Dr. Barbara Kotschwar is Executive Director of Visa’s Economic Empowerment Institute (VEEI) where she manages a research team dedicated to stimulating ideas and discussion on digital payments, digital trade and digital equity. She represents Visa on the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on the New Agenda for Economic Growth and is a member of WEF’s expert group on trade policy and data flows as well as part of the community supporting the Africa E-Commerce Agenda. She previously served on the GFC on Trade and Investment. Dr. Kotschwar has worked at various international organizations, including the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank and Organization for American States and has advised governments across the globe on trade, investment and regional integration. At the Peterson Institute for International Economics her research focused on trade, investment and regional integration as well as the political economy of Latin America. Dr Kotschwar has taught economics and Latin American studies at Georgetown University since 1998 and has published on a wide range of issues relating to trade, investment and political economy. She holds a PhD from Johns Hopkins SAIS and undergraduate degrees in economics and political science from McGill University.