I am the President of Queens’ College at the University of Cambridge, as well as the chair of the Board of Trustees of the Cambridge Union and the College Funds Committee. Together with Sir Harvey McGrath, I co-chaired the Capital Campaign for Collegiate Cambridge. 

I was named to Foreign Policy’s list of “Top 100 Global Thinkers” for four years in a row and has published widely on international economic and finance topics. My 2008 book, "When Markets Collide," was a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller, won the Financial Times/Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year and was named a book of the year by The Economist and one of the best business books of all time by The Independent (UK). My 2016 book, "The Only Game in Town: Central Banks, Instability and Avoiding the Next Collapse," was also a New York Times bestseller and was listed by Inc. as one of the "25 of the Most Inspiring Books Everyone Should Read." My latest book – “Permacrisis,” co-authored with Gordon Brown, Michael Spence and Reid Lidow – was a Times’ Top Ten. 

I serve as a part-time advisor to Allianz and Gramercy, the Rene M. Kern Professor of Practice at The Wharton School, and Senior Fellow at the Lauder Institute, both at the University of Pennsylvania. A columnist for the Financial Times, I chair the board of Under Armour and several nonprofit organizations, including the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).  

From December 2012 to January 2017, I chaired President Obama’s Global Development Council. Prior to PIMCO, where I was CEO and co-CIO, I was an international civil servant at the IMF in Washington DC for fifteen years and, for two years, president and CEO of Harvard Management Company, the entity that manages Harvard University’s endowment. I have also held several advisory roles with international organizations, governments and corporates. 

My philanthropic efforts over the years have focused on education and health, including major gifts to the Children's Cancer Hospital in Egypt and the University of Cambridge, as well as Queens’ College. Together with funding for studentships, internships and new faculty positions, I endowed the El-Erian Institute for Human Behavior and Economic Policy. The Institute combines economics and finance with neuroscience, psychology, politics, and behavioral finance to better understand how people make decisions and thereby improve policymaking. 

Among the recognition and accolades, I was honored to be awarded the Creative Leadership Award by the Louise Blouin Foundation, the Ukleja Center’s Nell and John Wooden Ethics in Leadership award, the Egyptian Cancer Network’s Lifetime Achievement Award for my support of cancer treatment and cures for children, and the Middle East Institute’s Visionary Award. I was also proud to receive honorary doctorates from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and the American University in Cairo. 

I received my undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Cambridge and hold a master's degree and doctorate in economics from Oxford University.