Dr Andrew Sentance is Senior Economic Adviser at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and the author of Rediscovering Growth: After the Crisis, published in November 2013.
From October 2006 until May 2011, he served as an external member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England. He is the third longest serving external member of the MPC, and his period of office spanned the financial crisis, the ensuing recession and the beginnings of economic recovery. While on the Committee, Andrew was not afraid to challenge the consensus view of his MPC colleagues. He argued for interest rate rises during his last year on the Committee, earning himself the reputation as an monetary policy “hawk”.
Before joining the Bank of England, Andrew had a very successful career as a business economist. He was Chief Economist and Head of Environmental Affairs at British Airways and was one of the five senior managers appointed in 2001 by Chief Executive Rod Eddington to prepare the company's "Future Size and Shape" turnaround plan.
He joined British Airways in 1998 from London Business School, where he was Director of the Centre for Economic Forecasting. Previous positions held include Head of Economic Policy and Director of Economic Affairs at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). While at the CBI, he was a founder member of the Treasury's Panel of Independent Forecasters - established in 1992 to provide advice to the Chancellor of the Exchequer under John Major's Government.
Andrew was educated at Eltham College, Clare College Cambridge and the London School of Economics, where he gained his PhD. He holds a visiting professorship at Royal Holloway, University of London and is a Vice-President of the Society of Business Economists. He is also a parttime Professor at the University of Warwick, based at Warwick Business School.
Throughout his career spanning nearly 30 years, Andrew has given talks, speeches and presentations to a wide range of business and financial audiences on economic issues, relating to global and UK prospects and policy issues. He is a well-known media figure and has a strong reputation for explaining complex economic issues to audiences in an engaging and accessible way.
His 2013 book 'Rediscovering growth: After the crisis', was described by John Cridland, Director-General of the CBI, as a "concise, objective analysis of the changing global economy since the financial crisis of 2008/9".
