Mr. Ueda has 22 years of professional experience, including 16 years with the Asian Development Bank (ADB). He joined ADB in 2008 as a Natural Resources Economist in the Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture Division, East Asia Department and progressed to Senior Natural Resources Economist. In 2017, he was appointed as Principal Natural Resources and Agriculture Economist in the Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture Division, Southeast Asia Department. During his career in ADB, he has administered and formulated various projects in the Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Rural Development (ANR) sector for Cambodia, Mongolia, the People’s Republic of China, the Philippines, and Viet Nam. From July 2023 to August 2024, Mr. Ueda contributed to the transition of the Agriculture, Food, Nature, and Rural Development (AFNR) sector operations under the new operating model of ADB and gave an oversight to AFNR Sector Office administration. Effective on 26 August 2024, he was appointed as Director, Emerging Areas, AFNR Sector Office, Sectors Group.
Prior to joining ADB, Mr. Ueda worked for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as Policy Officer at its Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok, and as Project Expert at its Bangladesh Country Office in Dhaka. He also worked for Japan International Cooperation Agency as an Adviser for Private Sector Development at its Bangladesh Country Office.
Mr. Ueda is a national of Japan. He holds a doctoral degree in agricultural economics from the Pennsylvania State University and his master’s degrees in economics from the Michigan State University, the United States, and Soka University, Japan. Mr. Ueda lives in Manila with his wife and have a daughter in the United States and a son in Japan. He is a sports lover, once pursued a dance career in his youth.