Alberto Rodriguez, a Colombian and Chilean national, joined the World Bank in 1997.  In his current role as Regional Director for Human Development in the East Asia and the Pacific Region, he oversees a portfolio of $9.8 billion comprising the World Bank’s work on Health, Education, Social Protection, Jobs and Gender. Before this assignment, Dr. Rodriguez was the Global Director for Strategy and Operations in Human Development.  He has served as Director for the Andean Region (which comprised Perú, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, and Venezuela), responsible for the World Bank’s strategic engagement in these countries, and oversight over the analytical and operational portfolio of $7.1 billion in these five countries in the Latin America and the Caribbean Region. Previously, Dr. Rodriguez was Manager for the Education Sector in the Europe and Central Asia Region, with management responsibility over all activities in the education sector in 22 countries in the Region.

Dr. Rodriguez has led the policy dialogue and has been project leader for World Bank activities in over 30 countries; his technical career has focused on skills and education, with particular emphasis on their effects on national competitiveness and economic growth. Dr. Rodriguez is credited for authoring seminal analytical work linking education to competitiveness and economic growth.

Prior to joining the World Bank, Dr. Rodriguez served as Technical Secretary of the Ministry of Education in Colombia.

Dr. Rodriguez holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá-Colombia, a MA in Educational Administration, a Masters in Public Administration (MPA), and a Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Administration from the University of Michigan.