Andrew Staples

Editorial director, and Head of Policy Research (APAC), Economist Impact

Andrew leads the policy and insights team in Asia for Economist Impact. He was previously the global editorial director of The Economist Corporate Network (ECN)—The Economist Group’s briefing and advisory service designed to help senior business leaders understand and navigate the local and regional business environment. He regularly chairs and moderates major Economist events, delivers custom briefings to senior executives (including Fortune 500 C-suite) and public figures (including heads of state) in his areas of expertise, which include geopolitics and geo-economics, foreign direct investment, international trade, corporate strategy and comparative management. He also regularly appears in the international business media (BBC, CNN, CNBC, Channel News Asia). Prior to his move to Singapore in 2016, Andrew was the ECN director, North Asia, covering South Korea and Japan, where he was a long-term resident.

Andrew has a PhD in International Political Economy and an MSc in East Asian Business, both from the University of Sheffield, UK. He was a Ministry of Education research scholar at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo (2001-2003) and before joining The Economist Group, Andrew pursued an academic career holding both tenured and adjunct posts at leading universities and business schools In Japan and the UK. He has published widely in his areas of expertise and major publications include Responses to Regionalism in East Asia: Japanese Production Networks in the Automotive Sector published as part of the Palgrave Macmillan Asian Business Series and chapters in edited volumes including Asian Inward and Outward FDI: New Challenges in the Global Economy and popular textbooks including Asian Business and Management. Andrew was also previously a Senior Editor for the internationally peer reviewed journal Asian Business and Management.