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. Thielke is responsible for acquisitions, development, and new business generation in Greater China. Prior to joining the Asia Pacific team, Claire served as Chief Operating Officer of Investment Management for Hines, overseeing new product development and fund operations for the firm’s 39 investment vehicles, totaling $20B AUM.

Thielke graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University in Urban Planning and holds a Masters in Construction Management from Stanford University. She earned her Eng. from Stanford’s Civil Engineering Ph.D Department with a research focus on seismic data science and adaptive reuse for historic structures. She is member of Stanford University’s adjunct faculty, teaching on the intersection of technology, institutional investment and real assets.

Julie Yoon is managing director and head of the Mintz Group’s Hong Kong office and manages and oversees enhanced due diligence, AML, sanctions and financial regulatory compliance investigations across Asia for financial institutions and pre-deal M&A integrity due diligence for asset management and private equity firms, as well as litigation/arbitration support for corporations, law firms and creditors, including asset searches, and political risk assessments. Julie also oversees the firm’s Korea practice. Julie is a CAMS-certified anti-money laundering specialist and speaks fluent English and Korean, and is conversant in French and basic conversant in Mandarin.

Sandeep Nair is President of Emerson Commercial & Residential Solutions, Asia, Middle East & Africa (AMEA) based in Hong Kong. With a regional footprint of 7 manufacturing locations, 4 R&D centers, 30 sales offices and over 5500 employees, Emerson Commercial & Residential Solutions is well positioned to serve the diverse and growing markets in AMEA. These businesses include HVACR compression, Controls, Cold Chain systems and Professional Tools.

Sandeep has been with Emerson for 23 years in different roles and geographies. Prior to this role, Sandeep served as President, Therm-O-Disc Inc (subsidiary of Emerson Electric) based out of Mansfield Ohio, President, Fusite (Division of Emerson Electric) based out of Cincinnati Ohio, President & Managing Director, Emerson Network Power India based out of Mumbai. Before joining Emerson, Sandeep has held various roles in manufacturing, sales, marketing, and general management.

Dr. Yuan Ding is the Vice President and Dean, and Cathay Capital Chair in Accounting at CEIBS. Yuan is an established scholar in accounting, corporate governance, and mergers & acquisitions, with his Ph.D. in Accounting from University Montesquieu Bordeaux IV, France. He has plenty of academic publications in world-renowned journals, and more than 20 years’ teaching experience at the levels of MS, MBA, EMBA and PhD in Europe and in China. During his Deanship, CEIBS Zurich campus was established in 2015, and the Global EMBA programme has been reconstructed with two integrated cohorts running between China, Europe and Africa, which has grown into #2 worldwide (ranked by FT for three consecutive years).

As an expert on higher education in business management, Yuan is a Dean Director at the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), a steering committee member of EFMD Conference for Deans and Director General, and aninternational advisory board member at Université Paris Dauphine, EHL and Bologna Business School.

Yuan is also a frequent contributor to academic and executive conferences across the world, including World Economic Forum in Davos, French German Forum, Roland Berger Symposium, Soft Power Conference in Italy, EFMD Conference for Deans and Directors, GMAC Asia Pacific Conference, New Development Bank Think LAB, and CEIBS Europe Forum.

He has also served on the Boards of Directors of several listed firms and financial institutions in mainland China, Hong Kong, Europe and North America. Adept at cross-border M&A, he frequently provides consulting services for Chinese companies going overseas which span across different industries and continents.

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.