Stefano Scarpetta has been appointed Chief Economist of the OECD, effective April 1, 2026. Professor Scarpetta has a remarkable international reputation as an economist, based on more than three decades of high-profile service. Since 2013, he has led the OECD Directorate for Employment, Labour, and Social Affairs, where he has overseen landmark initiatives such as the OECD Employment Strategy and strengthened the Organization's ability to assess the impact of major structural transformations such as demographic change, digitalization, and artificial intelligence on labor markets and public services. He has also worked as a Sous-Sherpa for the G7 and G20 on employment and social policy concerns. Scarpetta's role as Chief Economist will include leading the OECD's Economics Department in generating robust, evidence-based studies, worldwide benchmarking, and country-specific economic policy recommendations. The Department's work assists policymakers in encouraging long-term economic growth, creating job opportunities, and boosting well-being in more than 100 nations globally. "In over thirty years at the OECD, he has consistently demonstrated exceptional leadership, deep expertise in economic analysis and public policy, and a strong commitment to advancing the OECD's mission and the collective interests of its members and partners", said OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann. Scarpetta began his work at the OECD in 1991, rising to the position of Senior Economist in the Economics Department in 1995. From 2002 to 2006, he was a labor market adviser and lead economist at the World Bank, before returning to the OECD's Economics Department in 2006. He led a division in the Department's country studies sector before moving on to more responsible positions in the Directorate he now leads. The Italian academic earned a PhD in Economics from the École des Hautes Études in Sciences Sociales (EHESS), a Master of Science in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a degree with honors from the University of Rome.