics from Universidad de Buenos Aires and a Master degree in Economics from Universidad de San Andrés. Mr. Feldman also holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität. Prior to his current position at the Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA), he was a member of the Board at the BCRA (2013-2016) and Superintendent of Financial and Foreign Exchange Institutions (2014-2015). Before working at the BCRA, he was an Advisor at the Undersecretariat for Macroeconomic Programming, Ministry of Economy of Argentina (2012-2013). He has written various papers on macroeconomics, economic development, and history of economic thought. He was Coordinator of Macroeconomics and Development Financing of the Master program in Economic Development at Instituto de Altos Estudios Sociales (IDEAS, UNSAM), where he was also a Professor of Macroeconomics. He has given courses at Universidad Nacional Arturo Jauretche (UNAJ), Universidad Nacional de Quilmes (UNQ), and Instituto del Servicio Exterior de la Nación (ISEN). In addition, he has lectured at many conferences and seminars, both in Argentina and abroad.

Franz Hamann is the Director of the Macroeconomic Modeling Department of the Bank of the Republic, Colombia. He has published in local and international academic journals in the areas of macroeconomics and international economics. He has been a Visiting Scholar at the International Monetary Fund and has advised several central banks of the region. He holds a Master degree at Universidad de los Andes and a Ph.D. at North Carolina State University.

Markus Kirchner has been the Manager of Macroeconomic Analysis at the Central Bank of Chile since March 2020. Mr. Kirchner holds Ph.D. and M.Sc. degrees in Economics from the University of Amsterdam (the Netherlands), an M.Phil. in Economics from the Tinbergen Institute (the Netherlands), and a B.A. in European Economic Studies from the University of Bamberg (Germany). He has also studied at the Complutense University of Madrid (Spain). He joined the Bank in 2011 as a Senior Economist in the Macroeconomic Analysis Unit (2011-2014). He later served as Head of the Models and Forecasts Department (2014-2015), Head of the Economic Modelling Department (2015-2018), Manager of Financial Research (2018-2019) and Manager of Financial Studies (2019-2020). Previously, he had worked at the Economic Research Centre of Deutsche Bundesbank (German Federal Bank) and the Fiscal Policies Division of the European Central Bank. Mr. Kirchner has lectured at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, the University of Amsterdam, the Tinbergen Institute, and the University of Bamberg, where he has taught courses on macroeconomics and international finance, among others. He has also published several book chapters and articles in leading journals in these fields.

Carlos Montoro has been the Monetary Policy Manager at the Central Reserve Bank of Peru (BCRP) since March 2020. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and a B.Sc. in Economics from Universidad del Pacífico (Lima, Peru). Previously he held the following positions: BCRP Deputy Manager for Monetary Policy Design (2018-2020); General Director of Macroeconomic and Fiscal Policy at the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Peru (2017-2018); Macro-Fiscal Studies Director at the Fiscal Council of Peru (2016-2017); Economic Studies Director at the Latin American Reserve Fund (FLAR) (2015, Bogotá, Colombia); and Senior Economist at the BIS Representative Office for the Americas (2010-2014, Mexico City). He has also held various positions at the BCRP (1995-2010).

Manuel Ramos-Francia has a B.A. in Economics (with highest honors) from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM). He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship for graduate studies in the United States. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Yale University, where he graduated in 1993, specializing in Advanced Economic Theory and Financial Economics.

He has been Professor of Economics, having taught Advanced Macroeconomics, Open Economy Macroeconomics, Monetary Theory and Policy, and Financial Economics, and Director of the Center for Analysis and Economic Research at ITAM in Mexico. Dr. Ramos-Francia has held several positions at the Ministry of Finance: Deputy Minister (for Revenues), Chief Economist, and Chief Adviser to the Minister of Finance. He joined Banco de México in 2001, first serving as a Senior Adviser to the Board, then as Director General for Economic Research (Chief Economist) and, from April 2011 to December 2018, as Vice-Governor and Member of the Board. Currently, he is the Director General of the Center for Latin American Monetary Studies (CEMLA). 

He has given seminars at universities such as Yale Economics, Harvard Business, Harvard Law, Columbia Public Policy, the University of Chicago Business, and ITAM, among others. He has also given conferences and seminars at many central banks such as the Fed, the NY Fed, the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Banque de France, and the central banks of Argentina, Ecuador, Jamaica, Peru, Guatemala, Turkey, and others, as well as at international financial organizations such as the IMF, the BIS, the World Bank, the IIF, and the IADB. Also, at organizations such as LACEA, LAMES, the International Economic Association (IEA), the Reinventing Bretton Woods Committee, and the Adam Smith Seminar. He has also been invited to be a member of the Bretton Woods Committee.

Manuel Ramos-Francia represented Mexico in the G20 Central Bank Deputies Group from 2010 to 2018. He was Chairman of the Deputies of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) of the IMF from 2015 to 2017. Similarly, he presided over the Central Bank Deputies Group under Mexico's G20 Presidency in 2012. He was given the Professional Merit Service Award from ITAM in 2009.

He has published various articles on monetary policy, fiscal policy, trade and applied econometrics in refereed economics journals such as: Journal of Money Credit and Banking, Economics Letters, Journal of Financial Stability, and Quarterly Journal of Finance, and many others, as well as in specialized books. He has refereed for journals such as: Journal of Money, Credit and Banking; Empirical Economics; Review of World Economics; International Journal of Economic Sciences and Applied Research; The World Economy, and others. He is Editor-in-Chief of the Latin American Journal of Central Banking. Also, he was a member of the Association of the IJCB's (International Journal of Central Banking) Management Committee.

Alejandrina Salcedo is currently the Director General of Economic Research at Banco de México. She has a long-standing career at Mexico’s central bank, where she has held the positions of Director of Prices, Regional Economies and Information Analysis, Director of Economic Measurement, and Manager of the Real Sector Research Division. She has also served in Mexico’s government as Chief Economist at the Ministry of Finance. She holds a degree in Economics from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM), where she graduated with honors, and an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Economics from Stanford University.

Leonardo Vicente is currently the Manager of Monetary Policy at the Central Bank of Uruguay (BCU); formerly, he held various positions at the BCU, such as Manager of Macroeconomic Analysis, Head of the Macroeconomic Modelling Department, and Head of the Fiscal Analysis Department. He is also a Professor of advanced macroeconomics and public finance at the Universidad de la República and previously at Universidad Católica del Uruguay. He holds a degree in Economics from Universidad de la Republica (Uruguay) and a Master of Science in Economics from the London School of Economics. He has published in several refereed journals, such as Revista de Economía of the Central Bank of Uruguay and Cuadernos de Economía of UCUDAL. His main areas of interest are macroeconomics, monetary economics, public finance, and econometric modelling.