MACROECONOMICS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director of Economic Modelling at Macroeconomics Advisory
Alex is Director of Economic Modelling at Macroeconomics Advisory and Professor (Emeritus) at the University of Western Australia. He was previously Winthrop Professor of politics at the University of Western Australia, professor of economics at the Aberdeen Business School and the Helen Sheridan chair in economics at the University of Massachusetts. He taught mathematical game theory in the European Union Summer School and has been a visiting professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts for many years.
Alex has worked on a range of problems for industry and government. These include framing emissions problems for the aviation industry; designing dynamic graphical interfaces for estimating changes in travel demand in response to changes in transport linkages; and estimating world demand for exotic nuclear fuels. Alex has worked on the mathematics of energy problems, and has also worked on the the mathematics of valuing water in large complicated river systems. He has consulted for law firms on problems of contracting and given lectures and seminars on applications of game theory.
Alex is currently working on energy problems and writing a book on the mathematical characteristics of large complex political and economic systems. He has published two books and approximately 50 papers.
Des Nicholls is an advisor to Macroeconomics on issues relating to financial modelling, quantitative methods, survey methods and issues relating to the valuation of property. He is a Professor in the College of Business and Economics at the Australian National University, an Accredited statistician (by the Statistical Society of Australia), and an Associate of the Australian Property Institute.
Des has over 25 years experience consulting to public and private sector agencies, as well as acting as an expert witness on quantitative issues in a significant number of court cases.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Senior Advisor to
- Senior Fellow - Budget and Tax Policy
Khalid Ahmed is a senior advisor to Macroeconomics on microeconomic reform and tax policy. He served in the ACT Public Service for 19 years, including 10 years as Executive Director of Policy Coordination and Development Division in Treasury, developing and implementing major policy initiatives in the Territory.
Khalid led the review of the ACT's taxation system including the development of the Taxation Reform Plan, and was part of the Affordable Housing Taskforce established by the ACT Government to improve housing affordability. Khalid currently works as an advisor to private sector boards, public sector reform projects in developing countries, and has maintained research interests in a range of disciplines in science, technology and economics.
Dr Russell is a senior adviser to Macroeconomics on health economics and policy including program analysis. She is the inaugural Menzies Foundation Fellow at the Menzies Centre for Health Policy which is co-located at the University of Sydney and the Australian National University.
She is also actively involved in health policy research, analysis and commentary across a wide range of issues and a number of collaborations. Most recently Dr Russell was Policy Advisor to the Shadow Minister for Health and Manager of Opposition Business in the House, Julia Gillard MP and to the Leader of the Federal Opposition, the Hon Simon Crean, MP.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Professor of Economics ( Adjunct ), Australian Centre for Financial Studies / Senior Fellow - Macroeconomics and Financial Markets
- Senior Advisor to
Professor Rodney Maddock is a senior advisor to Macroeconomics on a wide range of macroeconomics and financial market issues. Rod is an honorary Vice Chancellor's Fellow at Victoria University having previously been Professor of Finance at Monash University and Professor of Economics at La Trobe University.
Rod's non-academic positions have included Executive General Manager (Corporate Strategy) at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and as Chief Economist at the Business Council of Australia. He has recently retired from the Board of CEDA. Rod's books include Rational Expectations, The Australian Economy in the Long Run, and Unlocking the Infrastructure.
Job Titles:
- Chief Economist at Macroeconomics Advisory
Stephen Anthony is the Chief Economist at Macroeconomics Advisory and specialises in portfolio allocation and strategy briefing inputs for wholesale market participants. He is an applied econometrician/modeller with a strong track record of analysing and forecasting the Australian economy and global markets, and is considered something of a monetary and fiscal policy specialist.
Stephen is an experienced economic forecaster and a four-time winner of The Age / Sydney Morning Herald BusinessDay Economic Survey (2013, 2015, 2016 and 2018). He contributes to many forecasting panels including those at Bloomberg, the Reserve Bank of Australia, The Australian Financial Review, and The Conversation.
Over the past three decades, Stephen has worked in the Federal Treasury and Department of Finance, the International Monetary Fund, and in the private sector providing advice on macroeconomic policy, taxation reform, and budget analysis. Stephen was the lead economic analyst and advisor to the Australian Capital Territory's Taxation Review and was Chief Economist at Industry Super Australia for almost six years.
Stephen is a Senior Adviser at the Monash Centre for Financial Studies and is an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Business, Government and Law at the University of Canberra attached to the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling. He is a member of the New South Wales Community Housing Industry Council (CHIC) and a foundation member of the Melbourne Economic Forum.
Stephen holds a first-class honours degree in economics from La Trobe University in Melbourne, a Masters in Public Policy from Georgetown University in Washington DC, and a PhD in Economics from La Trobe University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Member AICD, Member ACS / Senior Fellow - Energy, Climate Change & Regulation Policy
- Senior Adviser to
Steve Blume is a senior adviser to Macroeconomics on energy, climate change & regulation policy. Steve is one of Australia's most experienced energy experts and advocates with more than two decades experience in the energy sector after 25 years in ITC & government. President of the Australian Smart Energy Council; Director of the Global Solar Council; Treasurer, New Zealand & Pacific Solar & Storage Council; Director, Australian Institute of Energy and Director, & Steering Committee Chair, Asia PV Industry Association. CEO of NoCarbon Pty Ltd, a smart energy consulting firm. Steve is a former political adviser, private & public sector senior executive, and change advocate, fighting for the adoption of clean energy solutions as a primary climate change response. Learn more about Steve on LinkedIn.