People

Meet the core team, the researchers from our consortium of universities, our Industry Champions, and International Council.

Core team Researchers Industry Champions International Council

This page is the process of being updated as the Creative PEC moves to new co-hosts Newcastle University and the RSA. Below you can see the researchers we worked with during the first iteration of the PEC 2018 - 2023.

Meet the PEC's Industry Champions: a UK-wide network of trusted practitioners, drawn from all parts of the creative industries. The group provide the PEC with guidance on industry’s most pressing challenges, expert insight to inform our research, and critical feedback on our policy recommendations.

Meet the PEC's International Council: a network of leading policy and creative economy practitioners from across the world, convened by The British Council. The group share international creative economy policy intelligence and research opportunities, and act as critical friends in reviewing and providing an international perspective on the PEC’s activities. Find out more.

Hasan Bakhshi

Director

Hasan leads the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre, a Nesta-led, AHRC-funded research consortium of ten universit...

Professor Giorgio Fazio

Chair of Macroeconomics at Newcastle University Business School

Professor Giorgio Fazio is an applied economist with expertise in open macroeconomics, trade and investment. He has published...

Billy Beckett

Policy Communications Officer

Billy is the PEC's Policy Communications Officer. He was previously Stakeholder Relations Officer at Nesta, supporting the or...

Simon Budgen

Centre Manager

Simon has been Centre Manager for the Policy & Evidence Centre since the summer of 2021. Previously, Simon has worked for...

Tom Cahill-Jones

Partnerships Manager

Tom is the Partnerships Manager for the PEC, always ready to have a conversation about creativity and innovation. He's intere...

Makena Guantai Day

Executive Assistant to Director of PEC

My role at at the PEC is Executive Assistant to Hasan Bakhshi, Director of the PEC. My background is in international develop...

Alice Kent

Communications Manager (job share)

Alice is Communications Manager at the PEC (job-share with Anna). Prior to joining the PEC, she was for six years Communicati...

Duncan Todd

Finance and Administration Manager

Duncan is the PEC's Finance and Administration Manager. Although studying Biology at University, Duncan’s background is in Lo...

Anna Zabow

Communications Manager (job share)

Anna is Communications Manager at the PEC (job share with Alice). Anna also works part-time at Hear Me Out - a charity which ...