King Salman on Sunday appointed Dr. Fahd bin Abdullah Al-Mubarak as governor of the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) at the rank of minister. He replaced Dr. Ahmed Alkholifey, who has held the position since May 2016. It will be Al-Mubarak’s second stint as the central bank chief. Earlier, he served as SAMA governor from December 2011 to May 2016. Al-Mubarak obtained a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas in the US. He obtained master’s degrees in business administration, engineering management and accounting and taxation. He obtained a Ph.D. in business administration at the University of Houston, Texas. Al-Mubarak has worked in several key position in the Saudi economic sector and has accumulated years of experience in the private sector. He also served as chairman of the board of the Saudi stock exchange, Tadawul, from 2003 to 2011. Before his appointment as SAMA chief, Al-Mubarak served as a minister of state and a member of the Saudi Cabinet since 2018. He was also the Kingdom’s G20 Sherpa. He has been a royal court adviser since 2015 and secretary-general of the G20 Saudi Secretariat. He also served as a nonexecutive member of the SABIC board of directors’ investment committee from 2017 to 2019. Al-Mubarak also remained a member of the Saudi Shoura Council from 1999 to 2005. Al-Mubarak has also served on the board of several companies, including Al-Alamiya Insurance, Al-Malaz Group (2000 to 2002), Mobily (1998 to 2003), Saudi Hollandi Bank, National Industrialization and the Saudi Telecom Co. He was also chairman of the board of Morgan Stanley Saudi Arabia from 2005 to 2011, and general manager of Rana Investment Co. from 1992 to 1999.