Head of Research and Deputy Chief Economist at the UK Financial Conduct Authority

Karen Croxson is Head of Research and Deputy Chief Economist at the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority. She and her colleagues are creating a scientific research agenda to: (i) protect consumers in financial services; (ii) promote competition, innovation and ethical behaviour among firms, and; (iii) enhance the integrity and resilience of the UK financial system. An important part of this work is to identify and address the most impactful AI / big data use cases.

 Karen joined the FCA recently from QuantumBlack, where she led teams of PhD and postdoc data scientists, engineers and industry experts. Together they helped C-level clients use advanced analytics to tackle strategic and operational problems. Before specialising in data science she worked as an academic economist at Oxford University and a strategy consultant at McKinsey, based in London and Washington D.C.

 Karen holds a PhD in game theory and applied econometrics from Oxford and enjoys staying connected to teaching and research. She serves as a Guest Lecturer in Economics for Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government and a member of the advisory board for Oxford’s MSc and PhD programmes in Social Data Science.