Agathe Demarais

Agathe Demarais is the Global forecasting director of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Agathe is a leading voice on global issues, with a special interest in geo-economics, trade, and Russia. Prior to joining EIU, Agathe worked in the diplomatic corps of the French Treasury. She spent five years in Russia and three years in the Middle East, where she developed her knowledge of sanctions and policymaking. She also worked in investment banking in Russia and the US.

Agathe is also the author of Backfire, a book on the global ripple effects of US sanctions (Columbia University Press, 2022). Backfire highlights the global ripple effects of sanctions on multinationals, commodity markets, and diplomatic relations. The book also analyses the impact of recent US export controls on the exports of American semiconductor technology to China, and what these mean for the future of sanctions.

Agathe has Master’s degrees from Sciences Po and Columbia University, where she studied with a Fulbright scholarship.