Liam Halligan

Liam Halligan is Chief Economist at Prosperity Capital Management - one of the world's leading asset-management firms, with investments worth more than $5bn across Russia and the Former Soviet Union.

Founded in 1996, PCM has consistently topped performance charts for emerging market funds, winning numerous awards from MarHedge, Lipper and Standard and Poor's. The firm has built a stellar reputation for its thorough research and "active" investment approach - and is now a major shareholder in some of the leading companies in Russia, Ukraine and Central Asia.

Along with his role at PCM, Halligan is also one of the UK's leading economics commentators. For the last six years, he has written his highly respected "Economics Agenda" column in The Sunday Telegraph - which recently won him recognition as "Workworld Columnist of the Year" and "Business and Finance Journalist of the Year" at the British Press Awards.

Halligan's interest in the Former Soviet Union dates back to the early 1990s, when he moved to Moscow and co-founded Russian Economic Trends - a widely respected source of independent data and commentary. During that period, he wrote an influential column in The Moscow Times and was heavily involved in the Russian government's attempts to stabilize the country's nascent post-Communist economy. He went on to cover Russia for The Economist and The Economist Intelligence Unit.

In 1996, Halligan returned to the UK to become a Political Correspondent at The Financial Times, based at the House of Commons - where he proved himself to a shrewd observer of the Westminster scene and a robust, independent thinker. Singled out by the Downing Street Press office as "impervious to spin", he developed a reputation for courageous, non-partisan reporting - as detailed in political memoirs written by, among others, Michael Brunson, Peter Oborne and Alastair Campbell.

Halligan's FT coverage won him a job at Channel Four News - where, until 2006, he was the programme's Economics Correspondent. During this period, he received a string of broadcast awards - including the World Leadership Forum's "Business Journalist of the Year" award (twice), the coveted "Wincott Award" (three times), the Workworld "TV Programme of the Year" award (four times), and the Bradford and Bingley "Personal Finance Programme of the Year" award.

He also wrote dozens of articles on economics, politics and international relations for, among others, The Wall Street Journal, The Business, The New Statesman, Prospect, House Magazine and The Parliamentary Monitor, as well as presenting Wake up to Money on BBC Radio Five Live and researching, writing and presenting a number of hard-hitting Dispatches and 30 Minutes documentaries for Channel Four.

Having joined Prosperity Capital Management last year, Halligan continues to write his weekly Sunday Telegraph column - as well as a regular column on economics and business trends for GQ magazine - while appearing on television and radio to comment on economic issues in the UK and across the rest of the world.

He has extensive experience hosting discussions/panels on economic, financial and political topics at the highest level - including dozens of political fringe meetings featuring Cabinet Ministers, leading industrialists and other VIPs, along with numerous "Head-to-Head" economics debates at conferences run by Euromoney. Halligan's abilities as a chairman have, over many years, won him plaudits from a broad range of clients, who consistently praise his professionalism, attention to detail, even-handedness and ability to make complex debates both accessible and enjoyable.

Given his reputation both as a "natural" broadcaster and independent thinker, Halligan is also regularly booked as a speaker in his own right - having addressed audiences as diverse as the Royal Economics Society, the CBI's Senior Executive Council, The Cambridge Union and numerous after-dinner events.

While well-capable of providing insightful and entertaining analysis on a whole range of economic and political topics, his particular areas of interest include emerging markets, UK/Irish politics, commodity markets, pension reform, sovereign wealth funds, the single currency, UK/US monetary policy, African economics, print-broadcast media, global trade patterns and the future shape of the world economy.

Halligan holds a First Class (Hons) Degree in Economics from the University of Warwick and an M.Phil (Econ) from Oxford University. As a young academic economist, he held research posts at The International Monetary Fund, The International Food Policy Research Institute, The Social Market Foundation and The London School of Economics.

A member of the Society of Business Economists and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufacturing and Commerce, Halligan is listed in Who's Who, DeBretts People of Today and The Dictionary of International Biography.

Liam chairs conferences and seminars and is a highly skilled conference facilitator and after dinner speaker. He has a wealth of experience hosting events and award ceremonies, both at home and abroad.

Testimonials:

"He writes red-meat eating, fire-breathing columns. His pose is pacey and uncompromising and he doesn't let up until he has changed your mind". Will Hutton, Executive Editor, The Observer

"Halligan shows a great ability to explain, in layman's terms, complex economic movements and shifts in society. He brings a polemicist's passion too. His articles leave a reader understanding what is happening at the top of government - and, also, why it matters to individual taxpayers". Judges' Panel, British Press Awards

"Liam Halligan is the Michael Caine of Economics" Chief of Staff, Downing Street Policy Unit