Chief Economists Forum 2022

Following teaching roles at the University of New England and Macquarie University in the early 1980s, Hans was appointed Chief Economist at State Bank NSW in 1991.

Following a period on the board of Colonial First State he assumed the role of chief economist at CFS in 1997 working there for over a decade until his first retirement in 2008.

After a year of getting in the way at home and writing a book, Hans consulted for Zurich Investment Management and later joined St.George Banking Group as its Chief Economist in 2012.

Hans set up Compass Economics in 2017 where he writes and speaks on economic affairs for his various clients.

Hans has an honours degree in economics from the University of Western Australia and a Masters in Economics from the University of New England.

Chris Andrews is Deputy CEO and Chief Investment Officer of La Trobe Financial. Chris joined La Trobe Financial in 2006 as Senior Legal Counsel from Minter Ellison Lawyers and commenced as Head of Funds Management in 2009.

He oversees La Trobe Financial's Asset Management Division, is Chairman of the Group Executive Committee and Deputy Chairman of the Asset and Liability Committee.

Chris holds degrees in Commerce and Law (Honours).

Ben Powell, CFA Managing Director, is the Chief Investment Strategist for APAC within the BlackRock Investment Institute. He is based in Singapore. The institute leverages BlackRock's expertise and produces proprietary research to provide insights on the global economy, markets, geopolitics, and long-term asset allocation - all to help clients and portfolio managers navigate financial markets.

Mr. Powell is a contributor in the formation of the Institute's tactical investment views across the whole portfolio. He has the responsibility of communicating the team's macroeconomic and financial market outlook to investment professionals and the media throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

Mr Powell is a frequent contributor to financial news media and appears regularly on Bloomberg TV and CNBC.

Before joining BlackRock in 2019, Mr. Powell was co-Head of UBS Investment Bank Multi-Asset APAC Sales. Prior to that he worked for Barclays Capital. Mr. Powell has 20 years of experience in capital markets including over a decade in Asia.

Mr. Powell is a graduate in Economics and Philosophy from the University of Bristol. He is also a CFA Charterholder.

Sally joined JBWere in September 2020 from JP Morgan, where she was Managing Director, Chief Economist and Head of Fixed Income and FX Strategy for Australia and New Zealand.

Prior to JP Morgan she previously worked as Co-Head of Australian Economics and Fixed Income Strategy at ANZ. She started her career in Economic and Fixed Income research at Credit Suisse.

Sally holds a Bachelor of Economics with First Class Honours and the University Medal from Sydney University and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Economics from Oxford University. She is currently a Board Member of SCEGGS Darlinghurst, Deputy Chair of the Council of the Women's College within The University of Sydney and a member of the Finance and Investment Committee for the Children's Medical Research Institute.

Danielle is the CEO of the Grattan Institute. She believes in the power of public policy to make Australia a better place. Danielle has published extensively on economic reform priorities, budget policy, tax reform, generational inequality and reforming political institutions. She is a sought-after media commentator and speaker on policy issues.

Danielle previously worked at the ACCC, NERA Economic Consulting and the Productivity Commission. She holds an Honours degree in Economics from the University of Adelaide and Masters degrees in Economics and Competition Law, from the University of Melbourne.

Danielle is the National President of the Economic Society of Australia and co-founder and former Chair of the Women in Economics Network.