Simon Baptist is Editorial Director and Chief Economist at The Economist Intelligence Unit. Prior to his current role, he has held a number of other senior management and editorial positions in the business, including Managing Director for Asia, Regional Director of our Asia editorial team, Director of Global Forecasting, and Consulting Director in both Europe and Asia

Simon’s focus is on the global economy, national and international political developments, and public policy. He engages with business, government and international organisations, helping them to understand the operational and strategic implications of the EIU’s forecasts.

He has a doctorate in economics from and was a lecturer at Oxford University, along with degrees in economics and science from the University of Tasmania. His academic research investigated technology and the determinants of productivity in manufacturing firms.

Ms. Li Ye is leading the Merck China Corporate Affairs hub in support to all the three business sectors (healthcare, life science & performance materials) of Merck in China since January 2018. The China hub is among the 3 regional corporate affairs hubs (Europe, the United States and China) of Merck KGaA global wide. She is the member of the leadership team of Merck global corporate affairs and sits in the Country Council of Merck in China.

Ms. Li Ye is a veteran in corporate affairs and government relations for international companies with her 20+ years’ working experience. She joined Merck healthcare in Aug. 2013 responsible for the government relations and market access. Prior to that, she had been taking the management roles on government affairs, market access and strategic development in top international companies including Hoechst, GlaxoSmithKline, Bayer and AstraZeneca, etc. She went to Singapore as the Regional Market Access Lead in Bayer South East Asia in 2008. Later she became Regional Payer Capabilities Director and Global Pricing and Market Access Director for Oncology at AstraZeneca’s Asia Pacific Office until she returned to China.

Li Ye graduated from University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, then she went to the Great Britain for further study. She obtained a master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Westminster, London. She also holds a Diploma of Economic Evaluation and Assessment in Health from the University of York, UK. In 2016, Li Ye completed her Executive MBA study in Peking University National Development School in Beijing. She is now studying for a doctorate on financial management run by the National Development School of Peking University and Fordham University in the United States.

As an opinion leader in the industry, Li Ye also holds the positions including：
- Vice Chair of the China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment (CAEFI)
- Vice Chair of the China Pharmaceutical Industry Association (CPIA)
- National Chair of R&D Working Group, European Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC)

Dr. Keyu Jin is a professor of economics at the LSE, where she researches and teaches International Economics, technology competition and the Chinese Economy. She is a board member of AI innovation, and Richemont Group, which is one of the largest luxury conglomerates in the world. She has contributed pieces to the Financial Times and the New York Times, and served on the editorial board of the Review of Economic Studies, one of the world's leading Economic journals. She has taught at Yale and Berkeley in the past, and has a BA, MA, PhD from Harvard University.

Kai Guo, China Finance 40 Member. Before joining CF40, Dr. Guo was an economist at the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC and then worked at the People’s Bank of China in various capacities, including in the monetary policy department and the international department. Dr. Guo holds a Ph.D. degree in economics from Harvard University. His main research areas include the Chinese economy and its macroeconomic policies as well as international finance. Dr. Guo is the author of three popular Chinese economics books and multiple academic papers in various English and Chinese journals.

Mattie Bekink is responsible for the Economist Intelligence Corporate Network’s China strategy, including programme development and client engagement across China.

Ms Bekink has extensive experience in the public, private and policy sectors. Prior to joining The Economist Group, she was the Executive Director of the Fulbright Commission in the Netherlands. She also ran an eponymous consulting business, advising businesses, universities and non-profit organisations on China policy, strategy, public affairs, and CSR. Ms Bekink practiced law at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, has worked with the US-Asia Law Initiative at NYU Law School and the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative China Program, and served in the legal department at General Motors China.

Ms Bekink has a BA in International Relations from Stanford University and a JD from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Robert Xiao is the Director of the Economist Intelligence Corporate Network (EICN) in Beijing. He is responsible for engaging with top executives in the region and providing insights on economic and policy trends to support their business development in the Chinese market.

Mr Xiao was previously a PhD Supervisor and Deputy Director of the Impact Finance Hub at Deakin Business School before joining EICN. His research mainly focused on the fields of corporate social responsibility, corporate governance, and economic and financial policy analysis related to the Chinese market. He has authored multiple publications in Financial Times Top 50 Journals and been awarded major research grants jointly by the Australia Academy of Social Sciences and Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He also has more than a decade of experience teaching business courses including in Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Finance, and Bachelor of Commerce programmes at leading universities.

Mr Xiao has a Ph.D. in Finance and B.Com. (Hons) in Accounting and Finance from Monash University.