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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). He is also a Board Member of Business Central, and a member of the Institute of Directors, Global Shapers Community Wellington Hub, the Asia New Zealand Foundation Leadership Network, the Wellington District Licensing Committee, volunteers with Take10, is a marriage and civil union celebrant, 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&#x27;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></ul>

Media

Presentations

Consulting

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. He received training in occupational forecasting at the Bureau of Labour Statistics in Washington DC and was lead analyst in a multiyear study on future skill needs in South Africa.Andrew has a Master&#x27;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

Export Trade

Chief 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 25 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 also developed microsimulation models of savings and the tertiary student loan scheme.Adolf was a member of the Advisory Committee on Economic Statistics from 1996 until its closure in 2015. He is also 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 slowly shrinking pile of unread novels. In between books 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 a Principal Consultant with over 25 years’ experience in quantitative economic research, modelling and analysis. Rob has extensive experience analysing regional economies, sectors, labour markets, immigration 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 and has recently completed a wide range of consultancy projects such as an analysis of the barriers that Māori face entering and remaining in the health workforce, 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 is also spearheading the continued development of our new skills product, the Regional Skills Outlook, which provides insights into the skills pipeline and future skill needs across regions and sectors.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 Senior Economist at Infometrics with a broad interest in regional economies, demographics and construction. 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&#x27; population projection model and has produced projections for local authorities around the country.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.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 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

Senior Economist

Sabrina joined the Infometrics team as an Economist in July 2022, during the final semester of her BSc (University of Otago) in Economics, Mathematics, and Statistics. From tutoring at both the tertiary and high school level, as well as her experience in customer service roles, she has developed her strength in communicating complex ideas to a non-expert audience.Sabrina is passionate about economics and believes a resilient, sustainable economy is the keystone of peace and wellbeing. Outside of mahi, she enjoys exploring new places, foods, and music.

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