Dr AlMubArak was appointed as governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) in December 2011. As the man who presides over the central bank of the Gulf’s richest and most populous nation, Mubarak’s power and influence is considerable. The governor will be pivotal in maintaining Saudi Arabia’s current economic boom, overseeing an upgrade in the country’s Fitch credit rating last year, from stable to positive (AA-).