Dr Esmond Birnie
Maximising the economic gains from devolution

Dr Esmond Birnie is Chief Economist at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Northern Ireland. Esmond was senior lecturer in economics at QUB before being elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly where he served from 1998 to 2007. On leaving the Assembly, he became special advisor to DEL Minister, Sir Reg Empey, before joining PwC. Esmond is a past chair of the Assembly Employment and Learning Committee and is the author of a number

Robert Chote
Examining the UK’s public finances in an age of austerity

Robert Chote is Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies. He is also a member of the Finance Committee of the University of Cambridge and the Advisory Board of the UK Centre for the Measurement of Government Activity at the Office for National Statistics. Robert began his career as a reporter and columnist on the Independent and the Independent on Sunday and was named Young Financial Journalist of the Year in 1993. He moved to the Financial Times to become Economics Editor in 1995. Between 1999 and 2002 he served as an adviser to the senior management of the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC.

Alan Clarke
The role of tourism as an economic driver

Alan Clarke was appointed Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board in September 2001 and has over twenty years experience in tourism. He started his career in Northern Ireland followed by appointments in Wales and Devon. Prior to coming back to Northern Ireland he worked for eleven years in Scotland as Director of Marketing for Edinburgh and Lothians Tourist Board and latterly as Chief Executive of Aberdeen and Grampian Tourist Board. A graduate of the University of Ulster, he is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Marketing and a Fellow of the Institute of Direct Marketing.

Dr David Dobbin CBE
North/South co-operaton for economic recovery

Dr David Dobbin CBE has extensive international business experience in the food and drink and packaging sectors and is currently Group Chief Executive of United Dairy Farmers. He is actively involved in promoting regional economic development and is Chairman of the Strategic Investment Board for Northern Ireland and serves on the Board of Invest Northern Ireland in addition to his role as Chairman of InterTradeIreland. He has previously held a number of public and industry appointments including Chairman of CBI Northern Ireland and Chairman of the Prince's Trust in Northern Ireland.

Neil Gibson
Economic outlook: Economic recovery in uncertain times

Neil Gibson is Director of Regional Services for Oxford Economics. Running a specialist forecasting and consultancy service covering all the UK regions and Ireland the team is based in Belfast, London and Oxford. A regular commentator on the local and national economy Neil leads production of Oxford’s regional and sub-regional models throughout the UK. In addition to the regular production of forecasts Neil has led Oxford’s research into aspects of economic policy such as urban development, skills forecasting, transport planning and land demand forecasting.

Graeme Harrison
Developing the economic case for shared education

Graeme Harrison is a Lead Consultant in the Regional Division of Oxford Economics where he heads up the All-Island Consultancy Team of five economists and consultants. His specialisms are in skills forecasting, bespoke economic modelling, supply-side economics, international consultancy assignments and scenario and economic impact analysis. Recent major projects Graeme has led / been involved in include: Northern Ireland future skill needs; London Skills Destination 2020; estimating trends in 'literacy' in NI; and analysis of the future skills requirements for the NI ICT and financial services sectors.

Victor Hewitt
Examining the options for tackling the budget deficit

Victor Hewitt is the Director of the Economic Research Institute of Northern Ireland (ERINI) where he is responsible for managing a broad research agenda. He is the former Chief Economist at the Northern Ireland Civil Service and worked in the Department of Finance & Personnel with responsibility for European programmes and later public expenditure and liaison with HM Treasury. He has also worked in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment where he was responsible for the department’s research strategy.

Seamus McAleavey
Discussion panel: Examining the options for growth in a challenging economic environment

Seamus McAleavey is Chief Executive of NICVA, the representative body for the voluntary and community organisations in Northern Ireland. He is a member of the Commission of Inquiry into the Future of Civil Society in the UK and Ireland, established by the Carnegie Trust, whose report was published in March 2010.

Robert Skidelsky
Deficit Disorder: the Keynes Solution

Robert Skidelsky is Emeritus Professor of Political Economy at the University of Warwick. His three volume biography of the economist John Maynard Keynes has received numerous prizes. During the 1980s he became more actively interested in politics, becoming a life peer in 1991. He now sits as a cross-bench peer in the House of Lords. Since 2002 he has been chairman of the Centre for Global Studies and in 2010 he joined the Advisory Board of the Institute of New Economic Thinking. His account of the current economic crisis Keynes: The Return of the Master was published in September 2009.

Michael Smyth
Discussion panel: Examining the options for growth in a challenging economic environment

Michael Smyth is Head of the School of Economics at the University of Ulster. He is also a member of the European Economic and Social Committee. He is one of Northern Ireland’s foremost economic commentators and specializes in economic development and European-related issues.

Nigel Smyth
Discussion panel: Examining the options for growth in a challenging economic environment

Nigel Smyth has been Director of CBI Northern Ireland since 1991 with responsibility for preparing papers on a wide range of public policy issues. He has helped develop the CBI into an effective business representative body in Northern Ireland. Nigel is a member of the Economic Development Forum and the IBEC/CBI Joint Business Council.

Peter Stewart
NAMA: Implications for Northern Ireland

Peter Stewart is a Director of the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) and Chairman of its Northern Ireland Advisory committee. Peter is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and is vastly experienced in many aspects of financial management. He has worked as a public auditor, internal auditor, chief financial officer and financial consultant. He is currently a partner in O'Donovan Stewart Chartered Accountants and is a Director of a broad range of companies.

Joanne Stuart
Discussion panel: Examining the options for growth in a challenging economic environment

Joanne Stuart was appointed as the Chairman of the IoD Northern Ireland division in May 2008. With 20 years experience working in the IT industry for a number of multinational corporations, including Oracle, Joanne branched out to form her own business, in 2006, specialising in providing business and IT consultancy services to large corporate IT companies. Joanne is also a non-executive director of Sentinus and a Trustee of the Integrated Education Fund.

Sammy Wilson MP MLA
Examining the options for mitigating against public spending cuts

Sammy Wilson MP MLA was appointed Minister for Finance and Personnel in July 2009 having previously served as Minister for the Environment. He is DUP MLA and MP for East Antrim and was a Councillor on Belfast City Council from 1981 to 2010. He has been Lord Mayor of Belfast in 1986- 87 and in 2000-01. He is a former member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board and Northern Ireland Housing Council and has been Chairman of the Northern Ireland Assembly’s Education Committee. Before entering politics he had a career as a teacher.