Succession planning is already underway at World Bank, the media have speculated at length about possible replacements, and Zoellick continues to tantalise Bankwatchers by keeping mum.  But hold on, this is the wrong way round, isn’t it?

Zoellick was selected in 2007, the year before the Bank’s governors, the G20 and virtually every related international institution you can think of began repeatedly promising we’d have a merit-based process next time. Well, next time is now.  No matter what Zoellick wants, the Bank’s board should organise a transparent process for his successor, even if Zoellick decides he wants another shot.

So, when should they do this?  Continue reading →

Given common assumptions that the US will select the next President and there will be no merit-based selection process, I thought I’d check out what organisations that try to combat corruption thought of this idea.

Where better place to start than the institution that’s just launching a new governance and anti-corruption strategy, the same one that publishes worldwide governance indicators. Yes, it’s the World Bank. Continue reading →

I’ve been looking through old blogs and reports from last time, and thought you’d enjoy this parody that neatly explains how absurd the traditional ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ that allows the US to pick the World Bank president is. Continue reading →

As speculation grows about the timing of Bob Zoellick’s departure announcement, it’s time to reflect on the process, and on the qualifications for his successor, independently of speculation on good or bad potential candidates.

In June 2007 the Executive Directors of the World Bank should have set in place their own oversight mechanisms, and procedures for evaluating Zoellick’s performance, and that of his management team. They didn’t do that.

A way to start would have been to get the a baseline measure of his skills as a manager and leader, from what he had done before in his long years in the US government, and his brief stints at Goldman Sachs and Fannie Mae. They didn’t do that.

They might also have agreed on a private annual feedback process from Board members, based on input from staff, senior colleagues, and clients on their interactions with him. They didn’t do that.

In 2007 very few anticipated the Great Recession, and its impact on both rich and poor countries, but they could have asked Bob Zoellick for his vision of the future of the World Bank Group, and his ideas for leading the organization and its stakeholders–including the Executive Directors–toward that vision.  They didn’t do that.

As Robert Zoellick prepares to move on, maybe, to use IDA tagline’s, “now is the time.”