Fellowship Program

Hiro (Hiroyuki) Ito is Professor of Economics at Portland State University in Oregon, U.S., specializing in international macroeconomics and finance. His research has been published in leading journals such as Oxford Economic Papers, the Journal of Development Economics, and the Journal of International Money and Finance (JIMF), where he currently serves as an Associate Editor. He has held visiting positions at the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), Japan’s Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the Bank of Japan. He earned his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, Santa Cruz; an M.A. in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies; and a B.A. in Law from Waseda University.
 

Hiroshi Matano was the Executive Vice President at the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and a member of the World Bank Group leadership team from 2019 to 2025. A native of Japan, he brings more than 35 years of experience in banking and finance.  As Global Head of Structured Finance at MUFG, he managed assets across key global markets. He contributed to the merger of Mitsubishi UFJ Securities and Morgan Stanley Japan, and helping make the combined firm the leading investment bank in Japan. He received his bachelor's degree from the Department of Economics at Keio University and his master's degree from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University.