Economic Research Team

John Lorié is Atradius’ chief economist since 2011. His research focuses on global economic developments, the energy transition, and international trade, with special attention paid to the impact on credit insurance and global insolvencies’[BS2] . He also monitors political and economic developments in Southern European countries.

Besides his book ‘Taxes and Exchange Rates in the EU’, published with Macmillan, John has written numerous articles on a wide variety of economic and taxation subjects.

John is also affiliated with the University of Amsterdam where he teaches and conducts academic research. Previously, he was Senior Vice President at ABN AMRO, where he worked for more than 20 years in a variety of roles in commercial and investment banking. He started his career in the finance department of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

John holds a PhD in international economics and master’s degrees in economics (honors) and tax economics, all from the University of Amsterdam

Phone: +31 20 553 3079
Email: john.lorie@atradius.com

Greetje joined Atradius in 2014 as a senior economist specializing specialising in political and economic developments in Central and South America. In this role, she advises Atradius and the Dutch State on country risk and participates in the OECD Country Risk Experts Committee. She is also the secretary of Risk Management Advisory Committee, which advises the Dutch state State on ADSB’s country risk policy. In 2021, she became Deputy Head of the Economic Research team.

Greetje previously worked at ING and the Dutch central bank. She has advised on models to assess sovereign and country risk and was an active member of several G-10, BIS and IIF working groups, particularly on economic crisis prevention and resolution.

Greetje has been giving guest lectures at various Dutch universities on economic crises and country risk for over 30 years. She is an alumna of Tilburg University and holds a mMaster’s degree in macroeconomicsMacro Economics. 

Phone: +31 (0) 20 553 2406
E-mail: greetje.frankena@atradius.com

Bert Burger analyses political and economic developments in the emerging economies in the Asia-Pacific region. In this role, he advises Atradius and the Dutch State on country risk and participates in the OECD Country Risk Experts Committee. Bert is coordinating the visibility of the Economic Research team.

Before joining Atradius in 2015, Bert spent 25 years working in macroeconomic analysis, financial markets research and investment strategy. As head of research and asset management teams and chairman of decision-making committees, he was responsible for the macroeconomic and market views, as well as the performance of investment portfolios in turbulent times.

Bert has authored many research publications and a long series of columns for the economics page of a daily newspaper. He holds a Master’s degree in Economic Geography from the University of Amsterdam.

Phone: +31 (0) 205532872
Email: bert.burger@atradius.com

Theo Smid joined Atradius in 2016 as a country risk analyst for Western Europe, several Eastern European countries, Turkey and Central Asia. For Atradius, he also contributes to the Economic Outlook, the Insolvency Forecast report and thematic research notes. He has authored several research publications, on topics such as insolvencies, trade and the energy market. Theo also gives regular interviews to the media.

Before joining Atradius, Theo worked for 5 years as an economist at Rabobank. There, he was in charge of the macroeconomic analysis for the Dutch economy. His other work experience is at SEO Amsterdam Economics, an independent research consultancy firm specialized in applied economics. In this position, he conducted research in the area of labour market and education. Theo is a graduate of Tilburg University and the University of Cape Town.

Phone: +31 20 553 2169
Email: theo.smid@atradius.com

Afke Zeilstra joined Atradius in 2004. She is responsible for country risk analyses analysis for countries in West and Southern Africa. In this role, she advises Atradius and the Dutch State on country cover policies and participates in the OECD Country Risk Experts Group. She also worked on topical themes like renewables.

Afke works in the Economic Research Department where she was has been responsible for macroeconomic and country risk analyses for various emerging markets. In recent years, she specialiszed in country risk in African countries. She has an extensive knowledge about on emerging markets, low-income countries and country risk. Before joining Atradius, she worked in the private sector as a macro economist.

Afke holds a mMaster’s degree in Iinternational Ffinancial Eeconomics from the University of Amsterdam.

Phone: +31 (0) 20 553 2873
E-mail: afke.zeilstra@atradius.com

Dana is an economist at Atradius Economic Research, specialising in global macroeconomics, international trade and data analysis. She is an avid writer, responsible for several of Atradius’ periodic economic publications, with a passion for taking complex economic issues and translating them to interesting and concise reports for a wide audience. Dana is the country risk analyst for North America and the UK and writes regular reports on relevant topics in these regions like post-Brexit trade flows and Federal Reserve policy, on top of providing internal policy advice. Dana also manages and develops Atradius’ global political risk rating model (STAR). Before joining Atradius in 2015, Dana studied International Economics at Utrecht University.

Phone: +31 (0) 20 553 3165

Email: dana.bodnar@atradius.com

Iulian Ciobîcă covers economic and political developments for countries in Northern and Eastern Europe and advanced economies in the Asia-Pacific region. He also participates at the development and maintenance of ERD’s quantitative models on topics such as political risk, insolvencies and trade. Before joining Atradius in 2019, Iulian obtained an MPhil in Economics from the Tinbergen Institute. Until 2012 he worked as an economist for the central bank of Romania where he participated in forecasting the main macroeconomic variables of the Romanian economy.

Phone: +31 (0)20 553 2121
Email: Iulian.CIOBICA@atradius.com

Ona Čiočytė joined the Atradius team in 2021. She is responsible for the economic and political analysis of Eastern European countries (in the Balkan and Baltic regions). Ona also participates in the development of quantitative models within the Economic Research Department.

Before joining Atradius, Ona worked as an economist-researcher at the CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis and Bank of Lithuania. She has an MPhil degree in Economics economics from Tinbergen Institute and Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Phone: +31 20 553 3079
E-mail: ona.ciocyte@atradius.com

Niels de Hoog analyses political and economic developments in all emerging markets in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and in a number of countries in East and Central Africa. With many countries in this region dependent on energy imports or exports, Niels is also closely monitoring the economic impact of the global energy transition.

Niels joined Atradius in 2017 after having worked at various central banks and a strategy-consulting firm. He uses his keen nose for financial risk and his solid business understanding to interpret market developments and spot business opportunities at the macro level.

Niels is the author of a number of research publications and has a Master of Science degree in economics from the Erasmus University of Rotterdam.

Phone: +31 (0)20 553 2407
E-mail: niels.hoog@atradius.com