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Brad Olsen is the Chief Executive and Principal Economist at Infometrics and is one of New Zealand’s leading economic commentators. Brad is passionate about using economics to make better informed decisions and can communicate complex and detailed trends in a simple, relatable, and useful manner. With extensive networks across New Zealand’s business, media, community, and social sectors, Brad often brings together a variety of views, data, and emerging trends to inform advice and analysis to key decision makers across New Zealand.Brad is a community leader and is one of New Zealand’s youngest Justices of the Peace. His work in the community has been recognised a number of times: he was named New Zealand’s Queen’s Young Leader in 2016, one of Asia New Zealand Foundation’s 25 to Watch in 2019, and Young Wellingtonian of the Year 2020.As a young person, Brad brings a different perspective to key opportunities and challenges that New Zealand faces and is keen to unlock more potential across businesses and communities. Emerging trends continue to accelerate the pace of change across the world and in New Zealand, and Brad focuses on understanding these trends as they evolve and highlighting way to enhance outcomes for local communities.<h5 data-block-key="1q3lp">Background</h5>Originally from Whangarei, Brad completed his undergraduate studies at Victoria University of Wellington, finishing with a BCom and BA (majoring in Economics, Public Policy, International Relations and Political Science).Since joining Infometrics in July 2015 as a part time data analyst while studying at Victoria University of Wellington, Brad has risen to be one of New Zealand’s most prominent, and youngest, economic commentators. He’s been termed by The Spinoff as a <a href="https://thespinoff.co.nz/business/06-06-2020/who-is-brad-olsen-boy-wonder-and-economist-extraordinaire/">boy wonder and economist extraordinaire</a> for his detailed, comprehensive, but understandable views on the economy. Brad has appeared in various media both nationally and globally, including with TVNZ, Newshub, Radio NZ, Stuff, Newsroom, NZME, The Guardian, and many others.He regularly presents to boards, senior leadership, stakeholders, and key decision makers across New Zealand about key economic trends. Brad is a skilled communicator and works to inform key decision makers and the wider public about emerging and changing trends and getting useful and understandable insights to a wide range of groups.At present, he is focused on New Zealand’s economic recovery from COVID-19 and what emerging trends from the pandemic mean for local economies. He also takes a keen interest in global economic trends and the current shift in supply chains. Since his emergence in the economics scene, Brad has also been a leading commentator on housing and infrastructure issues across New Zealand.Brad’s role at Infometrics covers all parts of the business. In the regional and sector space, he is responsible for interacting with clients and providing key regional and industry-level economic insights. He is also a part of the forecasting team, analysing the latest trends and looking at how the economy is shifting. He has completed a range of bespoke consulting projects, including public policy costings in the education and healthcare space. Brad’s role includes regularly making presentations across the country (or now by Zoom) to examine current and emerging trends.In 2019, Brad co-authored the Regional Wellbeing: A broader view of community outcomes around New Zealand Infometrics report, and designed the Regional Wellbeing Framework, allowing local leaders and their communities to better understand how their area functions and design innovative actions to improve the wellbeing of the wider community.Outside of work, Brad’s an active and engaged member of the Wellington community and is one of New Zealand’s youngest Justices of the Peace (JP), performing both ministerial and judicial duties - as well as being a marriage and civil union celebrant.He is a member of the Institute of Directors, and is the Deputy Chair of the Wellington Branch Committee. He is also a Board Member of Business Central, and is a member of the Global Shapers Community - Wellington Hub, the Asia New Zealand Foundation Leadership Network, and the Wellington District Licensing Committee. He occasionally volunteers with Take10, and was formerly a member of the Wellington City Youth Council. In 2016, he was announced as New Zealand’s Queen’s Young Leader and has met with the Queen on three occasions.<h5 data-block-key="467dv">Key biographical interviews</h5><ul><li data-block-key="4of9l"><a href="https://thespinoff.co.nz/business/06-06-2020/who-is-brad-olsen-boy-wonder-and-economist-extraordinaire/">Who is Brad Olsen, boy wonder and economist extraordinaire?</a> (The Spinoff, June 2020)</li><li data-block-key="e2mth"><a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/economist-brad-olsen-opens-up-about-being-the-go-to-guy-on-the-countrys-economy/ZKTZYZNWPG3YDNDT6BP34D3OMI/">Economist Brad Olsen opens up about being the go-to guy on the country's economy</a> (Northern Advocate, October 2020)</li><li data-block-key="1j5s9"><a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/money/2020/11/me-and-my-money-brad-olsen-senior-economist.html">Me and My Money: Brad Olsen, senior economist</a> (Newshub, November 2020)</li><li data-block-key="bvc3c"><a href="https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/simon-barnett-and-james-daniels-afternoons/six-and-a-song-with-brad-olsen/">Six and A Song with Brad Olsen</a> (Newstalk ZB, May 2021)</li><li data-block-key="c0npu"><a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2018815294/bookmarks-with-brad-olsen">Bookmarks with Brad Olsen</a> (Radio New Zealand, October 2021)</li><li data-block-key="3pj2m"><a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/money-talks-brad-olsen-the-economist-giving-gen-z-a-voice/WWV5II2X5EPHLXTTTGX4GX7ADE/">Money Talks: Brad Olsen - the economist giving Gen Z a voice</a> (NZ Herald, March 2022)</li><li data-block-key="c1c9g"><a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/real-life-brad-olsen-the-26yo-who-has-become-the-face-of-economics-in-new-zealand/YDNOWXYS2VCZPFEMGOGGX7SYUQ/">Real Life: Brad Olsen the 26-year-old who has become the face of economics in New Zealand</a> (Newstalk ZB &amp; NZ Herald, July 2023)</li></ul>

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Staff

Chief Executive and Principal Economist

Andrew oversees the development of Infometrics suite of online products. He likes to conceptualise ways in which complex data sets can be made accessible to a non-technical audience.Andrew has a background in labour market analysis. He has conducted numerous studies on the demand for and supply of skills for industry training organisations, regional organisations and central government agencies.Andrew has a Master's degree in economics (awarded Cum Laude) from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. He has over 30 years’ economics experience in a range of organisations including the Human Sciences Research Council (Pretoria), Global Insight Southern Africa and the New Zealand Department of Labour.Andrew lives on a lifestyle block in the winelands of the Wairarapa. When time permits, he enjoys casting a line in the Ruamahanga.

Regional

Chief of Product Innovation, Director

Gareth heads up the forecasting team at Infometrics, managing the preparation of the company’s regular forecast publications. Within the forecast process, he is responsible for the macroeconomic overview and building and property forecasts. Gareth has completed a range of consulting projects, many focused on the housing market and construction industry, and he regularly provides presentations that provide relevant economic information in an accessible, clear, and entertaining manner. He is also frequently sought out by the media for comment on topical economic issues.Gareth’s management experience at Infometrics has given him a good understanding of how economic issues affect business decision making and development. Gareth joined Infometrics in early 1999, having graduated from the University of Canterbury the previous year with a MCom (Hons) in economics and a BSc in economics and statistics. He became managing director of Infometrics in 2006, and he moved into the operations director role in 2014.Significant consulting reports prepared by Gareth in recent years include: analysing demand conditions for a residential development looking to be progressed in the upper North Island; a report on the provision of affordable housing in Queenstown; forecasting construction labour requirements in Otago given the rebuild of Dunedin Hospital; and several pieces of expert witness evidence for construction cost escalation relating to remedial building work. He prepared Infometrics’ publicly available Regional Hotspots 2016 report, which highlighted some of the key growth regions for New Zealand over the next decade, discussing the opportunities arising in these growth areas as well as potential challenges posed by growth. He is also the author of Infometrics’ Megatrends Report (2018), as well as Food for Thought, which examines potential demand for exports from regions at the top of the South Island (available for download on our <a href="https://www.infometrics.co.nz/reports/">Reports</a> page).Gareth is a born-and-bred Wellingtonian and has four children. Gareth is a long-suffering supporter of the New Zealand cricket team, and he enjoys going tramping and getting off the beaten track every now and then.

Forecasting

Chief Forecaster, Director

Dr Adolf Stroombergen is chief economist at Infometrics. He has a PhD in economics and over 35 years of experience in economic consulting, specialising in mathematical economics, econometrics and economic modelling. His work has included general equilibrium analyses of changes in import protection, roading investment, genetic modification and carbon pricing; and econometric estimation of forecasting models and empirical relationships in the areas of energy use, corporate credit risk and organisational structure. He has applied real options analysis to climate change adaptation and has also developed microsimulation models of savings and of the tertiary student loan scheme.Adolf is an Affiliate of Motu Economic and Public Policy Research.

Chief Economist

David leads the technical side of things at Infometrics, to bring innovative data products to clients. Before starting at Infometrics in 2018, he worked at Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment, Ministry of Education, and University of Waikato. He is a Full Member of <a href="https://itp.nz/">IT Professionals NZ</a> and has a PhD in computer science from Victoria University of Wellington. David lives on the Kāpiti Coast with one wife, three kids, one dog, two cats and a constantly changing but never shrinking pile of unread novels. In between books and strategy board games he is a keen <a href="http://www.toastmasters.org.nz/">Toastmaster</a> and occasionally updates a <a href="https://david.frigge.nz/">blog</a> with non-work data projects.

Technical Lead

Rob is our Principal Consultant with over 25 years’ experience in quantitative economic research, modelling, and analysis. Rob has extensive experience analysing regional economies, sectors, labour markets, migration trends and the tertiary education sector in New Zealand, the UK and in Australia.Rob has expertise in carrying out workforce environmental scans to inform workforce development strategies, economic impact assessments to inform investment decisions and state of the economy regional reports to inform regional decision making.Rob has recently completed a wide range of consultancy projects such as an analysis of the effect that short-term rental platforms have on local housing markets, barriers that Māori face entering and remaining in the health workforce, analysis of the Māori talent pool, valuing the economic contribution of unpaid carers, an economic analysis of the Software as a Service (SaaS) sector, and the post-pandemic outlook for the Arts and Creative sector.Rob has also recently written articles on the effect of cost-of-living pressures on households, the effect of Artificial Intelligence on the labour market, school attendance, productivity, economic diversity, open banking, the disabled workforce, labour market flows, transport economics, the classifications of skills in the labour market, and the implications of zero emissions policies on the labour market.Rob has an MSc in Economics from Warwick University and a BA (Hons, 1st class) in Economics from the University of the West of England in the UK.

Industry & Sectors

Principal Consultant

Nick is a Principal Economist and Lead Demographer at Infometrics with a broad interest in regional economies and demographics. Nick combines these interests in our regional population projections – looking at how regional economies are growing, what this means for population growth, and where growth can be accommodated. Nick developed Infometrics' population projection model and has produced projections for local authorities around the country.Nick enjoys supporting clients to make informed decisions about the future of their local communities. Nick is the key contact for a number of our regional clients – supporting them with economic insights, training workshops and presentations. He also carries out consulting work for a variety of public and private sector clients including economic impact assessments.Nick has a Master’s degree in Geography and an undergraduate degree in Economics from the University Canterbury. Following his study, he cut his teeth on regional economic development in Christchurch, writing economic updates and researching the stretched post-earthquake housing market. This was followed with two years as a researcher in the building industry, producing public good research and consulting work.Nick lives on the Kāpiti Coast with his wife and young daughter, and when he’s not looking after our regional clients, he likes to go for a run or do renovations.

Demographics

Principal Economist, Lead Demographer, Director

Carl is our new Data Analyst who has arrived to take ownership of the data pipeline and support the development and delivery of our product offerings.Originally from Rotorua, Carl has completed his Bachelor of Engineering with Honours (1st Class) in 2008 and Master of Engineering Management (Distinct.) in 2012 at Canterbury University. He is interested in anything technical, with a passion for data analytics and machine learning/AI.Carl lives to create, so if you track him down outside of the office expect to find him with a keyboard, spanner, or a power-tool in his hands.

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