David Lipton became First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund on September 1, 2011. Prior, he was special advisor to the managing director of the IMF. Before joining the IMF, Lipton was Special Assistant to the President, and served as a senior director for international economic affairs at the National Economic Council and National Security Council at the White House. Before working in public service, Lipton was a managing director at Citi, which he joined in May 2005, and worked at Moore Capital Management for five years. He also spent a year at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

From 1993 to 1998, Lipton served in the Clinton administration at the treasury department, including as Assistant Secretary and Under-Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs. Prior, he was a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center of Scholars, and, from 1989 to 1992, Lipton, along with Jeffrey Sachs, worked as economic advisers to the governments of Russia, Poland, and Slovenia.

Lipton began his career with eight years on the IMF staff. He has a PhD and MA from Harvard University and a BA from Wesleyan University.