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Our honorary professors are drawn from a diverse range of fields. Bringing insight and understanding, allowing us to collaborate on groundbreaking initiatives and expand our knowledge on key issues.
Torsten Bell
Torsten Bell is a leading voice in British economic policy and the CEO of the Resolution Foundation. He is committed to making the UK a fairer and more prosperous society by advocating for a deeper understanding of economic complexities in policymaking. At the Resolution Foundation, he has led the way in developing policy responses to the challenges facing those on lower and middle incomes, especially as the cost of living crisis continues to bite. His previous experience includes work as the head of policy at the Labour Party during the leadership of Ed Miliband MP and experience in HM Treasury during the financial crisis.
Torsten eagerly anticipates collaborating with researchers to address pressing economic challenges.
Lorenzo Bini Smaghi
Lorenzo Bini Smaghi is a distinguished Italian economist. He holds a Ph.D. in Economic Sciences from the University of Chicago and began his professional journey in 1983 at the Bank of Italy's Research Department.
Over the years, he played key roles in economic and financial institutions. As the Head of the Policy Division of the European Monetary Institute and later as a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, he significantly influenced European monetary policies.
Lorenzo's leadership extended to the corporate world, where he chaired the boards of SNAM and Italgas in Italy. Since 2015, he has been the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Societe Generale, underlining his impact in the global financial landscape.
His career is marked by expertise and leadership in the fields of economics, finance, and governance.
Chris Giles
Chris Giles, was for many years economics editor of the Financial Times and is now the paper’s economics commentator and author of its weekly newsletter. His career has been dedicated to simplifying complex economic matters for a global audience.
Giles is excited about fostering collaboration between academia and the public in our post-Covid, geopolitically complex world. He has received prestigious accolades, including the Royal Statistical Society's Statistical Excellence in Journalism Award, for his commitment to accurate economic reporting.
As an Honorary Professor of Practice at the UCL Policy Lab, Chris Giles looks forward to sharing his experience and insights to shape the future with students and researchers.
Amanda Glassman
Amanda Glassman is the Executive Advisor to the President at the Inter-American Development Bank. Glassman has over 25 years of experience working and publishing on health, social protection, evidence, and data issues in low- and middle-income countries, with an emphasis on Latin America and the Caribbean.
Glassman is a seasoned expert in global health policy and has held key leadership roles at the Center for Global Development (CGD), including Executive Vice President and Senior Fellow. Her extensive career, spanning over 25 years, is marked by significant contributions to health and social protection policies, with a focus on Latin America and other developing regions.
Throughout her career, Glassman played an essential role in working to develop policy dialogue, grant programs, and research on aid effectiveness. She holds an MSc from Harvard School of Public Health and has published influential works on health and social protection finance and policy. Amanda Glassman's work continues to shape global health policies, making her a notable figure in the field.
James Graham
James Graham's work includes the HBO and Channel 4 drama "Brexit" starring Benedict Cumberbatch. He had two plays running concurrently in London's West End: Labour of Love, which won Best New Comedy at the Olivier Awards 2018, alongside INK nominated for Best Play the same year. Other theatre work includes This House at the National Theatre and West End, 2016. Privacy transferred from Donmar Warehouse to The Public Theater in 2016. "The Vote" was broadcast live on the U.K. election night in 2015 and nominated for a BAFTA. James wrote the book for the Broadway musical Finding Neverland. His screenwriting includes the political drama "Coalition" (Channel 4) winner of the Royal Television Society award for Best Single Drama. His first feature film X+Y was selected at the Toronto International Film Festival 2014.
Paul Johnson
Paul was made a visiting professor in the Department of Economics at University College London in May 2022. Paul has been Director of the IFS since January 2011. Paul has worked and published extensively on the economics of public policy, with a particular focus on income distribution, public finances, pensions, tax, social security, education and climate change. He was awarded a CBE for services to the social sciences and economics in 2018. As well as a previous period of work at the IFS his career has included spells at HM Treasury, the Department for Education and the FSA. Between 2004 and 2007 he was deputy head of the Government Economic Service. Paul is currently also a member of the committee on climate change and the Banking Standards Board. He was an editor of the Mirrlees Review of the UK tax system.
Mozzam Malik
Moazzam Malik is Managing Director for Global Delivery at World Resources Institute. Moazzam has decades of experience in government, international affairs and international development. Before his time at WRI, Moazzam served as Director General of Africa at the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). He led government policy on Africa, including the network of embassies across the continent; and oversaw thematic directorates covering open societies and human rights, conflict, and international finance (including the government’s partnership with multilateral banks and the UK development finance institution, CDC/BII). Prior to that, from 2014 to 2019, he was British Ambassador to Indonesia, Timor-Leste and ASEAN. He has held a range of senior roles at the UK Department for International Development (DFID) including Director General for Country Programmes, Director for Western Asia, and Principal Private Secretary. He also led the team that produced the UK White Paper – ‘Eliminating World Poverty: Making Governance Work for the Poor’.
Dame Clare Moriarty
Clare became Chief Executive of Citizens Advice in April 2021 and leads, their ground-breaking cost-of-living data dashboard gives real-tome insights into how the crisis is affecting people—in some cases, predicting the next major social and economic challenges of our time.
Clare was Permanent Secretary of Defra from 2015 to 2019, and of the Department for Exiting the EU until its closure in early 2020. Before that she worked in the Department of Health and the NHS, as well as in senior roles in the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Transport. After leaving the Civil Service, Clare pursued a number of projects related to her interests in public policy, organisational change and leadership, working with a range of organisations including Transport for London and the Bank of England. She chairs the Health Foundation Covid-19 impact inquiry and is a member of numerous advisory and governance boards. Clare was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 2020 Birthday Honours.
Danielle Walker Palmour
Walker Palmour has had senior policy and research roles throughout the non-governmental sector, such as the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the Commission for Racial Equality and the Law Society of England and Wales. She has served in advisory roles to HM Treasury, the Cabinet Office and the Financial Services Authority.
On taking up the position of Honorary Professor at the Policy Lab, Walker Palmour spoke of her hope to increase the influence that rigorous evidence has on the design of policy and its outcomes. Adding her incredible experience and talents to our community