Tera is Director of Research and Economics in McKinsey’s United Kingdom and Ireland office. She leads McKinsey’s research on the macroeconomic outlook, growth, and productivity, bringing together deep expertise and more than three decades of experience in strategy, corporate finance, economics, and public policy.
Tera is a thought leader, author, speaker, and adviser on topics ranging from economic development and technology adoption to the future of work and corporate performance. She serves as the chair of Pro Bono Economics and The Productivity Institute’s Advisory Committee, as a trustee of the Productivity Leadership Group (Be the Business), and as a governor of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research. She is also a member of a number of expert advisory groups on economic growth, productivity, innovation and labour markets, including the advisory panel for the Office for Budget Responsibility. Tera holds an Honorary Professorship at the Alliance Manchester Business School and is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.
Tera was previously on the board of Innovate UK, the United Kingdom’s national innovation agency. From 2004 to 2014, she worked as chief economist in the UK’s energy, transport and business departments and as deputy head of the UK Government Economic Service. Tera was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to economic policy in the New Year Honours list 2019.
Published work
“Aiming higher: Embedding ‘systematic ambition’ to drive UK corporate growth,” McKinsey & Company, July 2024
“The hidden costs of quiet quitting, quantified,” blog entry, McKinsey & Company, February 2024
“Will UK food inflation turn negative?,” blog entry, McKinsey & Company, November 2023
“UK inflation has fallen below 10 percent How should businesses approach the next phase,” blog entry, McKinsey & Company, June 2023
“Competition for talent will remain fierce in the UK despite economic uncertainty,” blog entry, McKinsey & Company, February 2023
“Insight, commitment, execution: How UK businesses can adapt to greater uncertainty,” blog entry, McKinsey & Company, October 2022
“Meet the psychological needs of your people—all your people,” McKinsey Quarterly, June 2022
“More UK employees are leaving their jobs than ever before: How businesses can respond,” blog entry, McKinsey & Company, April 2022
“Opportunities for UK businesses in the net zero transition,” McKinsey & Company, October 2021
“Being a good boss isn’t easy—here’s how to get better,” blog entry, McKinsey & Company, October 2021
“Four ways that organizations can help tomorrow’s leaders,” blog entry, McKinsey & Company, September 2021
“Lessons on resilience for small and midsize businesses,” Harvard Business Review, June 2021
“Productivity in the post-COVID 19 era,” The Productivity Institute, June 2021
“Facing the future: Britain’s new industrial revolution,” McKinsey & Company, May 2021
“Facing the future: How UK businesses can thrive in the next normal,” McKinsey & Company, March 2021
“The economic case for reskilling in the UK: How employers can thrive by boosting workers’ skills,” McKinsey & Company, November 2020
“Problems amid progress: Improving lives and livelihoods for ethnic minorities in the United Kingdom,” McKinsey & Company, October 2020
“The boss factor: Making the world a better place through workplace relationships,” McKinsey Quarterly, September 2020
“An experiment to inform universal basic income,” McKinsey & Company, September 2020
“Well-being in Europe: Addressing the high cost of COVID-19 on life satisfaction,” McKinsey & Company, June 2020
“COVID-19 in the United Kingdom: Assessing jobs at risk and the impact on people and places,” McKinsey & Company, May 2020
“How European businesses can position themselves for recovery,” McKinsey & Company, April 2020
“Brexit: The bigger picture—Embracing agility in a volatile world,” McKinsey & Company, December 2019
“The future of work: Rethinking skills to tackle the UK’s looming talent shortage,” McKinsey & Company, November 2019
“Confronting overconfidence in talent strategy, management, and development,” McKinsey Quarterly, June 2019
“The future of women at work in the United Kingdom,” McKinsey Global Institute, June 2019
“Artificial intelligence in the United Kingdom: Prospects and challenges,” McKinsey Global Institute, June 2019
“Tech for Good’: Using technology to smooth disruption and improve well-being,” McKinsey Global Institute, May 2019
“How automation could affect employment for women and minorities,” McKinsey Quarterly, April 2019
“Brexit: The bigger picture - Revitalizing UK exports in the new world of trade,” McKinsey & Company, March 2019
“Solving the United Kingdom’s productivity puzzle in a digital age,” McKinsey Global Institute, September 2018
“A smarter approach to cost reduction in the public sector,” McKinsey & Company, June 2018
“Delivering for citizens: How to triple the success rate of government transformations,” McKinsey & Company, May 2018
“Transforming a 150-year-old government agency: A CEO story,” McKinsey & Company, April 2018
“Improving outcomes with better government productivity,” McKinsey & Company, March 2018
“How smarter purchasing can improve public-sector performance,” McKinsey & Company, March 2018
“How governments can be more effective by reallocating their resources,” McKinsey & Company, March 2018
“Improving the effectiveness of tax collection: $30 in additional revenue for every $1 spent?,” McKinsey & Company, February 2018
“Accelerating the diffusion of technology-enabled business practices,” McKinsey Quarterly, February 2018
“Mitigating risk in IT megaprojects,” McKinsey & Company, January 2018
“How the public sector fits in the productivity puzzle,” McKinsey & Company, January 2018
“How artificial intelligence can deliver real value to companies,” McKinsey & Company, June 2017
“The opportunity in government productivity,” McKinsey & Company, April 2017
Past experience
UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills; UK Government Economic Service
Director general; deputy head
UK Department for Transport
Chief economist; director, transport analysis and economics
UK Department of Energy & Climate Change
Chief energy economist
Bank of Finland
Financial analyst
Finnish Real Estate Bank
Consultant
Education
INSEAD
MBA
Aalto University (Helsinki University of Technology)
MSc, industrial economics
