5 Influential People to Watch in 2022

2022 is just around the corner. From policy to the pound, here are five people we think could have a significant impact on events next year

Ollie Smith 21 December, 2021 | 2:31PM
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

Chancellor Rishi Sunak

It's been a busy year for all of the people in this list. But we think 2022 could shape up to be even busier for them. From interest rates to artificial intelligence, here are five people worth watching as the new year unfolds.

Rishi Sunak

It could be a very significant year for Rishi Sunak. Not only is the Richmond MP Chancellor of the Exchequer and current resident at Number 11 Downing Street, he is the obvious “safe pair of hands” candidate in the increasingly-likely-looking event of a Tory leadership challenge. Having carefully curated his public image as a politician sympathetic to the needs and aspirations of business and workers alike, Sunak’s top team may well look to capitalise should the moment arise next year.

Janet Yellen

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is the is the first person in American history to have led the White House Council of Economic Advisors, the US Federal Reserve, and the government’s Treasury Department. It is thought that last week’s Bank of England (BoE) rate rise was closely linked to the Fed’s own signalling of successive rate rises next year. Though she is now at the US Treasury, you can be sure her voice will be a significant one amid all the noise next year.

Jensen Huang

Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang is not yet a household name like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk, but he probably should be. The Taiwanese-American billionaire founded Nvidia in 1993, and is credited with handing the videogaming and computer industries with leaps forward in artificial intelligence and deep learning technology. A softly-spoken leather jacket-clad entrepreneur, Huang landed himself in Time magazine’s 2021 list of 100 most influential people (above Musk), you can be sure we’ll be hearing more about him next year.

Olaf Scholz

Angela Merkel’s tenure as chancellor of the Bundesrepublik is definitively over. Step forward former Hamburg mayor Olaf Scholz, who faces a pile of challenges in overseeing German’s largest economy. Covid-19, European economic performance, and the relationship between the Eurozone and another republic with a flag much redder than its own are just three. As finance minister during the Merkel era, Scholz acquired a reputation for being a technocrat, but he will now have to adopt a different persona entirely if he is to establish a consensus on Germany’s future.

Catherine L Mann

Catherine L Mann is among only two women sitting on the BoE’s monetary policy committee, having commenced her tenure in September this year. Before joining the MPC, she was global chief economist at Citi, and had previously been chief economist and head of the economics department at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). An expert in US monetary policy and inflation, Mann said in February that businesses’ ability to set prices – rather than just absorb increased costs from suppliers in their margins – would be crucial in avoiding further economic turmoil. She will play a key role in the BoE's 2022.

The information contained within is for educational and informational purposes ONLY. It is not intended nor should it be considered an invitation or inducement to buy or sell a security or securities noted within nor should it be viewed as a communication intended to persuade or incite you to buy or sell security or securities noted within. Any commentary provided is the opinion of the author and should not be considered a personalised recommendation. The information contained within should not be a person's sole basis for making an investment decision. Please contact your financial professional before making an investment decision.

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

About Author

Ollie Smith

Ollie Smith  is editor of Morningstar UK

© Copyright 2024 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved.

Terms of Use        Privacy Policy        Modern Slavery Statement        Cookie Settings        Disclosures