Central Banking, Policy Implementation, and Balance Sheets
Since the Global Financial Crisis, central banks have made significant changes to their monetary policy operating frameworks. Notably, the Federal Reserve and other central banks have expanded their balance sheets, altered their reserves regimes, and adopted new tools to set their policy rates. President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Mary C. Daly, discusses the costs and benefits of conducting policy under different regimes.
About the Speaker:
As President of the San Francisco Fed, Ms. Daly serves the Twelfth Federal Reserve District in setting monetary policy. Prior to her current role, she was the executive vice president and director of research at the San Francisco Fed, which she joined in 1996.
Ms. Daly has served as an advisor to the Congressional Budget Office, the Social Security Administration, the Institute of Medicine and the Library of Congress. She has also been a visiting professor at Cornell University and the University of California, Davis. Ms. Daly holds a Ph.D. in economics from Syracuse University, an M.S. degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a B.A. from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
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17:40
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17:40
Clean Power by 2030: The UK’s Path to Energy Security and Net Zero
The United Kingdom has set an ambitious target to achieve a decarbonised power system by 2030 as part of its broader Net Zero commitment. Delivering on this goal is central to strengthening energy security, enhancing resilience, and ensuring affordable, clean power for households and industry. In his address to the IIEA, Chris Stark, Head of the UK Government’s Mission for Clean Power, outlines the UK’s pathway to Net Zero and discuss the role of interconnectors, infrastructure, and investment in delivering a secure and sustainable energy system. Drawing on his leadership of the UK government’s “Mission Control” for clean power, Mr Stark also reflects on the challenges and opportunities of transforming the UK’s energy landscape amid an increasingly complex global environment.
This event is part of the IIEA’s REthink Energy series, organised in partnership with ESB.
Speaker bio:
Chris Stark was appointed head of the UK’s Mission for Clean Power in the UK’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero in July 2024. Previous to this, he was Chief Executive of the Climate Change Committee from April 2018 for six years. Under his leadership, the committee recommended a UK net zero target for greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 – a target that is now in law. He was Director of Energy and Climate Change in the Scottish Government from May 2016 to April 2018. He has also served as Chief Executive of the Carbon Trust and is currently Honorary Professor at the University of Glasgow’s Centre for Public Policy, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and is on the board of climate charity Murmer.
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1:12:19
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1:12:19
Peacemaking and the Future of the United Nations
In his remarks to the IIEA, Thant Myint-U reflects upon the future of world peace and the United Nations. Through the lens of his new book Peacemaker: U Thant, the United Nations, and the Untold Story of the 1960’s, Thant Myint-U explores safeguarding global peace, preventing great power war, and reimagine the United Nations. In his book, Thant Myint-U tracks the history of U-Thant, the first UN Secretary-General of colour, who became the Cold War era’s preeminent ambassador of peace, and played a crucial role in preventing conflict such as during the Cuban Missile Crisis. His remarks will reflect not only upon the events of the 1960’s, but the lessons which U-Thant’s tenure may offer us now during a moment of escalating global tensions.
About the Speaker:
Dr Thant Myint-U is an award-winning author, historian, and international public servant. He has written five books, most recently Peacemaker: U Thant and the Forgotten Quest for a Just World (forthcoming September 2025). He was educated at Harvard and Cambridge Universities and taught history for several years as a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. He has also served on three United Nations peacekeeping operations (Cambodia 1992-3 and the former Yugoslavia 1994-6) and from 2000-2007 at the UN Secretariat in New York. From 2011-2021, he helped lead reform efforts in Myanmar, including as a presidential adviser, the Founding Chairman of the Yangon Heritage Trust, and the Chairman of U Thant House. He currently lives in Cambridge and is an Honorary Fellow of Trinity College.
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23:27
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23:27
Data and AI: How to Govern for Results in the Information Age
A Keynote address by Martin O'Malley
About the Speaker:
Martin O’Malley is a former Mayor of Baltimore and a former Governor of Maryland. Most recently, he served as President Biden’s Commissioner of Social Security. He is also a Patron of the Killarney Global Economic Summit 2026.
As a public servant and top executive, Martin O’Malley has pioneered a new way of performance-driven government at all levels including local, state, and national. Having worked for Grant Thornton, Guidehouse Advisories and a number technology companies, O’Malley brings a blend of private and public sector experience to some of the greater challenges facing humanity the world over.
His accomplishments in public service include putting Baltimore on the path to the largest ten-year crime reduction of any major city in America; enabling Maryland’s public schools to rank first in the US for five years in a row; and reversing a 300-year decline in the health of the waters of the Chesapeake Bay - the largest estuary in North America.
Martin O’Malley has taught at several leading universities in the US including Boston College, Harvard, Georgetown, Boston College Law, the University of Indian Kelley, Johns Hopkins Carey School of business. He is the author of Smarter Government — how to govern for results in the Information Age.
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19:01
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19:01
The Effectiveness of EU Military Missions and Operations
In his remarks, the Director General of the EU Military Staff (DG EUMS) will underline the need for a more strategic, coherent, and adequately resourced Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). He will stress that EU military missions and operations are effective only when guided by a shared political vision among all twenty-seven Member States and aligned with the priorities of Host Nations. He will highlight the importance of developing an Integrated Campaign Plan to ensure coherence across all EU instruments and closer coordination with international partners. Finally, he will emphasise that under-resourcing and limited participation undermine effectiveness, and that genuine political will must translate into collective responsibility and tangible contributions to safeguard the EU’s credibility as a reliable security partner.
Speaker bio:
The Director General of the EU Military Staff (DG EUMS) is the European External Action Service’s (EEAS) senior military adviser and the principal source of its military expertise. He directs the EU Military Staff (EUMS), providing military advice and expertise to EU institutions. In a dual-hatted capacity, he also serves as Director of the Military Planning and Conduct Capability (MPCC). As DG EUMS, he oversees early warning, situation assessment, and strategic planning for EU military missions, ensuring the effective operational planning and conduct of non-executive missions through the MPCC. He further supports crisis management, capability development, and maintains close coordination with the European Defence Agency (EDA).
Netherlands