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The board of directors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), acting on the recommendation of President Tadao Chino, has created a fourth vice-president position, which will be filled by Geert van der Linden, with effect from <

  • xml:namespace prefix = st1 /> September 1, 2003 .

    As vice-president, van der Linden will oversee the ADB’s knowledge management and sustainable development activities.

    He joins the three other vice-presidents on the ADB’s management team under President Chino: Vice-President (Operations I) Liqun Jin, who succeeds Myoung-Ho Shin, Vice-President (Operations 2) Joseph Eichenberger, and Vice-President (Finance and Administration) John Lintjer.

    Van der Linden is Special Advisor to the president, developing the ADB’s role in the areas of knowledge management, policy, and strategy. Most recently in this role, he headed the ADB’s response team to the region’s severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) outbreak.

    His new responsibilities will include management of the operations of the ADB’s Regional and Sustainable Development Department, Economics and Research Department, and the Office of External Relations.

    He has more than 25 years of experience in Asia and the Pacific, covering all facets of international development banking, including economic and sector analysis, project design and implementation, and strategy and policy work.

    The bank has also appointed Young-Hoi Lee to the newly created position of managing director general (MD).

    As MD, Lee will be engaged mainly in high-level coordination and synthesis of work among the ADB’s four vice-presidents, under the overall guidance of the president.

    Lee enters the ADB from the Export-Import Bank of Korea , where he has held the position of chairman and president since 2001.

    There, he has been in charge of extending financial support for export and import transactions, overseas investment projects, and the development of natural resources abroad. In particular, he manages the Economic Development Cooperation Fund, to provide official development assistance to developing countries.