Then: Student

Later: Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund

Kristalina Georgieva says her participation in a 1990 Seminar session “triggered a huge change in my professional life… Salzburg defines who I am.” A professor she met in Salzburg encouraged her to leave Bulgaria and attend MIT in the US, where she conducted research that led to a 20-year career at the World Bank. In 2010, she joined the European Commission, leading efforts to help people affected by conflict and natural disasters. In 2017, she rejoined the World Bank as CEO. “Kristalina is a globally recognized leader with a proven track record in improving the lives of those most in need,” World Bank president Jim Yong Kim wrote.