Leah Gutierrez is the Director General of ADB's Pacific Department and leads the implementation of the Pacific Approach 2020–2024, which serves as ADB’s overall country partnership strategy for 12 of its 14 Pacific developing members: Cook Islands, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. She also leads the implementation of ADB’s individual country partnership strategies for Fiji and Papua New Guinea.
Prior to Ms. Gutierrez’s appointment as Director General for the Pacific, she was the Deputy Director General for ADB’s Strategy, Policy, and Partnerships Department. In this role, she provided support to the operationalization of Strategy 2030—ADB’s long-term corporate strategy that sets out the institution’s broad vision and strategic response to the evolving needs of Asia and the Pacific. Ms. Gutierrez has also held senior roles in ADB’s Southeast Asia Department and the Office of the Secretary.
Before joining ADB in 2000, Ms. Gutierrez worked as an Assistant Professor at Syracuse University in the United States. She is a national of the Philippines, holds a doctorate and a master's degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania, and a bachelor's degree in business economics from the University of the Philippines.
Website: ADB.org