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.

Dr Julian Conway McGill is the Head of South East Asia at LMC International. He is in charge of LMC’s research in South East Asia. He and his team are based in Kuala Lumpur. Their work aims to help clients better understand the economics of crops, agricultural commodities and their value chain. Dr McGill holds an M.A. (Honours) in Economics from the University of Edinburgh and completed his PhD (DPhil) at the University of Oxford.

Nick is an economist and Head of Research at Khazanah Nasional Berhad. As Head of Research, Nick is responsible for knowledge generation, knowledge dissemination and knowledge management across Khazanah, in support of Khazanah’s mandate and the various Investments teams across all geographies, sectors and asset classes. Nick is also the Co-Head of Dana Impak, an allocation within Khazanah to undertake national strategic investments. Prior to Khazanah, Nick served as an economist in Malaysia’s Economic Planning Unit, where he was directly involved in several national development initiatives. Nick holds a Master in Public Administration in International Development (MPA/ID) from Harvard Kennedy School and completed his undergraduate studies in Economics at Harvard College.

Sumana is a senior policy professional with 17 years of experience. Having worked at several dynamic and vibrant tech firms, Sumana designs and implements policies through advocacy, strategic communication and evidence-based analysis. With a flair for writing and communication, Sumana is able to negotiate complex engagements & cultivate senior-level internal/external relationships.

Sumana holds a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Michigan, as well as a B.A. in Political Science and Geography from UCLA.