Alliance Manchester Business School (AMBS) at The University of Manchester is proud to announce the appointment of three new Honorary Professors to support the University's research and engagement activities on productivity, innovation, business performance and economic growth.
Tera Allas, Catherine L. Mann and Anthony Venables will be associated with The Productivity Institute, a national research organisation headquartered at AMBS and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). The new appointees bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to their roles, which they will share with staff, students, policymakers, and practitioners engaged in shaping productivity policies and practices.
Professor Tera Allas CBE is the Director of Research and Economics in McKinsey & Company’s United Kingdom and Ireland office and leads McKinsey’s research on the macroeconomic outlook, growth, and productivity. She was previously Deputy Head of the UK Government Economic Service and brings together more than three decades of experience in strategy, corporate finance, economics, and public policy. Tera also serves as Chair of The Productivity Institute’s Advisory Committee and a Trustee of Be the Business, a charity that delivers productivity research and improvement in small businesses.
Professor Catherine L. Mann is an external member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, a former global chief economist at Citibank, a chief economist at the OECD, and has previously held academic, think tank, and policy positions. Her research focuses on international economic issues encompassing trade, finance, climate, productivity, and inequality. She also leads the Finance, Investment and Productivity Research Programme at The Productivity Institute.
Professor Anthony Venables is a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Economics at the University of Oxford, where he was previously BP Professor of Economics. He has published extensively in international trade and spatial economics, including work on trade and imperfect competition, economic integration, multinational firms, and economic geography. From 2020 to 2022, he held the position of Research Director at The Productivity Institute.
Professor Kenneth McPhail, Head of School at AMBS, said: "We are excited to welcome Tera, Catherine, and Anthony into our circle of esteemed Honorary Professors. Their appointment underlines the University's commitment to help tackle the UK productivity problem and translate productivity gains into improved living standards and well-being across the UK."
Professor Bart van Ark, Managing Director of The Productivity Institute said: "Catherine, Tera and Tony are highly respected scholars among the productivity research and policy communities and far beyond. All three have greatly supported The Productivity Institute's work and will help the Institute to be not only world-leading on the topic, but also provide actionable pathways to improved productivity performance."
"The Productivity Institute has a focus on diagnosing the causes and implications of poor productivity around the UK, but its remit is wider than that. Our research also looks to solutions, identifying policy principles and engaging policymakers and businesses to take on productivity-enhancing actions. We look forward to the contribution of these new honorary professors in this important work."
