Eric is the Head of Global Research and Chief Strategist for the Bank. In addition to managing the Global Research business, he is a member of the Corporate & Investment Banking management team. He focuses on developing investment strategies across major asset classes including FX, rates and commodities. This also includes exploring global macro and geopolitical themes and their implications for asset allocation and portfolio management.

Eric joined the Bank in 2014 from Millennium Capital Partners in London. He previously held roles in global macro portfolio management and strategy at Deutsche Bank and has presented at numerous investor conferences. Eric holds an economics degree from Princeton University.

Edward Bell is Acting Chief Economist and Group Head of Research for Emirates NBD. He leads a team of economists and analysts providing our clients with leading macroeconomic and market views for the wider MENAT region. Edward previously served as Head of Market Economics for the bank, covering commodities, currencies and rates. He has a background as a commodities fundamentals analyst and a Middle East-focused economist with degrees from the University of London and University of Toronto. Edward is based in Dubai.

Deepak Mehra serves as the Chief Economist at Commercial Bank of Dubai, where he is primarily responsible for analyzing the macroeconomic landscape to identify emerging risks and opportunities that impact the bank's various functions. He is also a member of the executive board of CBD Financial Services LLC, the equity brokerage subsidiary of the bank.

Previously, at CBD, he was the Head of Investments starting in 2007 and was instrumental in establishing the product and advisory platforms. He was also instrumental in launching the region's first Robo Advisory app from a bank in 2021.

In his career spanning over three decades, Deepak has held leadership positions in banks like Citibank and Credit Suisse.

He is an alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology and an MBA degree from IMT. A regular speaker at conferences and on television he is also the author of two successful self-help books Ready, Steady, Go and Think Like a Golfer.

Mohamed Bardastani is Visa’s Principal CEMEA Economist. His role primarily involves engaging with Visa’s key clients through regular presentations that capture the latest global and regional economic developments, and recent trends in the payment and travel and tourism industries. Mohamed joined Visa after spending few years as a Senior Middle East Economist at Oxford Economics, where he was responsible for developing the company’s views on the Middle Eastern economies. He worked on several public-sector consulting projects in the GCC, focusing on evaluating the economic impact of certain policy measures and advising on alternative policies whenever appropriate. He also provided regular commentary to regional and international newspapers as well as pan-Arab TV channels about the latest regional economic developments and trends. Mohamed studied at the University of Tampa, USA, where he gained a Bachelor degree in Economics; and at the University of New South Wales, Australia, where he completed his Master degree in Economics

Robert is a trusted advisor to C-suite executives of multinational and large regional companies operating in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and beyond. He helps to inform business leaders’ strategies through political, economic and operational analysis and to connect them with their peers.

He is also the Global Editorial Director of the Economist Intelligence Corporate Network and leads its teams and programmes in Johannesburg, Dubai, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, China, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

Robert is a business commentator, editor and publisher with three decades of experience in Europe and the Middle East covering a wide variety of sectors, including construction, energy, healthcare, hospitality, retail and transport.

He is an accomplished event chairman, moderator and speaker, and is regularly invited by blue-chip organisations to address senior audiences at large conferences or more intimate roundtables with macroeconomic and geopolitical insights from Economist Intelligence and his regional network.

Robert completed an MBA at the University of Leicester School of Business in 2012.