David Williams is Senior Director and Head of Agricultural Research & Strategy at MetLife Investment Management, where he leads the firm’s economic analysis of U.S. and global agriculture. As an agricultural economist, David evaluates the market forces shaping annual and permanent crops, livestock, timberland, and agribusiness, translating complex sector dynamics into actionable investment insights. David’s work centers on forecasting commodity markets, assessing credit conditions in the agricultural and timberland sectors, and guiding relative‑value decisions across the broader real asset and fixed‑income landscape. His analyses help drive disciplined underwriting, long‑term portfolio strategy, and a deeper understanding of risk and opportunity for one of the nation’s largest agricultural lenders. Before joining MetLife Investment Management, David served as a research agricultural economist at the USDA’s Economic Research Service, where he contributed to national‑level research on farm income, agricultural finance, and farm risk. David holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University, an M.S. in Resource and Applied Economics from the University of Alaska, and a B.A. in Financial Economics from Western Washington University.