Xavier Sala-i-Martin

Xavier Sala-i-Martin is Professor of Economics at Columbia University in New York and the Chief Economic Advisor to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He is an international keynote conference speaker on globalisation, finance and economic developments.

A respected economist, Xavier is also a consultant to the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, a member of the Counseling Board of Telefonica Catalunya, and an associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

As the chief economic advisor to the World Economic Forum, he is the author and intellectual father of the Global Competitiveness Index, published annually in the Global Competitiveness Report. The index ranks the competitiveness of all the countries in the world and recommends competitiveness strategies to their decision makers - governments and business leaders around the globe - who it to evaluate and design the future competitiveness policies of their countries.

Prior to joining Columbia University, Xavier has also taught economics at Yale and he was a research fellow at the Centre for European Policy Research (CEPR) in London. He studied economics in Spain before completing his education at Harvard University in the US.

He has received numerous awards including the award for Best Economist in Spain and Latin America by the Bank of Spain and best Health Economist in the World by the International Health Economics Organization.

With a career spent both teaching and researching world economics, Xavier is in the privileged position to be able to offer decision maker essential information crucial for companies wishing to do business in today’s volatile markets.

Xavier puts across complex ideas in an easy to understand format. With a reputation for humorous and enlightening presentations, Xavier is in great demand as a conference speaker at leading financial events around the world.