[Webinar] Policy responses to the Covid-19 pandemic

Mary Boyd is responsible for programme development and client servicing in Shanghai. She also provides research and conceptual support on China for Economist Corporate Network programmes. Before joining the Economist Group Mary Boyd was in the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, serving on assignment in Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan and China (in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chongqing). Since leaving government service she has researched and published on economic development and governance issues in China, and has undertaken consultancy work for the World Bank and other international institutions, as well as multinational companies. She has written for a number of Economist Intelligence Unit publications, including Country Report, China Hand and Business China. She co-authored the Economist Intelligence Unit report: Taking on the Competition: Domestic Companies in China. Ms Boyd has an MA (area studies) and an MSc (public policy and management) from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and has also completed language studies at Nanjing University. Her research interests include local governance and decentralisation policies and public-sector reform.

Alicia García Herrero is the Chief Economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis. She also serves as Senior Fellow at European think-tank BRUEGEL and non-resident Research Fellow at Madridbased political think tank Real Instituto Elcano. She is currently Adjunct Professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and member of the advisory board of Berlin-based China think-tank MERICS. Finally, Alicia is advisor to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s research arm (HKIMR) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as well as a member of the board of the Hong Kong Forum and co-founder of Bright Hong Kong.

In previous years, Alicia held the following positions: Chief Economist for Emerging Markets at Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), Member of the Asian Research Program at the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), Head of the International Economy Division of the Bank of Spain, Member of the Counsel to the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, Head of Emerging Economies at the Research Department at Banco Santander, and Economist at the International Monetary Fund. In addition, Alicia has always combines her professional career with academia, having served as visiting Professor for John Hopkins University, China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Shanghai and Carlos III University in Madrid.

Alicia holds a PhD in Economics from George Washington University and has published extensively in refereed journals and books (see her publications in ResearchGate or Google Scholar. Alicia is also very active in international media (Bloomberg and CNBC among others) as well as social media (Twitter, LinkedIn and Weibo). As recognition of her leadership thoughts, Alicia has recently been nominated TOP Voices in Economy and Finance by LinkedIn.

Takuji Okubo is the North Asia Director of The Economist Corporate Network, managing the Networks in Japan and in South Korea.

Prior to joining The Economist Group, Takuji was the Managing Director and Chief Economist at Japan Macro Advisors, serving global fortune 500 companies and financial institutions in Japan and abroad. In his past career, Takuji was a Chief Economist at Societe Generale, in charge of Japan and of South Korea, and a senior economist at Merrill Lynch and at Goldman Sachs. Outside his role at ECN, Takuji also serves as a non-executive director at Japan Risk Forum, an association of Chief Risk Officers among Japanese financial institutions.

Takuji holds B.A in Economics from Tokyo University and while at the university he was a recipient of prestigious INOUE scholarship. He holds MBA from INSEAD and Msc. In Economics from UPF in Barcelona. Apart from work, he enjoys motor-cycling, scuba-diving, cooking as well as worrying about the future of the Japanese economy.

Pamela Qiu is the Network Director of the South-east Asia chapter of The Economist Corporate Network. She advises multinational corporations on the latest economic, political and market developments affecting business in the Asia Pacific region. She regularly chairs Economist events and roundtables, and delivers custom briefings to senior business executives. She joined The Economist in June 2011.

Prior to joining The Economist Group, Pamela worked as a policy analyst and associate at the Singapore Ministry of Finance, where she worked on policies to tackle socio-economic problems such as inequality and unemployment. She also worked on policies that were featured in the Singapore Budget. From 2009 to 2011, she was a researcher for the Center for Public Economics at the Civil Service College, the Singapore government’s core institution for public policy and economics research. Her research areas included the role of government in markets, public private partnerships, privatisation, fiscal policy, and behavioural economics. From 2004 to 2006, Pamela also worked as a market analyst with Prudential Health Insurance, based in London.

Pamela holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in development studies, both from the London School of Economics.

Andrew is the global Editorial Director of The Economist Corporate Network (ECN), the Economist Intelligence Unit’s briefing and advisory service for senior business leaders. He leads and supports a team of Network Directors (NDs) across Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and ensures that editorial consistency and quality are maintained to the highest level.

As editorial director, Andrew ensures that the values and standards of The Economist brand are upheld across all the networks and drives ECN editorial strategy through the innovation of new services and products.

Andrew joined the Economist Group in 2013 and prior to his current role, ran ECN in Tokyo (later North Asia) and South-east Asia.

Andrew provides members with insight and analysis on a range of topics related to ASEAN and the broader East Asian economy. He regularly chairs and moderates major Economist events, delivers custom briefings to senior executives (including Fortune 500 C-suite) and public figures (including heads of states) in his areas of expertise in the international media (BBC, CNN, CNBC, Channel NewsAsia, Al Jazeera).

Prior to joining The Economist Group, Andrew was an associate professor of international business at business schools and leading universities in the UK (University of Sheffield) and Japan (Keio University, Doshisha Business School and Globis University Graduate School of Management).

Andrew has published widely in his areas of expertise and his major publications include Responses to Regionalism in East Asia: Japanese Production Networks in the Automotive Sector published as part of the Palgrave Macmillan Asian Business Series and chapters in edited volumes including Asian Inward and Outward FDI: New Challenges in the Global Economy and popular textbooks including Asian Business and Management. He was also a Senior Editor for the internationally peer reviewed journal Asian Business and Management.

Andrew has an MSc in East Asian Business and a PhD in International Political Economy from the University of Sheffield, U.K., and was a Ministry of Education research scholar at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo (2001-2003).