Ernst & Young UK's ITEM Club spokespeople - Ernst & Young - United Kingdom

Peter Spencer is Professor of Economics and Finance at the University of York and an Economic Adviser to the Ernst & Young ITEM Forecasting Club. He started his career as an economic adviser at HM Treasury in 1975, developing the monetary sector of the forecasting model, before joining the economic forecasting team. He left the Treasury in 1986 to join Credit Suisse First Boston and spent 10 years working in the City, finally as Group Chief Economist at Dresdner Kleinwort Benson. He moved into the academic world in 1996 accepting a part-time Chair at Birkbeck College, London. Peter publishes regularly in leading business and economics journals and has written two books on monetary policy and financial regulation, published by Oxford University Press.

Dougie Adams is an independent economic consultant, based in Edinburgh, and Advisor to the Ernst & Young Scottish ITEM Club. He spent the first eleven years of his career in the public sector, working in economist roles at the Scottish Office, the European Commission and the Scottish Development Agency. In the 16 years to 2002 he worked in economics and marketing roles with a number of leading investment management companies, including a 12 year spell with the multinational fund manager Franklin Templeton, where he was Marketing and then Business Development Director for Europe.

Andrew is a senior economist with Oxford Economics. He has been with the company since 2008 and an economist for almost 10 years, working at a number of respected organisations, including Experian and the CBI.