The Wheeler Institute is delighted to host Asad Alam, Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia for the World Bank’s Prosperity Vice Presidency, at London Business School on Monday 27th October at 4:30pm. He will be joined by Cecile Thioro Niang, Practice Manager, Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation, Europe and Central Asia and Fabian Scheifele, economist in the World Bank’s Finance, Competitiveness and Investment department for the Europe and Central Asia region. This event will be moderated by Rajesh Chandy, Professor of Marketing, Tony and Maureen Wheeler Chair in Entrepreneurship and Co-Academic Director of the Wheeler Institute at LBS.
Europe and Central Asia stands at a crossroads. After reform-driven growth in the early 2000s, the region’s productivity growth has slowed down—halving its contribution to economic growth since the global financial crisis. Today, misallocated resources, weak firm capabilities, and stalled reforms have left the region below its economic potential.
TIDES of Change: Igniting Productivity Growth in Europe and Central Asia presents a bold new agenda to boost productivity. Drawing on rich firm-level data, it identifies five key levers—Trade, Investment, Digitalization, Efficiency, and Skills (TIDES)—that can drive a new wave of growth. From smarter integration into global markets to boosting technology adoption and workforce skills, the evidence shows that targeted reforms can unlock significant gains.
Join us for the launch of this timely report and a conversation on how countries in the region can reclaim momentum and chart a path toward shared prosperity.
Date: Monday 27th October
Time: 16:30 GMT
Location: LT15, Sammy Ofer Centre, London Business School
About the speakers
Asad Alam is the Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia for the World Bank’s Prosperity Vice Presidency. Prior to this, Asad was the Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa for EFI. He earlier served as Chief of Staff to the President of the World Bank Group; Country Director for Egypt, Yemen, and Djibouti; Country Director for Southern Africa; Country Director for the South Caucasus; Sector Manager in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and Country Economist in various countries. Asad has written on various subjects including growth, productivity, governance, poverty, inequality, trade, and fiscal issues. He holds a doctorate in economics from Columbia University.
Cecile Niang is a dual Senegalese and French national, she is a Manager for Europe and Central Asia for Finance, Competitiveness & Investment Global Department at the World Bank Group. She held this post previously on East Asia and the Pacific from 2020 to 2024. Since joining the Bank in 2004, she has held various positions working on long term infrastructure finance, climate finance, financial inclusion; firm capabilities and innovation; markets and technology; investment and competition, telecoms and digital development. Niang’s prior positions at the World Bank Group included 4 years in East Asia and the Pacific and 6 years in Latin America & the Caribbean as Lead Economist and as Program Leader for the Caribbean countries.
Fabian Scheifele is an Economist in the Finance, Competitiveness and Investment department for the Europe and Central Asia region. His research focuses on the impact of green and digital technologies and public policies on firm performance and employment. His work has been published in Energy Economics, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews and Energy Policy. Prior to joining the World Bank, he worked as a Project Manager for the German Development Bank KfW and as a consultant for the OECD. He holds a PhD in Economics from Technical University of Berlin, an MSc. in International Policy Economy from the London School of Economics and an M.A. in International Economic Policy from SciencesPo Paris.
Rajesh Chandy is Professor of Marketing and the Tony and Maureen Wheeler Chair in Entrepreneurship at London Business School, where he is also the Co-Academic Director of the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development. Rajesh’s current research lies at the intersection of business and development. His recent projects have covered the impact of business skills among micro-entrepreneurs in South Africa, novel financing approaches in Ghana, property rights in slums in Egypt, innovation among farmers in India, highways and private education expenditures in India, and using big data for development outcomes.
Rajesh is a member of the advisory board of the Journal of Marketing and a Co-Editor of the journal’s special issue on “Better Marketing for a Better World”. He is also co-editor of the Management Science special issue on “Business and Climate Change,” and previously served as an Area Editor for the Entrepreneurship and Innovation area at Management Science. His research and publications have received several awards, including the Mahajan Award for Lifetime Contributions to Marketing Strategy Research.