Philippe Legrain

Philippe Legrain is an independent writer, commentator, consultant and public speaker with high-level policymaking experience. Phillipe describes himself as a 'thinker, communicator and doer'. He is the Founder of the Open Political Economy Network (OPEN), an international think tank that focuses on issues such as migration, diversity, trade and technology.

Through his work, writing and media appearances, Phillippe has been at the heart of many of the big debates of the past 30 years - about globalisation, international migration, the Financial Crisis and Europe. Phillippe’s career began during his time as a student at the London School of Economics, where he worked as a correspondent for the Baltic Independent and as a stringer for the Financial Times in Estonia. Following this, he served as a trade and economics correspondent at The Economist until 2000. Philippe worked as an advisor to the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation before becoming the editor of World Link, the World Economic Forum’s magazine. He moved to the role of Director of Policy and Chief Economist at Britain for Europe before becoming an independent author and consultant, as well as a commentator for various organisations, including The Guardian, The Times, BBC Radio 4, Fox News and more. After serving as a Senior Fellow of The Lisbon Council, in 2011, Philippe became a Principal Advisor/Head of the Analysis team for the Bureau of European Policy Advisors to President Barroso, providing him with vital strategic policy advice.

Since 2014, he has shared his knowledge as a Senior Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics. In 2016, Philippe founded the Open Political Economy Network, an international think-tank focused on immigration, diversity, entrepreneurship and other issues. Phillippe has written for The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Independent and many more leading publications. He has also written five books: 'Open World: The Truth About Globalisation', 'Immigrants - Your Country Needs Them', 'Aftershock - Reshaping the World Economy After the Crisis', 'European Spring - Why Our Economics and Politics are in a Mess', his most recent, ‘Them and Us: How Immigrants and Locals Can Thrive Together’, which was recognised with the Diversity, Inclusion & Equality award at the 2020 Business Book Awards. 

An accomplished and knowledgeable economist, Philippe Legrain has been a speaker at international events. Phillippe has served as a consultant for a variety of clients, including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, the Swedish Government's Globalisation Council, UNDP and the Asian Development Bank. He is now available to speak at a wide range of events, sharing his esteemed knowledge of geopolitics and international relations.