Anke Schrader is the China director of the Economist Intelligence Corporate Network. Utilizing over two decades of living and working in China, Anke works closely with network members to help inform their business strategies through political, economic, and operational insight and to connect them with their senior leadership peers.

Anke is also a recognized sustainability expert. She is the author of numerous publications on ESG, citizenship, and sustainable development issues in China and served six years as Chair of the American Chamber of Commerce in China’s Business Sustainability Committee.

Before joining The Economist Group, Anke was the Asia Research Director at The Conference Board, where she led strategic planning and execution of thought leadership research for China and the Asia region, leading a team of economists and researchers covering macroeconomics, human capital, and sustainability research. She also previously worked as a strategy consultant at PwC in Beijing advising multinational clients on macroeconomic, policy, market entry strategy, and operational issues.
Anke has led multi-year China research partnerships with Cornell University and Indiana University (funded by the Henry Luce Foundation and the Ford Foundation), was a guest lecturer at Cornell’s Employment and Disability Institute, and a mentor for the Schwarzman Scholars Program at Tsinghua University.

Anke received scholarships for Chinese language studies at the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) in Beijing and Shanghai Jiaotong University’s international MBA program. She holds an M.A. in politics and management from University of Konstanz.

Nick has a particular focus looking at the intersection between geopolitics and trade, and regularly delivers briefings on how to navigate the shifting era of globalisation, particularly in the context of China’s evolving relationship with the West. Nick also concurrently helps to lead the EIU’s award-winning coverage of China, Taiwan and Macau. In that role, he shapes the EIU’s view on China-Taiwan relations, including how companies and governments can mitigate the risks attached to cross-Strait ties.

Nick previously conducted trade research in Beijing with the US-China Business Council, where he advised US companies on the Chinese market. He graduated from the University of Virginia with degrees in Foreign Affairs and Chinese, and holds graduate certification from the Johns Hopkins-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies.

Robert Xiao is the Director of the Economist Intelligence Corporate Network (EICN) in Beijing. He is responsible for engaging in high-level dialogues with business and political leaders, providing insights on global macroeconomic trends and policy directions for Fortune 500 decision-makers to support their macro layout and business development in domestic and international markets.

Prior to joining EICN, Mr Xiao held positions as a lecturer, senior lecturer, PhD supervisor, and Deputy Director of the Impact Finance Hub at Monash University and Deakin Business School in Australia. His research mainly focused on the fields of corporate social responsibility, corporate governance, and economic and financial policy analysis related to the Chinese and US markets. He has authored multiple publications in Financial Times Top 50 Journals and been awarded major research grants jointly by the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia and Chinese Academy of Social Science.

An educator at heart, Mr Xiao has always maintained a passion for tertiary teaching. He has more than a decade of experience teaching business courses, including Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Finance, and Bachelor of Commerce programmes at leading universities.

Mr Xiao obtained his Ph.D. in Finance from Monash University and graduated with honours (B.Com. Hons) from Monash Business School in 2008 as the highest-achieving student in his cohort. He has won multiple awards from Australian universities, including the Australian Postgraduate Awards granted by the Australian Federal Government.