George Littlejohn qualified as an accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers in London before becoming a journalist with The Economist. He is a Senior Adviser to the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI), the leading global professional body in the investment field, focusing on its continuing professional development programme and on new financial clusters round the world.

He has a long-standing involvement with emerging markets, particularly in the Arab world, and is currently working on a project on how new educational technologies can help provide skills to young Arabs in an effective manner.

He has an MA in economics from Edinburgh University, and is a member of the CISI and a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales.