IHS Africa Economic Outlook Conference

Nariman Behravesh

Chief Economist, IHS

Dr. Nariman Behravesh is Chief Economist of IHS and author of Spin-Free Economics: A No-Nonsense, Nonpartisan Guide to Today's Global Economic Debates (McGraw-Hill). Directing the entire economic forecasting process at IHS, he is responsible for developing the economic outlook and risk analysis for the United States, Europe, Japan, China and other emerging markets. He oversees the work of over 400 professionals, located in North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa who cover economic, financial and political developments in over 200 countries.

Behravesh is a "Bloomberg Best" and ranked as one of Bloomberg's Top-10 economists for 2009 and 2010. MarketWatch designated IHS Global Insight "Forecaster of the Year" in 2009 and has bestowed several Forecaster of the Month accolades since. He and his team were designated no. 1 in USA Today's 2004 ranking of top economic forecasters, and in Reuters' 2004 survey of major currency exchange rate forecasters. In 2008, he was ranked number 2 by USA Today. In The Wall Street Journal's annual ranking of US forecasters, Behravesh was ranked no. 3 (out of 56) for 2006 and was the only forecaster to place in the top six for 2003, 2004 and 2006. As the chief economics spokesperson at IHS, Behravesh is quoted extensively in the media on such topics as the outlook for the US and global economies, exchange rates, the budget deficit, the trade deficit, globalisation, country risk and sovereign debt crises. He is cited frequently in leading business publications such as the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Financial Times, USA Today, Investor's Business Daily, Business Week, Newsweek, Fortune, Forbes and US News and World Report. He also regularly appears on national radio and television programmes including BBC World Business Report, NBC Nightly News, CNN Headline News, The News Hour with Jim Lehrer (PBS), Fox News, CNBC, Bloomberg TV and Radio, and All Things Considered and Market Place on National Public Radio.

Behravesh was the host of the PBS television series "Inside the Global Economy." In addition to his recent book, he has authored numerous articles in such publications as European Affairs and Credit Week, co-authored two books – Economics U$A (now in its 8th edition) and Microcomputers, Corporate Planning and Decision Support Systems – and was a contributing author to a book on scenario analysis, entitled Learning From the Future. His op-ed pieces have also appeared in the Financial Times, Newsweek International, The Times and the Boston Globe.

Before joining IHS, Behravesh was chief economist for Global Insight (now an IHS company). Prior to that, he was chief international economist for Standard & Poor's. He also held a number of other positions, including president and CEO of Oxford Economics U.S.A. and Group Senior Vice President of WEFA. Early in his career Behravesh worked at the Congressional Budget Office and the Federal Reserve. He has been covering the global economy for over 35 years.

Behravesh holds PhD and MA degrees in economics from the University of Pennsylvania, and a BS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has lived in Europe and the Middle East and is fluent in several languages. He travels extensively to Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Piet Croucamp

Dr. Faculty of Humanities, Department of Politics, University of Johannesburg

Piet Croucamp holds a D.Phil from University of the Free State. He has taught both under-graduate and post-graduate courses since 1994, first at the University of the North (now University of Limpopo) and since 2000 at Vista University. From January 2005, he was responsible for teaching Research Methods to post-graduate learners, and also for a course on statistical software, SPSS. His main research interest is the quantification of social concepts and measurability of social cohesion.

Thea Fourie

Senior Economist

Thea is responsible for analysing and forecasting economic developments in Mozambique, Madagascar, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Seychelles. She is also responsible for sovereign risk analysis and the day-to-day economic coverage of these economies. Prior to joining IHS Global Insight, Fourie was a financial economist at ING Barings, BOE NatWest Securities, and ABSA Bank, specializing in macro and financial economic analysis of the South African economy. Her expertise also includes macroeconometric modelling and macroeconomic analysis.

Fourie holds a B.Econ (Hons.) degree from the University of Pretoria and is fluent in both Afrikaans and English. With 15 years of experience in the financial and consulting industry, she is an expert in analysing strategically important economies in the sub-Saharan region.

Chisha Folotiya

Chairman, Laurence Paul Investment Services Limited, Zambia

Chisha has been a leading and pioneering businessman in Zambia for the past 18 years. Educated in the UK, Chisha graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering from Nottingham University before returning back to Zambia to head the family and its business interests at the tender age of 23, following the death of his parents. Under his leadership, the family businesses have grown into a diverse group with interests ranging across fields in property, hospitality, trading and education (his largest holding operates Rhodes Park School, now Zambia’s largest private school).

He formed Mondo Music in 1999 as Zambia’s first professional record company, achieving great successes with a number of artists and releases that gained international recognition. He has previously been involved in radio, television and magazine publishing.

In 2007, Chisha started Laurence Paul Investment Services Limited, which is involved in Investment Management, Corporate Finance advisory and securities trading. It operates as Laurence Paul Unit Trust, which is among Zambia’s fastest growing and dynamic collective investment schemes. Having led Laurence Paul as Managing Director for its first five years, Chisha has recently stepped back into the role of Chairman following the appointment of a successor. His main focus is now the strategic management and direction of his groups of companies, especially as the education holdings go through a period of accelerated growth with the opening of several new institutions in the next year.

With almost two decades of experience as a leader and entrepreneur, Chisha has developed a deep understanding of the political, economic and business climate in Zambia. His expertise includes business management, financial analysis as well as corporate governance, especially from the family business perspective.

Dianna Games

CEO, Africa@Work

Dianna is a former journalist and CEO of Africa@Work, a research and consulting company focusing on African business. Zimbabwean born and raised, she has travelled to 28 countries on the continent, doing research, analysis, and business briefings and consulting on African business issues for clients and the media.

Her advisory work has included engagements by Nepad, Comesa, Development Bank of Southern Africa, South African Institute for International Affairs, Brenthurst Foundation, United Nations, Gordon Institute for Business Science as well as international companies in South, Southern and West Africa.

She has written a number of published reports on business issues, including the experience of South African companies in the rest of Africa. Her 2003 report for SAIIA, “South African Business in Africa: An Introductory Survey and Analysis”, is still used by students of Africa in South Africa. She is also Honorary CE of the SA-Nigeria Chamber of Commerce and has worked in the Nigerian market for more than a decade. Dianna is also a regular columnist for Business Day newspaper in South Africa, writing about African business issues.

Karanta Kalley

Director, Sub-Saharan Africa Economics

Mr. Kalley is responsible for coordinating macroeconomic forecasts and risk analysis for countries in sub-Saharan Africa. He authors the Overview of the quarterly forecast and contributes to the World Economic Executive Summary—an analysis of the world economic outlook, policy trends, and key issues facing the global economy. Kalley has over 15 years of experience as a professional economist in business/macroeconomic forecasting, consulting, and teaching. He has detailed knowledge of economic methods and development macroeconomics, as well as a good knowledge of applied econometrics and global issues.

Prior to joining IHS Global Insight, Kalley taught macroeconomics at Florida International University, did macroeconomic forecasting for the finance department of the city of Philadelphia, and did econometric modelling for Glo-Chem, an international marketing research company. Karanta also currently serves as an adjunct professor of economics at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

He received his M.A. degree at the State University of New York, and did his doctoral work at the Maxwell School, Syracuse University.

Andrew Levy

Labour Economist & Consultant, Andrew Levy Labour Relations Advisors

Andrew Levy is one of South Africa’s best known labour resources. He has been at the forefront of the South African labour field for 35 years, and has written five books on South African labour developments. With Masters’ degrees in both labour Economics and labour law, he consults to a wide range of organisations both locally and internationally on the management of industrial relations.

Andrew’s statistical arm, the Wage Settlement Survey, has for over 20 years been a reliable, accurate, and important source of wage and strike-related data, utilised by a wide range of organisations including government departments and international bodies.

Hylton Macdonald

Group Risk Manager, Aveng Ltd.

Dr. Hylton Macdonald joined LTA in 1980 as a site engineer and has since held various senior management positions throughout the group including managing director of Grinaker-LTA Civil and Earthworks. He is a fellow and member of numerous industry-related bodies.

He is also the deputy chairman ICE–SA and played an instrumental role in developing the Construction Sector Charter. He has 35 years’ industry and related experience including 31 years with the Aveng Group.

His qualifications include: BSc (Eng) (cum laude) (Wits), PhD (Eng) (Wits), PMP (Wits), AMP (Harvard), FSAICE, MCSSA, MICE, MSPE, AAArb, FSAAE, Pr Eng, C Eng, Ing P Euro, Pr CPM, SCE-ICE.

Phindile Ngwenya

Research Analyst, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management, World Bank

Phindile is a research analyst for South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, Botswana, and Namibia at the World Bank’s South Africa office. She is responsible for managing these countries’ databases, monitoring macroeconomic developments, and policy analysis.

Previously she held the position of Senior Economist at National Treasury, responsible for monitoring as well as policy analysis of developments in the agriculture and mining sectors of South Africa.

She has a Master’s degree from the University of Pretoria and has been working in the economic policy environment for 7 years.

Ronel Oberholzer

Principal Economist, IHS Global Insight

Zbyszko Tabernacki

Vice President, Country and Industry Research and Forecasting

Zbyszko Tabernacki, CFA, Vice President, IHS Country and Industry Research and Forecasting, is a recognized expert on country risk, global economics and finance. He manages a global team of 165 country analysts and economists based in eight offices on five continents. His team is responsible for daily coverage, analysis and forecasts of political, economic and security developments as well as risk assessment of 204 countries globally. In addition, his team provides analysis of commodity markets and the global input pricing environment.

Mr. Tabernacki has 23 years of experience in economic, political and financial analysis and forecasting, geopolitical risk and country risk assessments, as well as policy advice in the emerging economies. He managed and participated in a number of consulting projects financed by the European Commission, the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, and many private sector clients. He speaks frequently at seminars and conferences.  In addition, Mr. Tabernacki gained substantial experience in financial analysis, mergers and acquisitions, privatizations and corporate restructurings, working as a Manager in the Corporate Finance department of Price Waterhouse in Warsaw, Poland. He received his M.Sc. degree in Economics from the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH), and received a Certificate in International Finance and Global Markets from the Georgetown University School of Business in Washington, DC. He is also a charterholder of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and a member of the National Association of Business Economists in Washington, DC, the CFA Institute and the Washington Society of Investment Analysts.

David Wilson

Senior Researcher, IHS

Wilson has contributed to a number of groundbreaking projects on the measurement of social and development variables, and has consulted in the private and public sector on various socioeconomic issues. His knowledge of South African developmental data and his experience in quantifying social issues allows him to analyse and present on a number of findings in this field. David holds an honours degree in econometrics from UJ, with undergraduate studies in economics and informatics.