Guillermo Ortiz Martinez became Governor of the Bank of Mexico in January of 1998. He was ratified as Governor for another six-year term beginning in January 2004. From December 1994 to December 1997, Dr. Ortiz served as Secretary of Finance and Public Credit in the Mexican Federal Government. Prior to heading the Finance Ministry, he served briefly as Secretary of Telecommunications and Transportation at the outset of the Zedillo Administration.

His professional experience includes serving as Undersecretary of Finance and Public Credit from December 1988 to November 1994. Before that position, he was Executive Director at the IMF (1984-1988) and Manager, as well as Deputy Manager, in the Economic Research Bureau of the Bank of Mexico (1977-1984), and an Economist in the Ministry of the Presidency of Mexico (1971-1972).

Dr. Ortiz  has  also taught at universities in Mexico and the United States.  He has written and published two books and numerous papers on economics and finance in specialized  journals  and  magazines in Mexico and abroad.

He has received several honors and awards. Dr. Ortiz is a member of the Group of Thirty.

In 2006, he was invited as a member to the committee of eminent persons that will be in charge of studying sustainable long-term financing of IMF running costs. In this year, he was also appointed as a member of the Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).

Dr. Ortiz earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and later a PhD in Economics from Stanford University.