Gerard Lyons appointed as Mayor’s Chief Economic Adviser

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has today (11th December 2012) appointed Gerard Lyons, former Chief Economist and Group Head of Global Research at Standard Chartered, as his Chief Economic Adviser. Mr Lyons takes up the new role on 2nd January 2013 and will be paid £127,200 pa and will work for 29.6 hours per week. He will 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, in an effort to ensure the right policies are in place to support the capital's businesses and maintain its economic strength and global competitiveness now and in the future.

As part of this role, he will be available to offer strategic advice to the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor for Business and Enterprise, and the business and economic teams as they seek to deliver on the Mayor's jobs and growth priorities and drive forward apprenticeships and skills programmes. Mr Lyons will particularly focus on London's world leading financial services sector and the current economic and financial developments in the City in order to maintain its position as the world’s leading financial centre.

Gerard Lyons is a recognised expert on the global and UK economy and during his 13 years at Standard Chartered he has 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 is a respected forecaster on the global economy. In August 2008, the month before the collapse of Lehman's 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. Last December, against the consensus, he predicted both the UK and euro area would both be in recession this year.

About Gerard Lyons

Mr Lyons began his career as an economist with Chase Manhattan in the City in 1985. Prior to his role at Standard Chartered he was Chief Economist and Executive Director at DKB International and Consultant to the Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank Tokyo between 1990 and 1999 and Chief UK Economist at Swiss Bank Corporation between 1986 and 1990

Mr Lyons has twice topped the Sunday Times annual forecasting table in the past decade and was widely credited with accurate predictions ahead of the financial crisis. His Standard Chartered team was rated by Bloomberg the number one global forecaster in 2010 and 2011.

In 2000 he co-authored the 'Report of the Commission on the £ Sterling' for the then leader of the UK Opposition, William Hague, and in 2006 he produced 'The Qatar 2020 Report' for the Emir.

He is currently chair of TheCityUK's Independent Economists Group, and has been Vice Chairman of the 48 Group Club - focused on strengthening China-UK relations - since 2009. He has also attended meetings of the Panel of Economic Advisors to the Mayor of London.