Ben Simpfendorfer is a Partner at Oliver Wyman based in Hong Kong. He also leads the Oliver Wyman Forum’s work across Asia Pacific, and works across a range of practices, including geopolitics, public policy, finance and risk. He also drives the firm’s Asia-Middle East corridor initiatives.

Ben is the former CEO of Silk Road Associates where he advised leading multinationals and Asian firms on their commercial strategies in Greater China, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. He also led development of the firm’s proprietary SRA Intelligence® analytics solutions that has since been incorporated into Oliver Wyman’s own geospatial offerings.

Ben has worked in Asia and the Middle East for over 25 years. He was previously chief China economist at RBS and senior China economist at JPMorgan in Hong Kong. He started his career in Beirut in the 1990s, later working as a Middle East & North Africa senior analyst for Dun & Bradstreet in London. He has briefed CEOs and boards worldwide.

Ben is a Mandarin and Arabic speaker, and author of The New Silk Road (Palgrave Macmillan: 2009) and The Rise of the New East (Palgrave Macmillian: 2014). He is a leading specialist on China’s Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) and was part of a Foreign Experts Committee advising the Chinese government on BRI’s implementation. During this time, he has worked in over 25 countries across Asia, Middle East, and Africa.

He is a Member of the Hong Kong-Middle East Advisory Board for Hong Kong’s Financial Services Development Council, a former Board Member of the Pacific Basin Economic Council, and a former Exco Member and Governor of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong. He is also a regular commentator on Bloomberg & CNBC.