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.

Professor Hasan Bakhshi MBE

Director

Hasan is Professor of Economics of the Creative Industries and Director of the the Creative PEC, which is led by Newcastle Un...

Billy Beckett

Communications Manager

Billy is Creative PEC's Communications Manager. He was previously Stakeholder Relations Officer at Nesta, supporting the orga...

Simon Budgen

Head of Operations

Simon is Head of Operations at Creative PEC, joining the team in the summer of 2021. Previously, Simon has worked for the BBC...

Dr Tom Cahill-Jones

Research Network Manager

Tom is the Research Network Manager for Creative PEC, always ready to have a conversation about creativity and innovation. He...

Professor Giorgio Fazio

Research Director of Creative PEC and Chair of Macroeconomics at Newcastle University Business School

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

Lilli Geissendorfer

Deputy Director

Lilli is Deputy Director of Creative PEC, responsible for supporting the team to realise the centre’s potential in achieving ...

Makena Guantai Day

Executive Assistant

Makena is Executive Assistant to Creative PEC's Director Hasan Bakhshi. My background is in international development and I h...

Bernard Hay

Head of Policy

Bernard is Head of Policy at Creative PEC. Previously he was Head of Research and Practice at the Design Council, where he ...

Alice Kent

Head of Communications (job-share)

Alice is Head of Communications at Creative PEC (job-share with Anna). Prior to joining Creative PEC, she was for six years C...

Duncan Todd

Finance and Administration Manager

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

Anna Zabow

Head of Communications (job-share)

Anna is Head of Communications at Creative PEC (job share with Alice). She also works part-time at Hear Me Out - a charity w...