Dr Marc Stephens is the founder and director of OpenCities. He has 18 years experience – including the World Bank and Bank of England – of economic strategy and working at the interface of the private and public sectors. He is a specialist in economic change management.
He has worked with businesses in a variety of sectors and advised governments at the highest levels in complex political environments: Middle East, Africa, London. He is a skilled communicator and popular speaker at conferences. He has made regular appearances on TV and radio. A PhD economist and qualified barrister, he is a native English speaker but comfortable working in Arabic, French and Portuguese.
Prior to founding OpenCities, Marc worked as Executive Director at the Mayor’s London Development Agency for 5 years where he was responsible for business support, skills and employment, international promotion, and Olympic legacy.
Previously he worked as a senior financial adviser at the Bank of England responsible for European macroprudential surveillance and competitiveness of the UK financial sector; he was also international forecast manager for the Monetary Policy Committee.
Marc spent 5 years at the World Bank which he joined as a Young Professional in the mid 1990s working on structural adjustment and debt relief. Previously he spent three years during the first intifada working as a senior researcher in a Palestinian NGO in the West Bank/Gaza.
Marc is a member of the Institute of Directors, a panel member for the World Bank’s Middle Income Review Group and a published author on economic development and international law.
Candy Whittome is a director of Open Cities. She specializes in the impact of leadership behaviours on organizational climate. Her interests are in the areas of diversity, well-being, leadership and team effectiveness. She is an Associate Lecturer in Psychology with the Open University, and an expert consultant to a number of leading occupational psychology organizations.
Prior to her career as an occupational psychologist Candy worked for 15 years in the field of international human rights law and policy for a variety of organizations in the UK, the Middle East and US, developing and implementing human rights strategy at senior levels. As Co-Director of the British Institute for Human Rights she led training programs in human rights issues, including diversity and equal opportunities, for a wide range of public sector and charitable organizations.
A graduate of Oxford University, Candy is currently studying for a PhD in occupational psychology at Birkbeck College, London. Candy also holds two masters degrees (both obtained with distinction) and a BA in Psychology from the Open University (graduated first out of over 900 graduates). Candy is also a qualified barrister. She is a graduate member of the British Psychological Society and is currently working towards her Chartership. Candy is also a student member of the British Academy of Management and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. She holds the Certificate of Competence in Occupational Testing (Level A).
OpenCities has a well-established network of partners across key emerging markets. We also work with a number of London-based associates all of whom are experts in their fields. Key areas of specialism among OpenCities’ associates include: tourism and hospitality; cluster development around construction and infrastructure projects; skills and employment.
