IIF’s Tim Adams on rejecting Enron, building Afghanistan’s central bank and a looming debt crisis

Tim Adams, CEO of the Institute of international Finance, is one of the most influential voices sounding the alarm on a global debt crisis. 

As a young boy growing up in a small town in Kentucky, Adams spent much of his childhood in the local library, a habit that sparked a love of learning and the desire to explore the world. 

"Once you open your mind, it never goes back," he told CNBC's Steve Sedgwick on the "Executive Decisions" podcast. 

Adams turned down the chance to follow his father into welding, the first of several pivotal choices that shaped his career. He later rejected a job offer from Enron in the late 1990s, trusting his instincts that it "seemed too good to be true." 

Instead, he joined George W. Bush's presidential campaign in 1999, then moved to the U.S. Treasury. After 9/11, Adams was tasked with helping rebuild the financial systems of Afghanistan and Iraq. 

Watch Tim Adams' interview with Steve Sedgwick by clicking the video above, and subscribe to Executive Decisions wherever you get your podcasts.