MANILA, PHILIPPINES (22 February 2021) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has appointed Woochong Um as Managing Director General. Mr. Um will assume office immediately.
Mr. Um will report to ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa and support the President to institute bank-wide coherence on key initiatives and issues. He will play a key role in enhancing ADB’s internal and external communications across all activities that involve operations, knowledge, fundraising, and institutional reforms. He will support the President in providing oversight to ADB’s Department of Communications, Office of Professional Conduct, and Office of the Ombudsperson.
“I am deeply honored to join President Asakawa’s Management team and to support implementation of ADB’s Strategy 2030 beyond the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Mr. Um. “I look forward to using the knowledge and experience I have gained in the past 27 years at ADB to contribute to our organizational transformation and ensure we continue delivering high-quality development solutions to our members across the region.”
Mr. Um joined ADB in 1993. Since June 2018, he served as Director General and concurrently Chief Compliance Officer of ADB’s Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department. In this role he led ADB-wide knowledge management and innovation work in all thematic and sector operation areas; established ADB-wide sector and thematic policies and strategies; and ensured compliance with ADB’s environment and social safeguards policies. Mr. Um also oversaw the administration of trust funds and global funding initiatives and served as ADB’s focal point for COVID-19 response.
Mr. Um served as ADB Secretary from 2014 to 2018, Deputy Director General of the Regional and Sustainable Development Department from 2009 to 2014, and in various other senior positions in ADB. Prior to joining ADB, he worked for Pfizer Inc. in New York and Pitney Bowes Inc. in Stamford, Connecticut, United States.
Mr. Um, a national of the Republic of Korea, holds a Master of Business Administration degree from New York University Stern School of Business and a Bachelor of Computer Science degree from Boston College.
ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.
