Ben Leo

Ben Leo is a research fellow at the Center for Global Development. He is currently working on debt sustainability in low-income countries, the IDA-16 replenishment and related resource allocation issues, Zimbabwe and Sudan debt relief, private sector development, and Africa capital markets.

Ben worked at the White House National Security Council where he was director for african affairs from 2006 to 2008. At the White House, he advised the president and national security advisor on Central, Eastern, and Southern African nations and regional economic issues.

Before that, Ben held a number of roles at the U.S. Treasury Department focusing on development finance and Africa. In these roles, he helped design and implement several large international development initiatives, such as Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative, the U.S. Basic Education Initiative, and U.S.-Africa Financial Sector Initiative.

Between 2008 and 2010, Ben spearheaded business development efforts in Africa and the Middle East for Cisco Systems. Ben is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and the author of numerous development finance and policy articles.