Gustavo Merino
Director for Social Policies @ UNESCO
Director of Social Polices at UNESCO since January 2024. Previously he was Leader of the Public Policy Unit
at the Institute for Obesity Research and as Research Professor and Leader of the Public Policy Health
Initiative at the School of Government and Public Transformation of Tecnológico de Monterrey, where he was
also Dean of the School of Social Sciences and Government for Mexico City Region. Prior to that, he was
Director of the Investment Center Division at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
(FAO). He has held senior positions in the Government of Mexico including Deputy Minister of Social and
Human Development, Deputy Minister for Prospective, Planning and Evaluation and Head of the Planning and
International Affairs Unit at the Ministry of Social Development. He was also CEO of Mexico’s national
development bank for agriculture and rural areas, Financiera Rural. Dr. Merino has also been a Professor of
Economics and Director of the Center for Public Policy Research at Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de Mexico
(ITAM) in Mexico City and a consultant in the field of social development, public finance and competition policy.
He has a master’s and PhD in Public Policy from Harvard University and a BA in Economics from ITAM.
