The World in 2020

Daniel Franklin is Executive and Diplomatic Editor of The Economist and Editor (since 2003) of The Economist’s annual publication, “The World in...”; which focuses on the year ahead. His book on long-term trends, Megachange: The World in 2050, was published in 2012, and its successor, Megatech: Technology in 2050, followed in 2017. Daniel joined The Economist in 1983 to write about Soviet and East European affairs. As the newspaper’s Europe Editor from 1986 to 1992 he covered the great European upheavals, from the collapse of communism to the signing of the Maastricht treaty. After a stint as Britain Editor he moved to the United States as Washington Bureau Chief, covering the first Clinton term. In 1997 he moved back to London as Editorial Director of the Economist Intelligence Unit. From 2006 to 2010 he was Editor-in-Chief of Economist.com, and then for four years served as Business Affairs Editor, running the paper’s coverage of business, finance, science and technology.

Mr. Robert Koepp is Director of The Economist Corporate Network in Hong Kong. He has led research on such topics as the Network’s Asia Business Outlook Survey, China’s Belt-Road Initiative, and the digital transformation of Asia’s economies. With a career spanning economics, finance, technology, and business strategy, prior to locating to Hong Kong, Rob spent over a decade in Beijing where he was active in projects involving private and public equity, market entry, new technologies, and economic development. He is the author of two books on transformational trends in global business, Clusters of Creativity and Betting on China. Fluent in English, Mandarin Chinese, and Japanese, he holds an MBA from Cambridge University and a Bachelor’s degree in Asian Studies from Pomona College.