Today, Berri Leslie, director of the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) and state chief operating officer announced the hire of the new state chief economist, Carl Riccadonna (pronunciation: Rick-ah-DAWN-ah).

Carl (he/his) has worked as a top economist on a global scale for over two decades, including at Deutsche Bank, Bloomberg L.P. and most recently at BNP Paribas. Carl received his Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) from Princeton University, where he studied Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering, finance and economics.

The teams Carl has led have been highly ranked among economic forecasters in a broad array of categories including monetary policy, labor market dynamics and inflation. Carl takes pride in distilling complex economic analysis into an engaging message for non-economists. An avid gardener, soccer fan and father of three, Carl is thrilled to transition to the public sector and to relocate to the Pacific Northwest from the New York City area.

“I am so happy to welcome Carl to Oregon state government in this critical role,” said Berri Leslie. “Economic forecasts are critical to the work that we do and having someone with Carl’s expertise and background will benefit people all across the state.”

The state chief economist oversees the Office of Economic Analysis within the Department of Administrative Services and provides objective forecasts of the state’s economy, revenue, populations, corrections population and Youth Authority population. These forecasts are used across state government, and by the public for a variety of reasons, notably to inform the state budgeting process. For more information about the Office of Economic Analysis and recent forecasts visit https://www.oregon.gov/das/oea/pages/index.aspx.

Carl begins on September 9.

Josh Lehner, interim state economist, has accepted a position outside of state government. We warmly thank him for his years of service.