Lisa Finneran

Lisa Finneran is the Director of the Innovation Department at the World Bank Group (WBG), based in Washington, D.C. She leads efforts to build a collaborative and experimental innovation ecosystem within the WBG to support stronger development outcomes. This includes surfacing and accelerating high potential early-stage innovations, identifying systemic changes to nurture innovation, connecting dots to bring greater coherence and institutional support on key innovation agendas.

Lisa is recognized for her strategic thought leadership, her ability to drive transformative change and her experience in building consensus in complex negotiations.

She has over two decades of experience at the WBG, spanning senior roles across WB finance, operations and knowledge functions.  She was Director for Strategy and Operations in the office of the Managing Director for Operations while the WBG surged its support to clients during the COVID crisis. She played a pivotal role in the 2018 WBG Capital Increase negotiations, which increased financing capacity by over $300B dollars.    As Director for the International Development Association (IDA) 2014-2017, she spearheaded the transformation of IDA’s funding model that has doubled IDA’s financing capacity over the last decade, and introduced multiple innovations during the IDA18 replenishment, including for FCV countries, refugees, and private sector in low income countries. 

Before joining the World Bank, Lisa worked in the Washington and Jakarta offices of McKinsey & Company and lectured in Economics at the University of Oxford, Trinity College Dublin, and the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. An Irish citizen, she holds Masters and Doctorate degrees in Economics from the University of Oxford (St. John’s College) and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Trinity College Dublin.