Richard Spencer has been with the World Bank for eighteen years. During much of the early years he worked on renewable energy projects. He was part of the World Bank team in China from 1996 - 2006. Resident in Hanoi between 2005-2010, he was responsible for the World Bank's program of assistance for energy in Vietnam, consisting of a portfolio of about $1.5 billion in investments, including Trung Son Hydropower project, the first in a series of power sector reform DPOs and ten or so separate advisory tasks. He moved to South Asia region in early 2011 where he is led the Bank’s energy programs in Afghanistan and Pakistan before moving to Afghanistan to continue to work on energy but also lead the Bank’s work across infrastructure, agriculture and water.