Ngaire Woods
Ngaire Woods is an Oxford professor and founding dean of the Blavatnik School of Government who helps leaders and organisations understand global economic governance, international institutions, and the policy challenges of globalisation.
- Founding Dean of the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford and Professor of Global Economic Governance.
- Founder of Oxford’s Global Economic Governance Programme and co-founder of the Oxford–Princeton Global Leaders Fellowship programme.
- Author of books on international institutions and global regulation, including The Globalizers: The IMF, the World Bank, and Their Borrowers and The Politics of Global Regulation.
- Advisor to international organisations and public bodies including the IMF, the African Development Bank, the UNDP Human Development Report and Commonwealth Heads of Government.
- Presenter of documentaries for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Two.
- Recipient of a CBE for services to higher education and public policy and member of major international academic societies.
Full Profile
Key speaking topics
- Global economic governance
- International financial institutions
- The IMF and the World Bank
- Global regulation and international cooperation
- Globalisation and public policy
- Governance challenges in global development
- International institutions and economic policy
- Leadership and public policy in complex global systems
Ideal for
- Government leaders and policymakers
- International organisations and multilateral institutions
- Corporate leaders operating in global markets
- Conferences on global policy, economics, governance, and international relations
Audience outcomes
- Clearer understanding of how global institutions shape economic policy and development
- Insight into the governance challenges facing international cooperation
- Perspective on the role of the IMF, World Bank and other institutions in global economic systems
- Frameworks for thinking about regulation, policy coordination and global governance
Why organisations work with Ngaire Woods
- Combines academic authority with practical advisory experience across major international institutions.
- Provides informed analysis of how global governance and economic institutions affect policy, business and international cooperation.
- Brings deep insight from leading research, global policy engagement and leadership within one of the world’s foremost schools of government.
- Helps organisations understand complex global systems and the policy forces shaping international markets and development.
Biography
Ngaire Woods is Professor of Global Economic Governance at the University of Oxford and the founding Dean of the Blavatnik School of Government. Her work focuses on the institutions, policies and governance frameworks that shape the global economy, offering leaders insight into how international organisations influence economic stability, development and cooperation.
At Oxford, she founded the Global Economic Governance Programme and co-founded the Oxford–Princeton Global Leaders Fellowship programme. Through these initiatives she has helped advance research and dialogue on the role of international institutions, global regulation and the policy challenges created by an increasingly interconnected global economy.
Her expertise is widely sought by governments and international organisations. She has advised bodies including the International Monetary Fund, the African Development Bank, the UNDP Human Development Report and Commonwealth Heads of Government on issues related to global economic policy, development and institutional governance.
Alongside her academic leadership, Woods contributes to a range of international boards and advisory groups across public policy, governance, education and international development. She has also served on a number of international advisory panels and boards connected to organisations including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Arup, the Centre for International Governance Innovation and the World Economic Forum.
Woods is the author of influential books on global governance and international institutions, including The Globalizers: The IMF, the World Bank, and Their Borrowers and The Politics of Global Regulation. Her research and writing examine how global financial institutions operate, how they shape policy in borrowing countries and how regulatory systems evolve in a globalised economy.
Beyond academia, she has presented documentaries for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Two, helping bring complex global economic issues to wider audiences. Her contribution to higher education and public policy has been recognised with a CBE, and she is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Originally educated at the University of Auckland, where she completed degrees in economics and law, Woods later studied at Balliol College, Oxford as a New Zealand Rhodes Scholar, earning an MPhil with distinction and a DPhil in International Relations. She subsequently held a Junior Research Fellowship at New College, Oxford, taught in Harvard’s Government Department, and returned to Oxford to pursue her academic career.