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Biography
Rain Newton-Smith (born 1975) is the director general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) after being appointed in April 2023. She was the CBI's chief economist from August 2014 to March 2023.
Early life
Rain Newton-Smith is the daughter of Canadian-born Oxford philosopher William Newton-Smith (1943–2023) and his first wife Dorris Heffron.
Newton-Smith earned a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) from the University of Oxford, and an MSc in economics from the London School of Economics (LSE).
Career
Newton-Smith spent nine years at the Bank of England where she prepared global forecast reports for the central bank's rate-setting committee. She went on to lead the emerging markets division at the Oxford Economics consultancy specialising in the Chinese economy. Newton-Smith previously held a position advising the UK executive director at the International Monetary Fund.
Newton-Smith was previously chief economist of the CBI, where she served from August 2014 until March 2023. In that role, The Guardian described her as a "vocal commentator on the struggles faced by businesses after the pandemic".
She left the CBI in March 2023 and took up a post at Barclays as a managing director to lead the bank's environmental, social, and corporate governance policy. After the dismissal of Tony Danker in early April 2023 following complaints of misconduct, Newton-Smith was appointed as the CBI's new Director General.
Personal life
Newton-Smith is married with four daughters. She lives in Oxfordshire.