The RES Trustee Board is legally responsible for the overall governance, management and policies of the Society, ensuring that the charitable objectives for which it has been set up are met. The Trustee Board is constituted of four Honorary Officers (the President, President-elect, Honorary Treasurer and the Chair of Trustees); three Council members; up to five co-opted members.
Trustees should be members of the Society and meet other criteria to act as a charity trustee as set out by the Charity Commission.
Chair of Trustees
Anton is Distinguished Honorary Professor in the Adam Smith Business School and Senior Fellow in the Centre for Public Policy at the University of Glasgow, since October 2025. He is President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (Scotland’s National Academy). He was Principal and Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Economics at the University of Glasgow 2009 – 2025. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. He was Chair of the Russell Group of Universities from 2017 until 2020. He is a Governor of NIESR, a Member of the Governing Council of The Productivity Institute and was a Senior Advisor with Public First. He was awarded the honour of Commendatore of the Republic of Italy in 2008, and a Knighthood in 2017.
President
Tony Venables CBE is a senior research fellow at Oxford University. He is a fellow of the British Academy the Econometric Society and the Regional Science Association and a fellow and trustee of the Centre for Economic Policy Research. He has held professorships at Manchester, Oxford, the LSE, and Southampton and served as chief economist in the UK Department for International Development. He has published extensively in international trade, spatial economics, natural resources, and economic development. Books include The spatial economy; cities, regions and international trade with M. Fujita and P. Krugman, and Multinationals in the World Economy with G. Barba Navaretti.
President-Elect
Diane Coyle is the Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge. She is Research Director of the Bennett School of Public Policy. Her own research focuses on the economics of AI and digital, and on economic measurement. Diane is currently a member of the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy Council, the Treasury/DSIT AI and Future of Work Unit, and advises the Competition and Markets Authority. She has served previously in a number of public service roles including as Vice Chair of the BBC Trust, member of the Competition Commission, the Natural Capital Committee and most recently the New Towns Taskforce. Diane was awarded a DBE in 2023 for her contribution to economics and public policy. She was a student at Brasenose College, Oxford, reading PPE (1978). She has a PhD in Economics from Harvard (1985).
Honorary Treasurer
Kate is Chief Economist at the Financial Conduct Authority, where she heads a division responsible for providing rigorous economic thinking, research, analysis, and advice to help the FCA deliver on its strategic objective of making financial services markets work well. Kate has nearly 20 years’ experience as an economist in roles spanning the public and private sector. Kate has undertaken several senior roles in government. She has published in The Economic Journal.
Council representative (until 2027) and Elections Officer
Melanie Jones is a Professor of Economics at Cardiff Business School and Head of Economics Section. Her research interest is empirical labour economics, and she has worked on a range of policy relevant issues, including for the Low Pay Commission and the Office of Manpower Economics. She is currently an Associate Editor of the British Journal of Industrial Relations and a member of the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration, ONS Economics Experts Working Group and National Statistician’s Inclusive Data Advisory Committee.
Council representative (until 2028)
Council representative (until 2028)
Council representative (until 2029)
Anna Valero is a Professor in Practice at the LSE’s Centre for Economic Performance and Global School of Sustainability; Director of the CEP’s Growth Programme and Deputy Director of the Programme on Innovation and Diffusion. Her research focuses on the drivers of productivity and innovation in firms and regions, and in particular on informing policies for environmentally sustainable and inclusive growth. Anna was a member of the Council of Economic Advisers to the Chancellor of the Exchequer in 2024-25, and has held a number of other advisory roles for the UK government and policy institutions.
Co-opted Trustee
Co-opted Trustee
Co-opted Trustee
Kofi is a Research Associate at the Centre for Financial History, University of Cambridge and a Distinguished Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto. He sits on the boards of Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Managers, Sanlam Africa Real Estate Advisor, and Helios Fairfax Partners and is a former Vice Chairman at Standard Chartered. In the past, Kofi chaired the Policy Committee of the Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
Kofi was a Trustee of SOAS University of London. In 2020, Kofi was awarded a CBE for his contribution to philanthropy.
Diversity, Inclusion and Professional Conduct (DIPC) Trustee
Giovanni is Professor of Economics of Public Policy at the University of Reading. He is the Director of the Master in Public Policy and has been the Head of the Department of Economics between 2016 and 2019. He has been a member of the expert panel of the European Institute for Gender Equality and of the UKRI Equality, Diversity and Inclusions Advisory Panel.
