Gerver Torres is an economist working with the Gallup Organization as a research adviser. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of the International Monetary Fund and a consultant for the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the United Nations on social impacts of economic reforms. He has provided technical assistance to governments in Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East on dealing with labor and other social impacts of public companies restructuring. He has also served as minister for privatization in Venezuela.

Mr. Torres is a director of Leadership and Vision, a Latin American nongovernmental organization dedicated to training leaders and formulating long-term visions for countries in the region. He has authored several papers, including “To transform a country we need more than economic reforms”; “The third wave of privatization: privatization of social sectors in developing countries”; “Municipal services: small scale privatizations”; “A dream for Venezuela.”