Robert Ward is Director of Geoeconomics & Strategy, Japan Chair at The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), an organization that is a world-leading authority on global security, political risk and military conflict. Until recently, he was the head of the Economist Intelligence Unit's highly respected editorial team and its most seasoned speaker. Robert has played a leading role in articulating the company's global view to business audiences around the world through a lively and informal speaking style. Able to explain complex issues in an engaging and entertaining way, he is at home with audiences of all sizes and levels of seniority.

Robert has over 22 years of experience with the EIU, analysing and forecasting the world’s economies. He led the EIU country, industry and economics editorial teams and set direction for EIU’s global economic, political analysis and forecasts, making sense of the complex dynamics in economic, political and business spheres. His areas of special knowledge are the global economy, including major exchange rates and interest rates, IMF/G7, monetary and fiscal policy, as well as the economies and politics in United States, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Western Europe, China, India and other emerging regions.

Robert has been editor of Global Outlook, an Economist Intelligence Unit monthly publication. Highlights of Robert’s various articles published in Economist Group publications include Asia Regional Overview, Emerging Asia automotive markets -- a reality check, The World in magazine, Japan Redux, Ageing trailblazer and many others. Opinion pieces in non-Economist Group publications include the Wall Street Journal, Far Eastern Economic Review, Mainichi Shimbun, Chuo Koron, and Yomiuri Shimbun.

Sample assignments include briefings with to a wide range of financial, industrial and service companies. Engagements have involved presentations to board members, confidential personal briefings on the global economic outlook or to an international management team and providing kick-off presentations at regional strategy and planning meetings. He also speaks at a wide variety of external conferences and client forums, including ones for IBM, Toyota, Diageo, SABMiller, Global Blue, EDANA, Barclays and RBS, to name a few. He also appears regularly at Economist Group events including the Economist Intelligence Unit's Asia Strategic Forecast series and various C-level conferences.

Robert lived in Japan in 1989-1996 and in London since. He was previously with the Japan Bond Research Institute (now Japan Rating and Investment Information), Japan’s largest bond rating agency, where he was assigned to the international rating division. A fluent speaker of Japanese, he regularly contributes to international and Japanese media and also appears frequently on the BBC, CNN, CNBC and other broadcast media. Robert holds a bachelors and a master’s degree from Cambridge University.