This paper examines the influence of the biographical experience of monetary policy committee members on their performance in managing inflation and output volatility. Our sample covers major OECD countries in the 1999 to 2010 period. Using data envelopment analysis, we study the efficiency of monetary policy committees. Then, we look at the determinants of these performances. The results in particular show that (i) in crisis times, a smaller committee is more efficient, (ii) policymakers' background influence the performance, with a positive role for committee members coming from academia, central banks and the financial sector, although the latter lost their edge during the Great Recession. It is also shown that some committees have reduced the inefficiency created by the crisis more rapidly than others.