Lipsky was deputy MD of the IMF from 2006-11, during the global financial crisis.

Prior to that he was vice chairman of JP Morgan Investment Bank and held other roles including chief economist. He also served as chief economist for Chase Manhattan Bank and Salomon Brothers.

Lipsky is a senior fellow in the Foreign Policy Institute of John Hopkins University’s Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, is a non-executive director of HSBC Holdings, co-chair of the Aspen Institute’s Program on the World Economy, is on the executive committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research’s board of directors, on the advisory board of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

“Notwithstanding the current slow economic activity in the Australian resources sector and volatility in commodity prices, the Diggers and Dealers Mining Forum to be held in Kalgoorlie 1-3 August 2016 remains committed to maintaining the highest standards associated with the event and is pleased once again to announce a highly credentialed and respected economic expert as the keynote presenter for the conference,” Diggers chairman Nick Giorgetta said.

Diggers reported that the majority of booths had been committed and all sponsorship had been taken up.

The forum will finalise its 2016 program in early May.