OUR TEAM

Mike has over 20 years experience working as an economist, policy expert and advocate at the interface between business and government. Before founding PolicyDepartment in early 2020 Mike was Director of Economics, Policy and Research at the British Chambers of Commerce. He spent a decade at the BCC representing the interests of business to government and as its lead spokesperson on local growth issues.

While at BCC, Mike set up the LEP Network – the association for Local Enterprise Partnerships in England. His successful campaigns achieved policy changes across all areas of business life.  He oversaw BCC's research and economics programmes, including the UK's largest private poll of business sentiment on the economy. 

Before BCC, Mike worked as Senior Strategy Executive at former UK Regional Development Agency EEDA. Mike started his career as an economist at commercial real estate giant Jones Lang LaSalle and leading forecaster Cambridge Econometrics.  He studied economics at the University of Warwick and University of Bath, England and is a Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA).

STEVE HUGHES

Steve is a leading policy researcher and Founding Director of Policy Points. He was previously Head of Economic and Social Policy at the think tank Policy Exchange. Steve has worked at the Bank of England and as an economist at the British Chambers of Commerce where he advised on tax, international trade and SME finance policy.

DAVID MARLOW

Economic Development Associate

David is one of the UK's leading experts on local economic development, CEO of Third Life Economics, and Visiting Professor at the Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies (CURDS), University of Newcastle. He has occupied senior positions across the sector in the UK and overseas, including: CEO of the East of England Development Agency; CEO of Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council; Senior Institutional Development Advisor for the UK's former Department for International Development; and Head of Economic Development for the Government of Montserrat. David is Mike Spicer's co-host on the LED Confidential podcast and author of Positive, Progressive Placemaking.

Hannah specialises in economic research and stakeholder engagement in local economic development. She is an expert on local labour markets and their impact on business growth.  Hannah started her career as an analyst in HM Treasury and has worked for a range of regional governmental organisations as an economist, including at the former East of England Development Agency.