Effective communication strategies for central banks Q4/23

Marek Petruš is an external relations consultant with deep expertise in financial and economic policy communications. He has worked closely with top monetary policymakers as a strategic advisor to governors in the Czech Republic as well as more than a dozen low-to-middle income developing countries. He has been affiliated with the International Monetary Fund as a short-term expert for central bank communications, advising central banks across Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa to make their policies more transparent and on modernising their communications. His expertise and experience stems from an assignment as Director of Communications and later chancellor at the Czech National Bank (CNB), preceded by a career with the world’s leading news media companies, including Reuters and the Wall Street Journal. During his tenure, the Czech central bank upgraded its policy communications and brought its transparency and communication toolkit into line with global best practices. These advances helped solidify the CNB’s standing as one of the world's most transparent and best communicating central banks.

In 2004, joined the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) on the position of economist responsible for forecasting money market performance. From 2008 to 2019, worked as the Head of Unit, Deputy Head of Division, Head of the Division for Monetary Policy Strategy, Deputy Director of Monetary Policy and Economic Analysis Department. In December 2019, was appointed as a Director of Monetary Policy and Economic Analysis Department. Has contributed to implementing inflation targeting regime in Ukraine, elaborating strategic documents on monetary policy and developing a rules-based monetary policy framework.

Graduated from Kyiv National Economic University with MA degree (with honors) in Finance (2004). Holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Ukrainian Academy of Banking. Has published extensively on monetary, macroeconomic, and modeling issues.

Within the DG Communications at Deutsche Bundesbank Astrid Lipfert is the Deputy Head of Press and Public Relations Division. Her team is responsible for strategic issues of the department, direct communication with the general public, regional communication activities and Bundesbank’s art collection. Astrid has been working at Deutsche Bundesbank for 20 years. She has held several positions in different departments including leading the website team and senior adviser to the Director General Communications. Astrid holds a degree in Central Banking from the Deutsche Bundesbank University of Applied Sciences and a degree in Business informatics.

Christian Beslmeisl is the Deputy Head of Communications at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). His team is responsible for the BIS’s website, www.bis.org, its Social Media channels, intranet and for visual communications services. Christian joined the BIS as a Senior Business Analyst in 2002 and in this role was responsible for developing the BIS’s intranet. He has held increasingly responsible positions at the BIS, including Head of Publishing. Prior to joining the BIS, Christian worked for the Deutsche Bundesbank, with his last position being deputy team leader of the eCollaboration team. Christian holds a degree from the Deutsche Bundesbank University of Applied Sciences

Gabriel Glöckler is a seasoned central banker, economist and communicator. Since 1999, he has served the European Central Bank in a variety of senior roles. As Principal Adviser, he is currently part of the senior leadership of the Bank’s communications department, where he spearheads innovation to communicate ECB policy to the wider public more effectively. He is also a Chief Editor of the ECB blog. Prior to this, Gabriel led the ECB’s General Secretariat and its European Union department. He also spent five years as chief of staff to the ECB’s Vice-President and worked as an economist. Gabriel studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford University and holds a Master’s degree from the College of Europe in Bruges, where he has also been a Visiting Professor for the last decade. He is a regular public speaker, including in the media. His academic work on European integration and central bank communication has been published widely.