David Skilling

David Skilling is the founding Director of Landfall Strategy Group, an economic and policy advisory firm that provides insights on global economic, political, and policy developments to governments, firms, and financial institutions. David serves clients in Australasia, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, with a specific focus on small advanced economies.

David served as Senior Advisor to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand between 2011 and 2015, providing insight on emerging global economic and political developments. David has also served as a Senior Advisor to McKinsey & Company, and was a Fellow at Singapore’s Civil Service College.

Prior to founding Landfall Strategy Group in 2011, David was an Associate Principal with McKinsey & Company in Singapore, as well as being a Senior Fellow with the McKinsey Global Institute, McKinsey’s in-house economic think-tank. Before joining McKinsey, David was the founding Chief Executive of the New Zealand Institute, a privately-funded, non-partisan think-tank. Until 2003, David was a Principal Advisor at the New Zealand Treasury, advising on various strategic economic policy issues.

David writes a widely read note on global economic and political issues, and has written op-eds in publications such as the Straits Times, the Wall Street Journal, Project Syndicate, The Times, Foreign Affairs, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, and the Nikkei Asian Review.

David has a Ph.D. in Public Policy, and a Master in Public Policy degree, from Harvard University, as well as a Master of Commerce degree in Economics from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. David was named as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2008.