After receiving his B.A. degree in economics from Middle East Technical University in 1995, Ümit Özlale finished his Ph.D. in Boston College in 2001 and joined Bilkent University, Department of Economics. He received his associate professor degree from The Council of Higher Education in 2006.

In addition to his academic studies, he worked as a consultant in the Central Bank of Republic of Turkey and did several projects with Ministry of Finance and the World Bank.

Joined TEPAV in  2010, Özlale is the Director of the Training and Research Institute of Public Policy (TRIPP) and the founding chair of the Department of International Business in TOBB University of Economics and Technology.

Ümit Özlale worked at TEPAV from 2010 to 2013.