Andrew Sentance CBE

From October 2006 until May 2011, Dr Andrew Sentance CBE 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.

During his time on the Monetary Policy Committee, Andrew Sentance came to be associated with hawkish views on the control of inflation.

He also emphasised the strong influence of the global economy on UK growth and inflation. In his last year on the Committee, he argued strongly for higher interest rates to counter UK inflationary pressures – against the majority view of his colleagues.

Before joining the Bank of England, Andrew Sentance 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 after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He was also responsible for developing BA’s environmental and corporate responsibility policies.

Andrew Sentance 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).

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 Conservative Government.

Andrew Sentance 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 Fellow and former Chairman of the Society of Business Economists.  He is also a part-time Professor of Sustainable Business at the University of Warwick, based at Warwick Business School.

Throughout his career spanning 25 years, Andrew Sentance 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.