Lisa Kaestner
Country Manager for Ukraine, International Finance Corporation
Strength in Unity:
Building Ukraine’s Future
Speaker's Bio
Lisa Kaestner was appointed IFC’s Regional Manager for Ukraine and Moldova in 2022, and later assumed the role of Country Manager for Ukraine. In this capacity, she leads IFC’s efforts to mobilize investment and support private sector development, while overseeing the institution’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the region’s post-war recovery agenda.
Ms. Kaestner stepped into this role at a time of profound disruption and economic uncertainty. Despite the challenges, she remains focused on unlocking the potential of the private sector to drive recovery and economic transformation across the region.
A U.S. national, Ms. Kaestner joined IFC in 1999 as Resident Representative in Georgia. Since then, she has held a variety of leadership roles across both IFC and the World Bank, primarily in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Over the past four years, she expanded her regional experience to Africa, where she led IFC’s advisory services to governments in Eastern and Southern Africa. Her work supported reforms and policy implementation to foster private sector-led growth across sectors such as agribusiness, tourism, housing, ICT, and financial services.
Most recently, she briefly served as Country Manager for Sri Lanka and the Maldives before being asked to take on the role in Ukraine and Moldova, in response to the extraordinary circumstances in the region.
Prior to joining IFC, Ms. Kaestner worked with several nonprofit development organizations in the South Caucasus. She holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Economics from Princeton University.
