Katherine Meighan

Katherine Meighan is the General Counsel of IFAD and a member of the Executive Management Committee (EMC). She also oversees the management of a team of lawyers who deliver results on IFAD's operations, funding, governance and corporate matters.

Ms Meighan has over 25 years of experience in development finance and international institutional matters. At IFAD, she has led complex legal initiatives including amending IFAD’s Articles to enable lending to the private sector, structuring new financial instruments such as a unique impact investment fund for small-holder farmers, and leading the legal work to attain IFAD’s historic credit rating (as the first UN fund to be rated).

Before joining IFAD, Katherine Meighan was Assistant General Counsel and Manager at the International Finance Corporation (IFC). There, she led the legal work globally for Financial Institutions, Treasury, and restructuring/litigation. She also served as legal counsel to the Budget and Audit Committee of the Board. During her 17 years at IFC, she was based in Buenos Aires, Istanbul and Washington.

Previously, Katherine Meighan practised law with a global firm in Washington and Paris focusing on international transactions and capital markets work for financial institutions.

Katherine Meighan holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in Economics and French from the College of William & Mary, where she is a member of the Advisory Board of the International Center.