LinkedIn Top Voices 2016: The must-know writers in finance and on the global economy
If there's a common thread among the 160,000 articles published each week on LinkedIn, it's that the economy is shifting in considerable ways.
Those who can help to make sense of the change, offering analysis on where the world is headed, stand out. These 10 people — LinkedIn's top writers in finance and on the global economy — consistently do just that.
They've weighed in on the biggest financial stories of the year, memorably tackling topics as diverse as the future of China's economy to the need for change at major banks. They've offered clues on the cities and industries that might lead in the future. And perhaps most impressively, they've written with verve; one writer even managed to make the active-passive investing debate read like some sort of hilarious crime story.
A quick note on our process: To come up with this list, we sifted through the data, looking at factors like engagement (particularly comments and shares), follower growth and more.
So, with that, here are the top writers on finance and the global economy this year:
Vikram Mansharamani | Author, academic and advisor
What he writes about: Mansharamani, a lecturer at Yale and an advisor to corporations and nonprofits, writes about “the important role that seemingly irrelevant connections play in helping us manage and navigate uncertainty. I do this via a generalist approach to analyzing political, economic, and social dynamics from industry, country, and global perspectives.”
Article he’s proudest of: “The $2 Billion Market for Passports,” on the growing number of countries offering citizenship in return for investment. As Mansharamani notes: “I highlight this one because it was so easy to dismiss the information I was finding during my research as ‘sketchy.’ I didn't, and instead spent a bunch of time trying to understand the issue and validate the information. I was pleased to see it generate strong engagement, and am proud that I neither regurgitated nor dismissed what I found.”
His pick for 2016’s most-interesting story: “Saudi Arabia's plans to transition its economy away from oil. I wrote a piece about it entitled, ‘Saudi Arabia on the Brink.’ I find it interesting because I think global stability (on a 5- to 10-year view) may hinge on the success of their efforts. While hopeful, I'm skeptical.”
What he’s watching next year: “The retreat of globalization and the rise of populism and nationalism.”
Alec Ross | Author, “The Industries of the Future”
What he writes about: Ross, the author of the bestselling “The Industries of the Future" and a former State Department advisor on innovation and technology, is focused on what’s ahead. “My writing explores the fields that will drive the next 20 years of change to our economies and societies. I focus on what I believe will be the key industries that will shape the future — robotics, advanced life sciences, the code-ification of money, cybersecurity, and big data — and provide the geopolitical, cultural, and generational contexts out of which they are emerging.”
Article he’s proudest of: “Silicon Valley dominated the world for 20 years. Who wins in the next 20 years, though, is still a very big question." He likes the post, he says, because it “was the basis for a discussion among G-20 leaders and has continued to positively provoke people in government and business around the globe.”
His pick for 2016’s most-interesting story: “I thought the Brexit vote was fascinating because it portended that the kind of geopolitical volatility that we had seen in the Middle East had arrived in the West.”
What he’s watching next year: “2016 was a big year for investment in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Whenever there is a ton of high-risk, early-stage capital in play, interesting things tend to happen. I anticipate that 2017 may present a few shocking developments in this area.”
Danielle DiMartino Booth | President, Money Strong
What she writes about: DiMartino Booth, a former Federal Reserve advisor and the author of a forthcoming book critical of the central bank, provides an informed take on financial markets, monetary policy and the health of the economy. “My Wall Street background combined with the time I spent at the Fed afford me a unique vista, which readers find to be of tremendous value,” she says.
Articles she’s proudest of: She cites, among her favorites, “Global Debt Investors: The Silence of the Lambs,” “JOBS: Our National Treasure,” “The Overlords of Finance” and “Angels Manning Heaven's Trading Floor.” Booth adds, “These pieces drew readers beyond my 'regulars.' I gauge success on whether I can manage to cast a wider net.”
How she comes up with ideas: “The markets, economic data and Fed activity all provide a bottomless pool of inspiration week in and week out.”
What she’s watching next year: European elections.
Click here to follow Danielle.
Pascal Bouvier | Venture Partner, Santander InnoVentures
What he writes about: Bouvier, a partner at Santander’s fintech venture fund, covers the ongoing reinvention of finance. Name a big topic in fintech — blockchain, AI, quantum computing, augmented and virtual reality — and he’ll explain how it applies to “the five sectors of the industry, namely lending, capital markets, asset management, insurance and payments,” he says.
Articles he’s proudest of: “Exploring Banking as a Platform (BaaP) Model,” “Making Bank as a Platform (BaaP) a reality” and “Platform Banking Taxonomy.” As Bouvier notes, “these three posts, in chronological order, have laid out my thinking about platform strategies in banking, and the taxonomy of bank as a platform. I am particularly proud that after laying out the foundation and the concepts, many in the industry have picked up on the themes I have fleshed out.”
The story he thought would be big in 2016 that wasn’t: “The demise of bitcoin. Even though much uncertainty remains, there has not been a collapse or demise in the bitcoin blockchain or in the price of bitcoin. I missed this completely by the end of 2015 while I was thinking through what 2016 would bring. Although I do not believe in a path toward major retail acceptance, I have now changed my stance to somewhat negative to neutral and await further developments in the blockchain space in general and what it will mean to bitcoin in particular.”
Joshua M. Brown | CEO, Ritholtz Wealth Management
What he writes about: Brown, the head of fast-growing Ritholtz Wealth Management and a frequent CNBC contributor, writes about investing, financial advice and the markets in a conversational, often entertaining, way. The pieces he’s proudest of, he says, include his commentary on active-passive investing (“Authorities Break Up Active Management Cell”), as well as his advice for young investors.
Why he doesn’t measure success in page views or traffic: “These days I'm more focused on how I can make an impact with my work, and in how I can trigger a bigger discussion or help people with views that they may not hear often enough. If I can say something unique and utilitarian about a topic, and it breaks through the noise, then I am satisfied. Easier said than done, of course.”
Not on his LinkedIn profile: “I was a major failure during the entire first half of my career. I did terribly in school because I wasn't emotionally mature enough to take it seriously. I ended up in a backwater of the brokerage business at the only firms that would hire me. I had to scratch and claw my way out. I was very angry at my lot in life for most of my twenties. When I started having babies and learning about investing on my own, I turned this anger into a highly determined force of nature. Once I made the decision that I was done failing, nothing could stand in my way.”
What he’s watching next year: “Whether global developed countries, the U.S. included, can truly make the leap from central bank-supported economic growth to more cohesive fiscal stimulus. We shall see.”
Duena Blomstrom | Fintech Analyst and Digital Experience Strategy Designer
What she writes about: Blomstrom, a consultant, wants banks and other financial services companies to become beloved brands and to “start thinking (about) customer’s feelings.” She’s urged bankers to “shake the lip service, the convoluted meaningless language, the excuses about too much legacy or too little funding,” and to make real change to improve customer experiences.
Her most-popular post of 2016: “Goodbye, Santander. The end of a banking love affair,” her must-read, first-person account of traveling and encountering multiple problems with Santander. “While I expect people to respond to passion and accurate observations on frustrating experiences,” she says, “the viral aspect of it for a niche industry such as fintech ... took me by surprise.”
How she comes up with ideas: “I can't write about anything I don't feel strongly about, so most of my pieces are very emotional and fueled by either hope, excitement or, sadly too often, intense frustration about the way technology lets us interact with our money through the bank.”
Tamal Bandyopadhyay | Adviser, Strategy at Bandhan Bank Ltd.
What he writes about: Bandyopadhyay, who writes a regular column in India’s Mint newspaper, predicts and analyzes economic policy moves in the country and comments on news at India’s banking and financial institutions.
Most-popular post of 2016: “What’s Next, Mr Vijay Mallya?” on the fight between Indian banks and Mallya, the flashy founder of the now-defunct Kingfisher airline.
What he’s watching next year: “The birth of new banks in India. In the first quarter, we will have more than one and a half dozens of new banks — small finance banks, payment banks. They will intensify competition and quicken the banks' race towards digitalization.”
Donald Richard | Founder and Consultant, Coin Labs
What he writes about: Richard, the founder of this mobile commerce and payments consultancy, says his writing “is focused on understanding and analyzing the impact of technology on the movement of money in the global economy.” He wrote about the Uber-Visa partnership, mused on why social commerce hasn’t taken off in the U.S. and highlighted some of the pitfalls and opportunities in mobile payments.
Post he’s proudest of: “The Identity Store,” his debut post, in which he suggested that Amazon could become even more powerful than Facebook as a repository for customer information and data.
What he’s watching next year: “Conversation commerce. I started 2016 a believer and then became a mild skeptic. I think the technology will be ready for prime time eventually, probably in 2017.”
Jeffrey Towson | Professor of Investment, Peking University Guanghua School of Management
What he writes about: Towson, a business-school professor based in Beijing, writes about the growing power of Chinese consumers. “This can include topics such as why Chinese consumers are buying homes in bulk in California, why Uber actually won in China, why Apple is in trouble in Beijing, and why Carlsberg beer is doing fantastic in Yunnan,” Towson says. “Overall, my focus is how globalizing Chinese companies and increasingly wealthy Chinese consumers are impacting markets around the world on an almost weekly basis.”
Post he’s proudest of: “Why Chinese Moms are the World’s Most Important Consumers,” garnering 125,000 views. “I liked this post because it reframed many of the biggest consumer stories of the past year (food scandals, vaccine scandals, rising consumption by urban families). Plus I got to use a really cute baby picture in the post,” he says.
His pick for 2016’s most-interesting news story: “The attempted hostile takeover of China Vanke. It is really the first high-profile attempted takeover we have seen in China — and it is against CEO Wang Shi, who is one of China’s most famous entrepreneurs.”
Jody Padar | CEO and Principal, New Vision CPA Group
What she writes about: Padar, a prolific writer and a regular on lists of the most-influential people in accounting, is an outspoken advocate for change in her industry. She writes about innovation at accounting firms, prodding old-school practitioners to give up billable hours, paper documents and the notion that, somehow, a nice office will attract employees.
Post she’s proudest of: “How Vulnerability Can Lead to Growth,” a personal piece on what she’s learned in succeeding in an industry that is, sadly, still largely dominated by men at the partner level. She liked the post, she said, “because it was about me … and a new perspective I had on my own growth.”
Something she thought would be big in 2016 and wasn’t: “I still can't understand how technology and cloud adoption among CPA firms is not at a tipping point yet. Ten years later and it's traction is slow. It's getting faster but certainly not fast enough,” she says.
Product and Business Development Company
7 年Congratulations Danielle DiMartino Booth and all the others
CIO at Donovan International, LLC
7 年unique
Senior Executive assistant to CEO HSBC NAH at HSBC
7 年Ja grad
Associate at Trimont
7 年Jaideep Narang Amit Gill