He worked at the IMF for 10 years before joining Salomon in 1984, and helped lead the fund's exchange-rate surveillance and analyzed global capital markets. He received a bachelor's degree from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, and a doctorate in economics from Stanford University near Palo Alto, California.

Doesn't Seek Limelight

Unlike Strauss-Kahn, Lipsky is "low-key" and doesn't seek the spotlight, said Prasad, who described him as "capable" and "methodical."

Tom Block, a consultant and former head of government relations for JPMorgan, said he found Lipsky to be "very plugged into senior policy officials at Treasury, IMF and the Fed" when they were both working at the bank.

When the IMF announced May 12 that Lipsky would be leaving his post at the end of August, it also said he would stay on as a "special adviser" through the G-20 summit in November at the request of Strauss-Kahn, 62.

He was appointed by Strauss-Kahn's predecessor, Rodrigo de Rato, at a time when the IMF was criticized as irrelevant. That was before the worldwide financial panic triggered by the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in September 2008.

Since then, the fund had its resources tripled by the G-20, has helped rescue economies from Ukraine to Greece and was assigned by leaders a host of new missions that prompted the institution to raise its budget last month.

"He may not be by nature a politician," said Loser, the former IMF official, of Lipsky, whom he has known for at least 35 years. "But this may be a very good thing for the fund at this time."

 

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