Dr. Runchana Pongsaparn joined the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) as Group Head and Principal Economist in December 2022. She leads a group of economists to undertake macroeconomic and financial system surveillance on member economies in the ASEAN+3 region.

Before joining AMRO, Dr. Pongsaparn served as Deputy Director of the International Department at the Bank of Thailand (BOT), where she was in charge of the BOT’s cooperation with international organizations, primarily the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), as well as regional central banks. She has 18 years of experience as a central banker covering several key areas, namely: monetary policy, exchange rate policy, macroeconomic modelling and forecasting, macroeconomic analysis, monetary operations and financial markets, financial stability, banking risk assessment and crisis management. She was also a part-time lecturer for bachelors and masters courses in central banking, monetary policy, financial markets and institutions at Thammasat University, Chulalongkorn University and Kasetsart University between 2006-2022.

Dr. Pongsaparn also worked at the IMF for several years – as an economist and a financial sector expert. She is experienced in country and regional surveillance for countries in Asia and the Pacific. She was Mission Chief for technical assistance missions to countries in Asia and Africa in the areas of monetary policy, monetary operations and financial markets, as well as an assessor for Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) focusing on systemic risks and crisis management. She was also an IMF Financial Stability Advisor to the National Bank of Cambodia.

Dr. Pongsaparn holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Cambridge (UK), and a Ph.D. in Economics (Monetary Policy and Theory) from the University of Bristol (UK).