Xianbin Yao is a member of the NDB External Advisory Committee on Independent Evaluation. He is also a Non-Resident Fellow in the Center of Institutional Studies on Development and Governance in Zhejiang University, an Adjunct Professor in Shanghai National Accounting Institute, and a Professor of International Studies in De LaSalle University-Manila in the Philippines.

Mr. Yao is formerly a Special Senior Advisor to the President of Asian Development Bank. He had previously held other senior positions in ADB including Director Generals of ADB’s Pacific Operations and Regional Cooperation and Sustainable Development Departments. As the deputy Director General for Central and West Asia Department during 2005 and 2007, Mr. Yao led the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program during its formative years. Mr. Yao holds a doctoral degree in Agricultural Economics from Michigan State University, United States.