Management Team

Chris Stibbs

Group chief executive
Chris was appointed Group chief executive in July 2013. He originally joined the company as Group finance director in July 2005. In April 2010 he also took on the responsibility for the Economist Intelligence Unit as its managing director. Previously he was the corporate development director of Incisive Media, finance director of the TBP Group and director of the FT Law and Tax Division.

Zanny Minton Beddoes

Editor-in-Chief
Zanny was appointed editor-in-chief of The Economist in February 2015. She was previously the newspaper’s business affairs editor. She joined The Economist in 1994, after spending two years as an economist at the International Monetary Fund.

Robin Bew

Managing director, Economist Intelligence Unit
Robin joined the EIU in 1995 as an editor before becoming chief economist in 1997 and editorial director in 2006. He was appointed managing director in 2013. Prior to joining the EIU he was an economist at HM Treasury, the UK’s finance ministry.

Michael Brunt

COO and Publisher
Michael has been with the Group since 2006. He has been the Group marketing director for Asia, managing director for The Economist businesses in Continental Europe, global head of marketing for the EIU, and head of circulation for the Americas and global marketing for The

Oscar Grut

EVP corporate development, general counsel and company secretary
Oscar joined the Group in 1998 from Linklaters. He founded The Economist’s digital editions business and previously served as managing director for its digital operations.

Catherine Hearn

Group HR director
Catherine joined the Group in June 2016 having worked previously at Dentsu Aegis Network, Diageo, Polestar and ICL where she held a number of executive positions in human resources both in the UK and internationally.

Shane Naughton

Group chief financial officer
Shane joined as chief financial officer in January 2014. Before joining the Group, he was the global chief financial officer of EMI Music and previously worked for UBM, Sky, Dell Computers and Coca Cola.

Stephane Pere

EVP business development
Stephane joined the Group in 2007 as online sales manager in CEMEA. In 2010 he launched Ideas People Media for the Group and from 2012-13 he was head of digital advertising sales for the Americas. Prior to joining the Group, Stephane held positions at Yahoo! and Canal+.

Tim Pinnegar

Managing director, Asia
Tim joined the company in 2001, having worked for Leo Burnett Asia. Before being appointed managing director he was publisher of The Economist, Asia Pacific. Tim is based in the Group’s Singapore office.

Tom Standage

Deputy editor and digital strategy
Tom originally joined The Economist in 1998 as its science correspondent. He subsequently held the positions of the technology editor, business editor and the business affairs editor. Tom is also the lead for the Group’s digital strategy.