James D. Wolfensohn

James D. Wolfensohn is chairman of Wolfensohn & Company, LLC, a private investment firm and an advisor to corporations and governments. He also chairs the International Advisory Panel of the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute.

James D. Wolfensohn is chairman of Wolfensohn & Company, LLC, a private investment firm and an advisor to corporations and governments. He also chairs the International Advisory Panel of the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute.

He became chairman of Citi International Advisory Board in 2006 and is also advisor to Citi’s senior management on global strategy and on international matters.  

In addition, he was the ninth president of the World Bank Group, a role he held from 1995 to mid 2005 when he left office and assumed the post of Special Envoy for Gaza Disengagement for the Quartet on the Middle East. Serving in that position until April 30, 2006, he helped coordinate Israel’s planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and spearheaded reconstruction efforts as Palestinians assumed sovereignty over the area.  

He is also chairman of the advisory group of the Wolfensohn Center, a research initiative focused on global poverty at the Brookings Institution.

As World Bank president, he travelled to more than 120 countries in order to pursue the challenges facing the World Bank regarding to poverty and environmental issues. He led initiatives on debt reduction, environmental sustainability, anti corruption programs and AIDS prevention and treatment.  
 
Prior to joining the World Bank, he was an international investment banker.