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Sharmila Whelan, Westbourne Research, is a seasoned Global Geopolitical-Macro Strategist with nearly three decades of experience advising buy-side clients on multi-asset investment strategies and asset allocations. Her career has been defined by her differentiated thinking, a deep understanding of the interlinkages between global geopolitics, macro and policy dynamics and Austrian business cycle approach to economic analysis. Sharmila has extensive experience in both developed and emerging markets, particularly in China and India, and a proven track record of accurately forecasting investment risks and opportunities ahead of consensus. She has been ranked in key investor polls such as Euromoney and Institutional Investors.
Sharmila has held prominent roles for leading firms in London and Hong Kong including Merrill Lynch/Bank of America, CLSA. BP and Aleitha Capital. She has also counselled various governmental bodies and is a frequent contributor to the financial media including Bloomberg, the BBC and CNBC.
Westbourne Research is a global macroeconomic, geopolitical, policy forecasting and strategic advisory consultancy which is based in London. Westbourne Research publishes “Trading Post”.
Past Events
Diana Choyleva, is a leading expert on China’s economy and politics. She is Chief Economist at Enodo Economics, an independent macroeconomic and political forecasting company she set up in 2016 to untangle complexity, challenge the consensus, and give pointers to the future by making sense of today.
Enodo’s focus is China and its global impact. Diana has been covering China for over two decades and has written three books, most recently “China’s Quest for Financial Self-reliance in 2022. In 2023 she joined JPMorgan Asia Growth and Income plc as a Non-executive Director to the Board. Later that year, Diana joined the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis, as a non-resident Senior Fellow on the Chinese economy.
Is China’s digital currency revolution reshaping the foundation of global oil trade? While the dollar has dominated international oil markets for half a century through the petrodollar system, significant changes are emerging. Recent developments show China successfully completing its first cross-border crude oil settlement in digital yuan, while simultaneously expanding RMB-based trade with major oil producers.
The research reveals fascinating dynamics: China isn’t trying to replace the dollar globally – instead, it’s building a parallel system for its own trade needs. Through technological innovations like the mBridge platform and Shanghai oil futures contracts, China is creating new pathways for international oil settlements that bypass traditional dollar-based systems.
Yet the evidence suggests this isn’t a story of rapid change, but rather of strategic long-term positioning. The key question isn’t whether de-dollarization is happening, but how quickly and in what forms.
Join us for an analysis of how China’s technological innovations and energy security strategy are gradually reshaping the architecture of the global oil trade.
Before Enodo Diana worked at Lombard Street Research (now TS Lombard) for 16 years, most recently as their Chief Economist and Head of Research. She joined LSR after completing her master’s degree in Economics in 2000 and over the years has covered a wide range of developing and developed economies.
Dr. Sushil Wadhwani, CBE, studied economics at the London School of Economics (LSE). While studying for his doctorate he was appointed to a lectureship at the LSE and remained there as a Reader in Economics for 8 years until 1991. He was the Chief Investment Officer for QMAW, originally founded as Wadhwani Asset Management in October 2002, stepping down in December 2023.
Previously, Sushil was a full-time member of the Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of England from 1999 to 2002. He also served as the Director of Quantitative Systems at Tudor Investment Corporation and Director of Equity Strategy at Goldman Sachs. He has over 25 years of quantitative modelling experience and, at QMAW, ran a high-calibre team of quantitative and qualitative research analysts, whose investment experience is drawn from a variety of different backgrounds across finance, industry, the government, and academia. He has an outstanding track record of producing returns uncorrelated to traditional markets.
Sushil is an emeritus governor at the London School of Economics and a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
He was hired as an economic advisor to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, in 2022.
Since November 2020, AlgoDynamix has operated from Barclays Eagle Labs in Cambridge, using powerful new quantum computing capabilities. AlgoDynamix offers a cloud-based service using technology provided D-Wave Systems and is a world leader in behavioural forecasting for financial analytics.
Dr. Jeremy Sosabowski is Co-founder & CEO at AlgoDynamix, an AI-based financial price forecasting Analytics Company. Their products are used by asset managers, including CTAs, hedge funds, and family offices. Jeremy has over a decade of business and technology commercialisation experience. His previous roles include CTO at an instrumentation company (technology acquired) and data analyst within the online transaction space.
Jeremy has an undergraduate and two postgraduate degrees in engineering, including an Engineering Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge (laser physics/quantum mechanics).