According to press reports, when he was still single and working at the World Bank, Derviş had an affair with a married female subordinate (her identity is not revealed) who reportedly later started working at the IMF.[15] This was speculated by the media as the possible reason why Derviş, despite being seen by many as the right person for the job, decided not to become a candidate to succeed Dominique Strauss-Kahn as the next Managing Director of the IMF, a position which was eventually taken by Christine Lagarde.[15]