John McDermott

Executive Director

Our Executive Director, Dr John McDermott, is well known in New Zealand and internationally as a macroeconomist. 

Dr McDermott holds a PhD in Economics from Yale University. Before starting at Motu in March 2019, he was Assistant Governor and Chief Economist at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand: Te Pūtea Matua. He has previously worked at Victoria University of Wellington, National Bank of New Zealand, and the International Monetary Fund. He has been a Motu Associate since 2002 and has published articles on international commodity prices, real exchanges rates, and business cycles.