Shigeo Katsu, Regional Vice President

Shigeo Katsu joined the Bank in 1979 under the institution’s Young Professional program, and soon moved to the Western Africa Projects Department as an economist, first in the Energy, Water & Telecom Division, and later in the Water Supply & Urban Division. His activities in this sector included work on water supply and sanitation, as well as slum upgrading and power projects.  In 1985, Shigeo Katsu was appointed the Bank's first full-time Resident Representative in Benin, where he served until the autumn of 1989.

Between fall 1989 and end 1991, Shigeo Katsu was seconded to the Export-Import Bank of Japan as Deputy Director, Country Economic Policy Analysis Department, where he was responsible for introducing appraisal procedures for adjustment operations.

Between 1992 and 1995, Shigeo Katsu served as Principal Operations Officer for the Industry & Energy Operations Division in the China Department of the East Asia & Pacific Region, working primarily on enterprise reform and financial sector reform.  Shigeo Katsu was subsequently appointed Chief, and then Country Director, of the Bank's Regional Mission in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire.  In Abidjan, under his leadership, the Bank’s assistance program included work on governance issues, privatization, and reform of the cocoa sector.

In mid-1999, Shigeo Katsu moved to the Bank’s Europe and Central Asia Region as Operations Director in the Office of the Regional Vice President to assist the Regional Vice President in the management of the region.  Mr. Katsu was appointed Regional Vice President for the ECA Region in August 2003.

Prior to taking his first position at the World Bank, Shigeo Katsu worked for the United Nations Industrial Development Association (UNIDO) as a development advisor to the Ministry of Planning in Grenada.

Shigeo Katsu received his BA in International Relations/Economics from the Tokyo University for International Studies and pursued graduate studies at the Tokyo University. He also received a Diploma in International Economics/ International Relations from the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, Austria.  He speaks Japanese, English, French, and German fluently, and also has some working knowledge of Chinese and Russian. 

June 6, 2007