World Trade Webinar 2020

Christopher Clague

Managing editor, Asia and global editorial lead, trade and globalisation, The Economist Intelligence Unit

Chris Clague is managing editor for The Economist Intelligence Unit’s thought leadership division in Asia. He is an expert in international trade and trade policy and has also advised clients throughout the Asian region on the strategic implications of megatrends and political risk. He was a consultant in The EIU’s Tokyo office and was the project leader and editor for the EIU/Nikkei BP publication The World to 2050 (available in Japanese only).

Prior to joining The EIU, he was a senior consultant and Director of China Operations for a boutique consulting firm that worked with governments and MNCs on issues related to international trade, investment, and commodities.

Chris holds an MSc in Asian Politics from the London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and a certificate in International Trade Law and Economics from the World Trade Institute’s summer academy. He provides regular commentary on trade and the Japanese economy to international media.

The Rt Hon Greg Hands MP

Minister of State for Trade Policy, UK

Greg Hands was appointed Minister of State for Trade Policy in the Department for International Trade (DIT) on 13 February 2020.

He was previously Minister of State in the Department for International Trade from 2016 to 2018. He was elected the Conservative MP for Hammersmith and Fulham in 2005, and for Chelsea and Fulham in 2010.

Kevin Rudd

President, Asia Society Policy Institute & 26th Prime Minister of Australia

The Hon. Kevin Rudd AC is inaugural President of the Asia Society Policy Institute. He served as 26th Prime Minister of Australia (2007 to 2010, 2013) and as Foreign Minister (2010 to 2012). He is Chair of the Board of the International Peace Institute in New York, and Chair of Sanitation and Water for All, a global partnership of government and non-government organizations dedicated to the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 6. He is a Distinguished Fellow at Chatham House and the Paulson Institute, and a Distinguished Statesman with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He is a member of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization’s Group of Eminent Persons, and also is on IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva’s new external advisory group.

Dr. William FUNG Kwok Lun

Li & Fung Limited

Group Chairman since May 2012 and became Group Non-executive Chairman in June 2020. Executive Deputy Chairman from 2011 to May 2012 and before that, Group Managing Director from 1986 to 2011. Joined the Group in 1972 and became a Director of the Group’s export trading business in 1976.

Graduated from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering. Holds an MBA degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Business. Degrees of Doctor of Business Administration, honoris causa, were conferred by The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, by Hong Kong Baptist University and the Wawasan Open University of Malaysia.

He previously held key positions in major trade and business associations, past Chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, the Hong Kong Exporters’ Association and the Hong Kong Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation Council.

Gopichand P. Hinduja

Co-Chairman, Hinduja Group

Gopichand P. Hinduja, fondly known as ‘GP’ in business circles, graduated from Mumbai University, and at 19 he joined the family business. GP, along with his brother, transformed their family business from an Indo-Middle East trading Group into a multi-billion-dollar transnational conglomerate.

Today, GP continues to lead the Hinduja Group’s global M&A activities. From the first acquisitions of Gulf Oil in 1984 and Ashok Leyland, the struggling Indian automotive manufacturer, in 1987, and more recent acquisitions of the UK’s electric bus manufacturer, Optare and Houghton Inc. in USA, the global leader in metal working fluids, GP prefers to have a direct, hands-on approach towards any M&A opportunity the Group explores.

With vision and determination, the Hinduja Group has moved into India’s power and renewable energy sectors, and infrastructure development. It is also making strides into cyber security, globally. Furthermore, under GP’s able stewardship, the Group acquired Winston Churchill’s Old War Office in London’s Whitehall, a Grade II heritage building which is being carefully restored to make way for a luxury Raffles Hotel and apartments.

With the family and Group’s extensive philanthropic work, GP is a trustee of the Hinduja Foundation, the PD Hinduja National Hospital, and the KPB Hinduja College of Commerce, and the Patron of a United Kingdom charity dedicated to mental health.

Jinny Yan

Director & Chief China Economist, ICBC Standard Bank

Jinny Yan joined ICBC Standard Bank in early 2016 as chief China economist, and leads the China markets strategy and research team. Her focus is to deliver macroeconomic and market insights on China to internal and external stakeholders. Her team launched the Belt and Road Economic Indices, which offer unique insight into China’s increasing connectivity with emerging economies. She also helps stakeholders to understand more about the China Interbank Bond Market as it opens further to foreign investors. Before joining ICBC Standard Bank, she was a London-based senior economist at Standard Chartered, and covered key China-Europe macro topics with a focus on internationalisation of the yuan. Heading up the European RMB solutions team, she chaired the education and marketing stream of the City of London’s yuan initiative. Widely recognised as an expert on China and the yuan in London, she makes frequent appearances in media and at high-level conferences. Ms Yan studied economics at the University of Durham, and later gained a master’s degree in development studies from the London School of Economics.

Doctor Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Chair of the Board of Gavi, Economist & International Development Expert

Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is an economist and international development expert with over 30 years of experience. She is Chair of the Board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and of the African Risk Capacity (ARC). She is Co-Chair of The Global Commission on the Economy and Climate. She also sits on the Boards of Standard Chartered PLC and Twitter Inc. Previously, she served as Senior Advisor at Lazard from September 2015 – October 2019. Dr Okonjo-Iweala was recently appointed as AU Special Envoy to mobilise international financial support for the fight against COVID-19 and WHO Special Envoy for Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator.

Simon Paris

CEO of Finastra, Chair of the World Trade Board

Simon takes responsibility for Finastra’s strategic direction and growth. His leadership steers the company as it realizes its open platform vision, accelerating collaboration and innovation in financial services, creating better experiences for people, businesses and communities. A firm believer in the principles of doing well by doing good, Simon chairs the World Trade Board and is passionate about how technology and open trade can drive financial inclusion and improve people’s lives. He also serves on the Board of Directors for Everbridge, a critical event management (CEM) software company and on the Board of Directors for Thomson Reuters.

He was named in Bank Innovation’s ‘Innovators to Watch’ list for 2018 and as a ‘top 50 financial technology CEO’ by The Financial Technology Report in 2020.

Joining Finastra (formerly Misys) as President in 2015, Simon was appointed Deputy Chief Executive Officer in 2017 and became Chief Executive Officer in June 2018. He brings more than 20 years of sales, management and global leadership expertise to the company, having previously held the role of President, Industry Cloud, at SAP. Prior to that he was a senior consultant with McKinsey & Company.