Michal Rutkowski is the Regional Director for Human Development for Europe and Central Asia (ECA). Previously, he was the Global Director for Social Protection and Jobs from 2016-2023, where he oversaw the World Bank’s work to protect the poorest and vulnerable from crises and shocks, while supporting private sector-led growth. 

Previously he was the Director for Multilateral Organizations. Prior to that he was the Country Director for the Russian Federation and the Resident Representative in Moscow for three years. 

Mr. Rutkowski joined the World Bank in 1990. He was a country economist for the Russian Federation between 1995-1996, and after taking a brief leave from the Bank, returned as Sector Manager for social protection between 1998-2004, where he led a team of professionals working on pensions, labor market and social assistance reforms in 28 countries of Central and Eastern Europe and former Soviet Union, as well as in Turkey.

Mr. Rutkowski’s published work covers issues on labor markets and social security. He was a core team member of the World Development Report “Workers in an Integrated World”- the World Bank’s annual flagship research publication - in 1995.

Prior to joining the World Bank, he helped design the Polish pension system while serving as the Director of the Office for Social Security Reform. He also taught at the Institute of Economic Policy at the Warsaw School of Economics. 

Mr. Rutkowski holds an M.Sc. and Ph.D from Warsaw School of Economics and finished his post-graduate studies at the London School of Economics. He also graduated from the Executive Development program at the Harvard Business School in 1999, and from the Leadership for Collective Intelligence program run by Dialogos in 2010.