Lars H. Thunell, a Swedish national, is Executive Vice President and CEO of IFC (International Finance Corporation), a member of the World Bank Group.
Mr. Thunell is leading IFC in its mission to promote sustainable private sector development. Since joining the Corporation in January 2006, Mr. Thunell has advanced growth of IFC’s business and its mission to create opportunities in emerging markets and improve people’s lives. He has visited 60 developing countries to see firsthand how IFC can best help its clients with financing and advisory services, and endorsed further decentralization of IFC.
Mr. Thunell joined IFC after a successful career in the financial services industry. Most recently, he was the Chief Executive Officer of SEB, a North European commercial and investment bank. In the 1990s, Mr. Thunell served as the Chief Executive Officer of Trygg-Hansa, a Swedish insurance company, and as Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Nordbanken.
As President and Chief Executive Officer of Securum, an asset management company established by the Swedish government, he played a key role in the government’s strategy for resolving the country’s banking crisis of the 1990s. Under Mr. Thunell’s leadership, Securum was able to restructure and sell off distressed assets held by the government more quickly than originally expected, recovering value for the Swedish taxpayer.
Previously, he worked at ABB Zurich and at American Express in New York. He has also held numerous board positions with international companies and nongovernmental organizations.
Mr. Thunell graduated with a doctorate from the University of Stockholm and was a research fellow at the Harvard University Center for International Affairs.
