Antonella Bassani is Vice President of the Europe and Central Asia Region at the World Bank. In this position, Antonella leads the World Bank's strategic, financing and knowledge work for this region.

Antonella has held several senior leadership positions in the World Bank, including most recently as Vice President for Budget, Performance Review and Strategic Planning. Prior to that she was responsible for overseeing operations in two regions as Director for Strategy and Operations (East Asia and Pacific, Middle East and North Africa), providing leadership and support to regional teams in the delivery of high-quality strategies and operations, flexible and innovative financing, and knowledge services. She also played a leading role in the innovative and strategic mobilization of Bank resources, including two successful replenishments for the lnternational Development Association.

Antonella has over 30 years of experience with a unique blend of operational knowledge and financial expertise working in development, economic management and poverty reduction in East Asia and Pacific, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Caribbean, and Middle East and North Africa regions overseeing large and complex projects and multi-disciplinary teams. Antonella is recognized as an experienced and innovative leader that uses her blend of operational and financial expertise, to ensure high quality strategies, operations and knowledge, portfolio performance, financing solutions, and the promotion of bilateral and multilateral partnerships.

Antonella joined the World Bank through the Young Professional Program in 1993. Before joining the Bank, she worked at the OECD in Paris. She holds an M.A. and a Ph.D. in lnternational Economics from the Johns Hopkins University.