Geoff was born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario. He received a BA degree in Economics from the University of Alberta, and an MA in Economics from Ottawa University. He was a PhD candidate for a while but left to take a job with Canada’s Export Development Corporation when he acquired a family. Two years later, he joined the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC, where he spent the next 29 years working on a host of countries in Asia, Europe and Africa. In his time with the IMF, Geoff lived primarily in Washington DC, but also spent over ten years abroad heading up IMF regional offices in Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Malawi and most recently Liberia.

 

At the IMF, Geoff’s work was mainly concentrated in the design, negotiation, and implementation of macroeconomic rescue programs for countries experiencing economic crisis or near crisis. This process was aimed towards putting in place a set of monetary, fiscal and external policies appropriate to returning the country to a low-inflation growth trajectory. However, depending on circumstance, it could also involve dealing with a diverse assortment of structural issues, ranging from tax administration, public financial management, monetary policy frameworks, anti-corruption measures, anti-money laundering activities, and problem bank resolution, and sometimes less-orthodox areas such as mining, electricity generation, and even famine relief. 

 

Geoff retired from the IMF at the end of 2020 and moved to Saltspring Island where he has family. He has been married to Jennifer for 35 years and has three grown children, one of whom was born on Saltspring. He lives in Grace Point where he has served as strata president for the last four years, and where he is overseeing a program of rehabilitation. He also serves on the Board of the Salt Spring Island Foundation. His interests include travel, hiking, some minor and imperfect attempts at woodworking and, more recently, sailing.