Speaker:

Brad Bourland, General Manager and Chief Economist, Samba Financial Group, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Bourland maintains that the current oil boom is different from that of the 1970s, not only in where the money is going, but in the nature of risks that may or may not be posed by the global imbalances it has exacerbated. He plans to focus particularly on the nature of the oil-driven growth being experienced in Saudi Arabia and the neighboring oil exporters.

Bourland has been the Chief Economist at Samba Financial Group, formerly Saudi American Bank, in Riyadh, since 1999, where he leads the economic research team and publishes regularly on issues related to the Saudi and global economies and the world oil market. He appears frequently in the domestic and international media and is a regular public speaker. Brad is also head of cross-border risk management for the bank, which involves managing the bank’s exposures outside Saudi Arabia. Before joining Samba, Brad spent an 18-year career as diplomat, economist, and manager with the U.S. Department of State. During the last three years of his diplomatic career he was in Riyadh as the American Embassy’s First Secretary responsible for financial affairs, where he analyzed the Saudi economy for the U.S. Government and conducted financial aspects of US-Saudi relations. Brad served on the US negotiating team for Saudi accession to the World Trade Organization. Brad has his BA and MA magna*censored*laude from the University of Utah, and is a CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) charterholder.