Born in France, Blared studied economics in France and the United States (PhD Wisconsin-Madison, 1985) with a specialization on natural resources economics.  After working in Kenya for a couple of years, he joined the World Bank Group in 1988 through their Young Professional Program, focusing on agricultural development and the environment in all regions of the world aside from East Asia and the Pacific.  As Practice Manager for the Global Unit, Blarel designs and implements global programs to address environmental sustainability challenges (pollution, biodiversity, forest conservation, blue economy, sustainable finance, and green growth).