Richard Samans is a nonresident senior fellow in the Center for Sustainable Development, housed in the Global Economy and Development program at Brookings. He is also senior economic adviser to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development; senior fellow in the Centre for Trade and Economic Integration of the Geneva Graduate Institute for International and Development Studies; and co-convenor (with James Galbraith) of the United Nations Economist Network Working Group on Human-Centred Economics and Sustainable Development.
He is author of “Human-Centred Economics: The Living Standards of Nations,” which the Financial Times recognized as one of the best books of 2024 on economics. He was previously director of the Research Department and G20/G7 sherpa of the International Labour Organization and founder and chairman of the Climate Disclosure Standards Board. He also served as a managing director of the World Economic Forum; director-general of the Global Green Growth Institute; special assistant to the president for international economic policy and National Security Council senior director for international economic affairs in the second Clinton-Gore administration; and economic policy adviser to U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Thomas A. Daschle.
He has served in the United Nations system also as a member of the secretary-general’s Task Force on Digital Financing of the Sustainable Development Goals; ILO Global Commission on the Future of Work; U.N. Environment Program’s Inquiry into the Design of a Sustainable Financial System; and Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria’s Transitional Working Group. He was also a member of the Transitional Advisory Group of the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation’s International Sustainability Standards Board and remains a member of its Integrated Reporting and Connectivity Council.
His publications span international trade, finance, development, labor, climate change and environmental policy as well as U.S. economic policy and corporate and multilateral governance, including with respect to corporate sustainability reporting standards. These can be accessed at www.richardsamans.net.
He completed his undergraduate studies at Tufts University and graduate education at Columbia University.
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Current Positions
- Senior Economic Adviser, World Business Council for Sustainable Development
- Senior Fellow, Centre for Trade and Economic Integration, Geneva Graduate Institute for International and Development Studies
- Co-Convenor, United Nations Economist Network Working Group on Human-Centred Economics and Sustainable Development
- Member, Integrated Reporting and Connectivity Council, International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation
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Past Positions
- Research Department Director and G20/G7 Sherpa, International Labour Organization
- Founder and Chairman, Climate Disclosure Standards Board
- Managing Director, World Economic Forum
- Director-General, Global Green Growth Institute
- Special Assistant to the President for International Economic Policy and National Security Council Senior Director for International Economic Affairs, Clinton-Gore Administration
- Economic Policy Adviser to US Senate Democratic Leader Thomas A. Daschle
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Languages
- French