David Mulford

Mulford was born in Rockford, Illinois. He earned his bachelor's degree from Lawrence University in 1959, his master's degree from Boston University in 1962 and his doctor of philosophy (DPhil.) from the University of Oxford in 1966.

Prior to becoming Ambassador to India, Mulford was Chairman International and Member of the Executive Board for Credit Suisse First Boston in London, England, where he earlier held the position of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (Europe).

From 1984 to 1988, he served as Assistant Secretary for International Affairs and later as Under Secretary for International Affairs for the Department of the Treasury from 1988 through 1992. In those roles, he served as the senior international economic policy official at the Treasury under Secretaries Donald Regan, James Baker, and Nicholas Brady.

Timothy Geithner served as a special assistant to Mulford at the Treasury during the administration of George H.W. Bush.

From 1974 to 1984, Ambassador Mulford was Managing Director and head of International Finance at White, Weld & Co., Inc., and senior investment advisor to the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency. From 1970 to 1974, he was head of White Weld International Finance Group in New York and was with White Weld's international investment banking in New York and London from 1966 to 1974. He was a White House fellow in 1965 and 1966 and served as a special assistant to the Secretary of the Treasury.

Mulford is married to Jeannie Simmons Mulford.

During his tenure at Credit Suisse First Boston, he worked with Argentine Economic Minister Domingo Cavallo on the Megacanje, or mega-swap, a 2001 deal to allow investors to voluntarily swap old Argentine bonds for new ones at a higher interest rate. Critics of the mega-swap note that the deal failed to alleviate Argentina's insolvency and may have exacerbated the situation by adding to debt in the long term.[3] More favorable analysis suggests that Argentina's gains in liquidity made up for the long-term increase in debt that would have to be paid out to investors.[4] Much of the criticism relates to the over $90 million in fees that Credit Suisse and other firms earned while Argentina approached default.[5]

During Argentine legal proceedings against former Argentine government officials in connection with the Megacanje, a judge issued an Interpol arrest warrant for Mulford after unsuccessfully seeking Mulford's testimony.[6] The warrant was later upheld on appeal.[7] On November 30, 2016, a court in Argentina (Judge Sebastian R. Ramos) resolved the investigation, dismissing Mulford from the case and stating that the existence of the case should not in any way affect Mulford’s reputation.[8] Interpol rejected the previous court ruling as an abuse of its system, with instructions that Argentina not seek further use of Interpol’s systems in this matter.[9]