Gerard Lyons (Past staff)

Job description

Biography

Gerard Lyons was formerly Chief Economist and Group Head of Global Research at Standard Chartered. He is a recognised expert on the global and UK economy, and during his 13 years at Standard Chartered held a range of senior roles on the bank's committees. He was previously Chief Economist and Executive Director at DKB International and Chief UK Economist at Swiss Bank Corporation.

He has been a regular speaker at major domestic and world financial conferences and meetings, including the annual meeting of the IMF, the annual and spring meetings of the Institute for International Finance, the World Economic Forum in Davos, and many high profile events here in the UK.

He is a respected forecaster on the global economy. In August 2008, the month before the collapse of Lehman Brothers, he was one of only two UK economists then predicting an imminent deep recession for the UK, forecasting a GDP fall of 1.6 per cent versus a consensus rise of 0.9 per cent. He was ranked number one forecaster globally by Bloomberg (out of over 360) in 2010 and 2011. In December 2011, against the consensus, he predicted both the UK and euro area would be in recession last year.

Responsibilities

To provide the Mayor with strategic advice and intelligence on the economic outlook for London and the wider UK, as well as Europe, the emerging economies, and the United States, to ensure the right policies are in place to support the capital's businesses and maintain its economic strength and global competitiveness.