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.

Natalia Novikova is the IMF Resident Representative in Singapore covering macro-financial developments in ASEAN. Natalia has extensive experience in designing macroeconomic policies in a range of advanced and emerging economies, including in the context of development and implementation of the IMF-supported programs. Prior to joining the IMF in 2013, Natalia was an Economist at Citigroup and worked at the Monetary operations department of the Central Bank of Russia, as well as PwC. Her research interests and publications include the analysis of sovereign debt sustainability, monetary policy, modelling of inflation and exchange rates.

Paul Burton is General Manager, IBM Asia Pacific, responsible for overall business results and client success in this diverse and dynamic economic region. He is based in Singapore.

Paul previously served IBM for many years in both Asia and the US across the Software and Consulting businesses as Vice President & Partner, IBM Global Business Services, and Vice President, IBM Software Group.

Before rejoining IBM after a 7-year hiatus, Paul served as Senior Vice President and Business Leader for the Analytics and Research business of Genpact, a global professional services firm delivering digital transformation. Subsequently, he assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer of Mastech InfoTrellis, a specialist data management and advanced analytics firm, and an IBM Global Elite Partner, charged with driving the growth of the company's data & analytics business through the expansion of its global footprint.

Paul also served Hewlett-Packard as a Consulting Partner. He began his career in the US Army where he held a variety of challenging leadership assignments culminating with service in Operation Desert Storm.

Paul holds a Ph.D. in International Development, a Law Degree, an MBA, a Masters in National Security Strategy, and a Bachelors in Political Science and Economics. He is an avid pilot and cave diver in his spare time.

Ashvin Murthy is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of AVM Capital. He launched the AVM Global Opportunity Fund in 2016, a macro investment strategy with an established track record of delivering consistent returns through the economic cycle. The fund received the accolade of Best Performing Macro fund in 2021 by the Hedge Fund Journal, and also came in top when they looked at returns over 2, 3 and 5 years.

Ashvin began his career in finance in the Fixed Income division at UBS. He was involved in trading complex derivatives across the Fixed Income spectrum, a journey that involved working in 4 different teams across Singapore, London and Zurich. He then moved to Hong Kong to lead the FX Options Team at Natixis. This breadth of experience in financial markets enabled Ashvin to develop a proprietary strategy that delivers robust and steady returns through different economic regimes.

Ashvin was awarded a scholarship by the Singapore Public Service Commission to study Engineering in France. He graduated with a Diplome d’Ingenieur (Master of Science in Engineering) from Ecole Centrale Paris and received the Bourse d’Excellence Eiffel from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in France. Ashvin then went on to obtain a Master of Science in Financial Engineering from Columbia University in 2003.

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.