John Philpott is Public Policy Director and Chief Economist at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). He has a Doctorate from the University of Oxford and is Visiting Professor of Economics at the University of Hertfordshire. John joined the CIPD as Chief Economist in November 2000. From 1987- 2000 he was Director of the Employment Policy Institute (EPI), an independent policy think-tank. John is a former Specialist Adviser to the House of Commons Select Committee on Employment (from 1993-1996) and (in 2007) the House of Lords EU Select Committee. He is a Fellow of the RSA and a member of the Society of Business Economists.