Mr. Ahmed M. Saeed joined ADB in 2019 and has significant prior leadership experience in both government and the private sector. He is currently responsible for overseeing ADB’s operations in East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
Between 2004 and 2008, Mr. Saeed served in senior roles at the US Treasury. He was an advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury (2004-05) and the later Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for the Middle East and Africa, with responsibility for US economic diplomacy and financial engagement across 68 countries (2005-08). He has worked closely with two Secretaries of the Treasury (John Snow and Hank Paulson). He was deeply involved in a number of significant debt relief exercises (for Liberia, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq) and laid the basis for what became the Santiago Principles for sovereign wealth funds.
Prior to joining ADB, Mr. Saeed spent close to eight years as Managing Director and head of JPMorgan’s coverage for finance ministries, central banks and sovereign wealth funds across the Middle East and North Africa. He has raised over $100 bn in financing for governments, including the debut sovereign bond issuances for several sovereigns and the largest ever sovereign bond offerings in emerging markets (twice).
Mr. Saeed began his career as a lawyer at White & Case. In the late 1990’s, he led technology related businesses in the UK, US and Japan, raising over $150 m for companies in which he was a key principal.
Mr. Saeed holds a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Chicago Law School and a Master of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, as well as a BA (Economics and Political Science) from McGill University. He is a former White House Fellow and a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.