Our Chief Executive

NISRA Chief Exective Philip Wales

Prior to joining NISRA, Philip worked for eleven years as an economist, statistician and manager at the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Most recently, Philip was the Deputy Director with responsibility for Public Sector statistics at ONS.

In this role, Philip oversaw the publication of the Public Sector Finances; he led ONS’ statistical classifications function; and he had responsibility for estimating the contribution of government services to the National Accounts. In these roles, Philip worked closely with HM Treasury, HM Revenue and Customs, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Office for Budget Responsibility, as well as with the Office for Statistics Regulation in the UK Statistics Authority.

In the course of more than a decade at ONS, Philip worked on a wide range of different statistics. He led ONS’ Productivity teams – producing statistics and analysis on the UK’s productivity performance. He led ONS’ program of work on the UK’s ‘productivity puzzle’ and was responsible for shaping the economic narrative at ONS under the direction of ONS’ Chief Economist.

Throughout his career, Philip has championed the use of detailed survey and administrative data to better understand the challenges facing our economy and society. He has conducted analyses of a wide range of different data sources, including on the UK’s labour market and trade in goods, household expenditure and inflation. He is passionate about the central role that independently produced statistics and analysis play supporting policy, informing decision makers, and in democratic accountability.

Philip has a PhD in Economic Geography from the London School of Economics and Political Science.