Mario Pezzini – Profile

Meet Mario Pezzini. Economist, professor, political scientist, and he would probably add, “musician, actor”. Former Director of the OECD Development Centre and Special Advisor to the OECD Secretary General on development, Pezzini is a graduate of the University of Modena and Senior Fellow at the prestigious John Hopkins University. And a true friend to the Global South.

Pezzini first started his career in an Italian think tank created by former President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi. It was here that he first honed his political and economic craftsmanship that saw him become one of the undisputed experts in his field of work, as a result of which he was invited to teach as well as advise.
Pezzini thus went on to become a Professor in Industrial Economics at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris, where he taught students preparing for their careers in industry. He also taught students from the École Polytechnique and several universities in the US, Italy, and India. During this time, he also served as an advisor in the fields of economic development, industrial organisation, and regional economics to various international institutions and think tanks, such as the ILO, UNIDO, the European Commission, and Nomisma.

However, what has really defined Pezzini’s career has been, hands down, his time spent within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), where he played a major role in building a more globally representative table within the organisation. Under his mandate, the OECD Development Centre almost doubled its membership, welcoming countries from the Global South into its ranks.

Thanks to Pezzini’s dedication and hard work, the OECD Development Centre not only deepened its analysis of Africa, Latin America, and Asia but has also promoted a shift in the world’s economic centre of gravity. His contribution to the development of groundbreaking relations with the emerging economies of the Global South cannot be overstated enough.
We are proud to have him here, as a permanent contributor.