KNOW Country & Sovereign Risk

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.

Jan Randolph

Director of Sovereign Risk, IHS Global Insight

Jan Randolph, Director of Sovereign Risk for IHS Global Insight, is an experienced international economist and country risk manager.

Mr. Randolph has held positions in a variety of international financial risk management firms in financial services and has over six years of international economics experience with IHS.

He holds graduate degrees from the Universities of London and Bristol.

Alistair Thornton

Senior China Analyst, IHS Global Insight China Regional Service

Thornton is a Beijing-based Analyst at IHS, within the Global Economics team. He is responsible for macroeconomic analysis of China, both at national and provincial level, and contributes to the China Regional Service. Prior to joining IHS, Thornton was an East Asia Risk Analyst at a British political risk firm and a contributor for the Economist Intelligence Unit. Thornton holds Masters degrees from the University of Edinburgh and University of Sydney, and speaks Mandarin.

James Auger

Head of Country Analysis

James Auger, Director of IHS Country Analysis, is responsible for a large team of specialists covering the global political, security and business environment. He provides editorial oversight, leads product development and has been instrumental in developing country risk assessment methodologies. He also writes and presents at conferences on global issues such as risk trends, trade and security.

Mr. Auger started his career at IHS as a European analyst with subsidiary Global Insight. He is now also responsible for a range of services originally developed by IHS Jane’s. Prior to joining the company, he worked for the European Commission in Brussels, the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London and the United Nations Institute for Disarmament in Geneva.

He holds an MS in European politics and policy from the London School of Economics and an MA in social and political science from Cambridge University.

Lilit Gevorgyan

Political Analyst, IHS Global Insight

Lilit Gevorgyan joined IHS in September 2009, and is responsible for analysis of the political, security and business environment of Russia and former Soviet countries. In addition to consultancy work, she contributes daily analytical articles, risk assessments and in-depth special reports. Lilit has worked closely with a wide range of IHS clients on consultancy projects, spanning the energy, finance, manufacturing, insurance and government sectors. Many of these projects assess the specific impact of political, security and regulatory developments on the organizations’ Eurasian operations. Lilit has also delivered presentations at a range of events arranged under both the Jane’s and Global Insight banners. 

Prior to arriving at IHS, Lilit worked for a number of academic institutions and think-tanks, focusing on the CIS risk environment. These included the Eurasia House at Cambridge University, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), and LSE Enterprise. Earlier in her career, she worked for the United Nations in New York, the ministries of foreign affairs and economy in Armenia and was press relations officer at the Armenian Diplomatic Mission in London. In her diplomatic capacity as Attaché she worked as liaising officer between the Armenian Foreign Ministry and the NATO Partnership for Peace (PfP) Programme and collaborated with the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) fact finding mission along the Line of Contact between Armenia and Azerbaijan. She holds an MSc in International Relations and Political Economy from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and a BA and MA in International Relations from Yerevan State University, Armenia. Lilit also holds a Diploma from NATO Defence College in Rome, focused on civil–military relations and conflict resolution. She has lived in Armenia, Russia, Ukraine and the US. In addition to English, she speaks Russian, Armenian and basic French and Turkish. 

Lilit is a regular contributor to major media outlets, participating in broadcasts by the BBC (including BBC Radio 4 Today Show), CNN, CNBC, Al-Jazeera, Canadian BNN, Russia Today and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, among others. She has been quoted in numerous print and online publications, including the New York Times, Financial Times, DowJones - Wall Street Journal, Observer, Daily Telegraph, Guardian, Associated Press, Agence France Presse (AFP), Reuters, Bloomberg, Vedomosti, Moscow Times, Nezavysimaya Gazeta, St. Petersburg Times, Kiev Post, Hurriyet, Strategic Risk Magazine, Figaro and El Pais. She has had articles published by the European Centre for Energy and Resource Security and BusinessNewEurope. Topics have included Russia’s modernization and privatization drive, Ukrainian energy and regulatory reforms, political stability in Kyrgyzstan, the resurgence of Islamist threats in Tajikistan, conflict and economic development in Central Asia, and the impact of regional conflicts on South Caucasus energy security.

Dr. Laurence Allan

Senior Analyst

Dr. Laurence Allan joined IHS in April 2011. He is a senior analyst working on the political, security, and business environment in a range of Latin American and Caribbean countries.

He was previously a Research Analyst at the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office, and lectured on the politics of Latin America and the Caribbean at the University of London. He holds an MA and PhD in Latin American Politics, and has published on the region. He speaks English and Spanish.

Martin Roberts

Senior Analyst

Martin Roberts, Senior Analyst, is responsible for coverage of the political, security and business environment of several Sub-Saharan African countries. Martin worked for some years as a newspaper journalist before joining IHS.

He holds an MS in International Politics from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London, where he specialized in African politics. Martin also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Journalism from Cardiff University and a BA in Economics from Cambridge University.