Meet the team

Andrew holds a first class honours degree in Economics and Politics, and won the prestigious Walter Bagehot Best UK Dissertation prize for his 1993 doctoral thesis. After several years working in academia, he was a corporate finance advisor with Ernst and Young before joining the RBS Group. Andrew is a member of the University of Nottingham Globalisation and Economic Policy Advisory Board and a visiting professor at the University of Glasgow. He also sits on the CBI Economic and Tax Affairs Committee.

Stephen Boyle is Head of Group Economics. Group Economics provides economic advice to business, credit and strategy functions across RBS. The team is focused on understanding the trends in the economy and what they mean for the Group and its customers in the different markets and geographies they operate in.

Educated at Glasgow and McGill Universities, Stephen first worked at RBS from 1996-2001 as Head of Business Economics. He returned to RBS in 2006, having established Futureskills Scotland - the Scottish government's labour market analysis unit - and led the economics and evaluation functions of Scottish Enterprise. He has also worked in universities and was director of an economic consulting business.

Stephen Blackman is a Senior Economic Advisor, working in the Macroeconomics team. Stephen manages the UK household sector for Group Economics. From 2003-2007 Stephen worked at the Department for Work and Pensions where he helped to implement policy on private pensions, welfare reform and various labour market issues. Prior to that Stephen worked in academia after completing his studies at the University of London.

Fionnuala Earley is a UK Consumer Economist in Group Economics. Previously she was Chief Economist at Nationwide Building Society where she was responsible for the Nationwide House Price Index and became a well known and respected media commentator on housing market issues. Fionnuala worked as a senior economist at the Council of Mortgage Lenders and gained experience of European housing and mortgage markets as head of Research and Statistics at the European Mortgage Federation in Brussels.

She trained as a government economist at the Financial Services Authority, Department for Business and Enterprise and the Office of Fair Trading and has economics degrees from the University of Cardiff and the University of Southampton.

David Fenton is Head of Corporate at RBS. This team monitors developments across the corporate and the household sectors, with a view to identifying risks and opportunities for RBS and its customers. He presents regularly to seminars, conferences and the media. Prior to running the Micro team, David worked on the Macro team, where he covered broader trends in the UK economy. Before joining RBS in 2002, David was a consultant in Ernst & Young's corporate finance team (1999-2002). He has a Masters degree in economics from Glasgow University.

Hamish Smith works in the microeconomics team as a senior economic advisor, where he covers, inter alia, commodity issues. Mr Smith joined Group Economics in May 2011, having previously worked for the World Trade Organization (2005-2011) where he was involved in the murky world of international trade negotiations. Mr Smith worked on bilateral trade issues for the New Zealand government (2000-2005) and represented New Zealand at various international meetings. Mr Smith holds a Masters of Applied Economics with distinction.

Adeleke Abiodun is an Economic Advisor in the Macroeconomics team, providing analysis and advice to business, credit and strategy functions across RBS. Adeleke holds a Bachelor in Economics gained from Birmingham University in 2007, and a Masters in Economics and International Financial Economics, gained from Warwick University in 2010. In between periods of study, Adeleke worked for two US investment banks.

Sebastian Burnside is a Senior Economic Advisor in the Corporate team. He joined Group Economics in 2009 having previously worked for Ofcom, the communications regulator, and in consultancy. He provides analysis across a number of areas, including shipping and banking sectors. Sebastian has particular interest in the application of quantitative techniques to real-world problems, including econometric and economic modelling. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, a first class degree from the London School of Economics and a Masters in Economics from the University of Edinburgh, with distinction.

Rupert Seggins joined RBS as a Senior Economic Advisor in the Household team in August 2011, covering UK consumer economics. He has previously worked as an economist at the Foreign Office, HM Treasury and most recently at the British Embassy in Tokyo. Rupert holds a Bachelor's degree from Bristol University and a Master's degree from UCL.

Enrico Longoni is an Economic Advisor in the Macroeconomic team mainly covering the corporate sector in the UK. Enrico joined the group in August 2010 having previously worked as an economist for a UK public body and as a PhD intern at the European Central Bank. Enrico has a strong background in applied economics, economic modelling and applied econometrics, he holds a Masters in Economics from the University of Edinburgh and a PhD in Economics from the University of Milan - Bicocca.

James McCann is an Economic Advisor in Group Economics. Working in the Microeconomics team he provides analysis across a number of areas including the corporate sector. James joined RBS in October 2010 having previously worked as an economist for a London based consultancy. He holds a masters degree in economics from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and has an undergraduate degree from the London School of Economics.

Marcus Wright is an Economic Advisor in the Household team, providing analysis and advice to business functions across RBS. Marcus joined Group Economics in May 2011 having previously worked as an economist for an investment trust. Marcus has a particular interest in Asian economies and experience in providing strategically relevant insight to fund managers. Marcus has previously worked for RBS in risk and has also worked for a Scotland-based economic consultancy. Marcus holds a first class degree in economics from the University of Aberdeen.