We were founded by a group of post-doctoral researchers from the London School of Economics, and we are supported by the European Space Agency BIC UK. We specialise in economics, data science and geographical information systems (GIS).
Our Team
Our team has published peer-reviewed research on topics ranging from economic geography to economic policy evaluation. We have worked with some of the largest companies in industries ranging from ride-sharing to management consulting, as well as for international financial institutions and national governments.
Yohan Iddawela
Executive Director & Co-Founder
Yohan is an economist and geospatial data scientist. He previously worked as an economist for the Australian Government and as a consultant for the World Bank and the OECD. He has led projects on econometric modelling and geospatial analysis in Afghanistan, Puerto Rico and Vietnam. He also co-founded award winning data science companies, Lanterne and Crowdless. He holds a PhD in Economic Geography from the London School of Economics, where he is currently a Visiting Fellow.
Lars Ludolph
Co-Founder
Lars is an economist who specialises in macroeconomics and labour economics. He has worked for the OECD, the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels, the European Commission and the Central Bank of Malta. He holds a PhD in Economic Geography from the London School of Economics, where he lectures on the Economics of European Integration.
Sam LeWatt
Co-Founder
Sam is a lawyer with a background in commercial and criminal law. He is qualified as a solicitor in the UK and Australia. He specialises in operational management and has worked as the COO of several startups in the UK and Australia.
Jon Lo
Co-Founder
Jon is a Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneur. He has scaled multiple companies and works at the intersection of strategy, cloud tech, growth, and data science. His work has been featured on various podcasts, the BBC, Associated Press, and in other outlets. He holds a MSc in Local Economic Development from LSE.
Son Le
Data Scientist
Son is a data scientist and engineer specialising in geospatial analysis and artificial intelligence. He has previously worked as a data scientist for the World Bank, Techcombank and KPMG. He holds a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alberta, Canada.
Yasaman Saeidi
Economist
Yasaman is an economist specialising in microeconomics, labour economics and urban economics. She is working with 505 Economics in producing the Green Economy Diagnostic for the World Bank. She is also a researcher at the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics. Her PhD is in Economics from LSE, and she holds an MSc in Economics also from LSE.
Antonio Avila
Economist and Data Scientist
Antonio is an economist and data scientist, who specialises in the intersection of geospatial data and economic policy. He is the President of the NGO, Periodo Solidario. His PhD is in Economic Geography at LSE and he holds additional degrees in Economics from TSE and Social Data Science from LSE.
