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Welcome to RBC Economics
RBC Economics provides timely and relevant analysis and forecasts of the economy and financial markets in Canada, the United States and key international markets to RBC and its clients.
Meet our Research Team
Craig Wright
Senior Vice President & Chief Economist
As chief economist, Craig leads a team of economists providing economic, fixed income and foreign exchange research to RBC clients. Craig is a regular contributor to a number of RBC publications and is a key player in delivering economic analysis to clients and the media through the Economics Department’s regular economic briefings.
A graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Toronto, Craig was appointed Chief Economist in 2001 having joined RBC 1994 after working at another financial institution for seven years. Craig is a participant in a number of the key RBC internal committees and is a member of the CD Howe Monetary Policy Council, Lazaridis School of Business and Economics Wilfrid Laurier University, Dean’s Advisory Council at Wilfrid Laurier University and the British Columbia Economic Forecast Council.
Craig and his wife Susan live in Toronto with their three children Emily, Bradley and Jacob.
Dawn Desjardins
Vice President & Deputy Chief Economist
Dawn Desjardins joined the Royal Bank Economics team in January 2006 as a senior economist. She is responsible for the macroeconomic and interest rate forecasts for Canada and the U.S. Previously, Dawn worked as a reporter for Bloomberg Financial News in Toronto covering the Canadian bond and currency
markets. She was also the Canadian bond market strategist for a major U.S. bank for ten years. Dawn is a graduate of the University of Toronto.
Carolyn King
Managing Editor
Carolyn King joined RBC’s Thought Leadership group in 2016. She is responsible for guiding, writing and editing content for both RBC Economics and RBC’s Office of the CEO. Prior to joining RBC, Carolyn working as a business journalist for two decades, most recently serving as Deputy Bureau Chief for Canada at The Wall Street Journal.
Carolyn holds a Master’s degree in international relations from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor’s degree in political studies from the University of Saskatchewan.
Robert Hogue
Senior Economist
Robert Hogue is a member of the Macroeconomic and Regional Analysis Group, with RBC Economics. He is responsible for providing analysis and forecasts for the Canadian housing market and for the provincial economies. His publications include Housing Trends and Affordability, Provincial Outlook and provincial budget commentaries.
In his functions, he is frequently called to comment on the economy both internally within RBC and externally with clients and the media.
Mr. Hogue joined RBC in May 2008 after spending 15 years with another Canadian financial institution as a senior economist specializing in industrial analysis. At the outset of his career, he spent four years as an economist with Ontario Hydro, where he specialized in industrial and macroeconomic analysis. Mr. Hogue holds a Master’s degree in economics from Queen’s University and a Bachelor’s degree from Université de Montréal.
Nathan Janzen
Senior Economist
Nathan has been with RBC since 2008 with a focus on covering the macroeconomic outlook for Canada and the United States. He has a MA in economics from McMaster University and a BA in economics from the University of Regina.
Josh Nye
Senior Economist
Josh joined RBC Economics as an economist in 2012. He holds a bachelor of arts (honours) in economics from the University of Western Ontario and a master of science in economics from the London School of Economics.
Andrew Agopsowicz
Senior Economist
Andrew joined RBC in 2018 as a Senior Economist and works with both the economics and thought leadership groups. He has a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Economics from the University of Victoria and specialized in macro- and labour economics during his graduate work at The University of Western Ontario. Prior to joining RBC he worked as a Senior Economist at the Bank of Canada.
Rannella Billy-Ochieng
Economist
Rannella joined the RBC Economics team in 2017 as an economist. She holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Economics & Accounting from University of the West Indies, Master of Research in Money, and Banking & Finance from Lancaster University and a Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Guelph.
Prior to joining RBC, Rannella worked at another Canadian based Financial Institution and abroad at the Ministry of Finance, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines.
Ramya Muthukumaran
Economist
Ramya joined RBC as an economist in 2018 and holds an MA in Economics from McGill University as well as an MSc in Media and Communications from the London School of Economics. Prior to joining RBC, she worked in public policy.
Claire Fan
Economist
Claire joined the RBC Economics team in 2019 as an economist. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from University of Toronto and a Master of Financial Economics from Western University.
Carolyn Freestone
Economist
Carolyn joined RBC Economics in 2019 as an economist. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (honours) in Economics from Queen’s University and a Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Ottawa.
Colin Guldimann
Economist
Colin joined RBC in 2019 as an economist. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Ottawa, and Master of Arts in Economics from the University of British Columbia. Prior to joining RBC, Colin worked on mortgage, housing, and economic policy at the Department of Finance Canada.
Samantha Simunyu
Manager, Publishing
Samantha joined RBC in 2019 and works with both the Economics and Thought Leadership groups. Prior to joining RBC, she worked in marketing and communications at an international accounting organization based in the United States and a wealth management firm in Canada.
Samantha holds a Master of Science in Management degree, Corporate Communications concentration, and Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies, each from Elon University.
Farhad Panahov
Research Associate
Farhad first joined RBC as a Banking Advisor in 2018. He later joined RBC Economics as a Research Associate in 2019. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics degree from University of British Columbia.