Dr. Thomas Munthali assumed the position of the first Director General of the National Planning Commission from March 2019.  Prior to this, he was the Director of Knowledge and Learning at the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), a specialized agency of the African Union on capacity development, where he coordinated capacity development efforts across the African Union member countries aimed at meeting the continent’s socio-economic transformation agenda goals. He is a renowned capacity development expert and holds a Masters and PhD in Economics from University of Leeds, England. Prior to joining ACBF, Dr. Munthali was the Malawi Country Director for Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) providing support to Zambia too. As a seasoned Economist with extensive international experience, he has worked with Malawi’s Ministry of Economic Planning where he was part of the team that coordinated the development of the Malawi Economic Growth Strategy; the World Bank where he coordinated research around exchange rates and transport systems as part of the 2009 country economic memorandum; and UNFPA where he provided leadership in strategies for harnessing the demographic dividend for development. 

Munthali, a former President of the Economics Association of Malawi (ECAMA), was also member of the Strategic Advisory Council for the then chairperson of the African Union (AU), President Bingu Wa Mutharika.