Speaker Bio

Natalia Gavrilița is co-founder and director of Partnerships for New Economy, a new economic policy think-tank focused on Moldova's EU integration. She also serves on the Supervisory Board of Moldova's National Bank, and a number of advisory and expert councils, including the ECFR, the Academic Council of the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, and the European Center for Economic Security, Technology, and Resilience (ECESTR).

As Moldova's 15th Prime Minister (2021-2023), Gavrilița led the government through multiple overlapping crises caused by the war in neighbouring Ukraine, while also advancing ambitious anti-corruption, economic, and governance reforms. During her tenure, Moldova managed Europe's largest influx of Ukrainian refugees, diversified its energy market away from Russian gas and strengthened critical infrastructure, and achieved EU candidate status.

With extensive experience in development economics and politics, Gavrilița previously served as finance minister (June-November 2019) and as Managing Director at the Global Innovation Fund in London. Her career includes roles in Moldova's Education and Economy ministries and at Oxford Policy Management, with work spanning Africa, Central and South Asia.

Gavrilița holds a bachelor's degree in International Law from Moldova State University and a master's in Public Policy from Harvard University.