On 28 July 2025, the World Trade Organization (WTO) director-general (DG) announced the appointment of Jennifer DJ Nordquist of the United States of America (US) as a new deputy director general (DDG). The DDG will replace DDG Angela Ellard on 01 October 2025, who will step down from her post at the end of August.
The DDG is currently counsellor of the Council of Economic Advisers at the White House. Her previous roles have included executive vice president of the Economic Innovation Group; senior adviser at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies; executive director for the US at the World Bank Group; and chief of staff and deputy of Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution.
The DDG holds a Master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Communications from Stanford University. She is a native English speaker and is fluent in French.
Serving DDGs Johanna Hill of El Salvador, Jean-Marie Paugam of France and Xiangchen Zhang of the People’s Republic of China have been reappointed for an additional four-year term.
In November 2024, the DG was reappointed as DG for a second four-year term beginning on 01 September 2025.