Our People

James Lawson, Chairman

James Lawson is Chairman of the Adam Smith Institute. 

James blends experience from business and government. His day job is in Artificial Intelligence, growing a promising startup to deliver new capability for the UK. Yet he has also been a trusted adviser for Government.

James was selected by the founders to continue the ASI’s legacy. James is very much a product of the ASI, as a long running Senior Fellow. He first attended the ASI’s events while at school, as he yearned to learn more about Economics - which is a testament to the ASI’s long-running educational outreach. He has remained actively involved in the decades since.

He previously was appointed by successive Prime Ministers as a Senior Special Adviser in the Cabinet Office. He was a Director at Microsoft, as CTO for Defence, where he was selected for their “Platinum Club” are a top 1% performer, and lead their landmark agreement with the UK’s Ministry of Defence for cloud computing. Prior to Microsoft he was Chief AI Evangelist at DataRobot, Director of Strategic Markets at WorkFusion, and a consultant on strategy and operations at Deloitte. His clients have included a range of global companies (including Santander, Spotify, ICA, Chanel, Telefonica, Bank of America, Société Générale) as well as the UK Government, City of London and Metropolitan Police. 

He advises executives about transforming their operations through data analytics, artificial intelligence cloud computing and other digital technologies. He was selected by DataIQ as one of the UK's most influential people in data.

He read philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford, with a particular focus on events since 1870. His recent ASI publications focused on the Covid-19 response and policies to nurture Artificial Intelligence capabilities in the UK.

James is a Research Adviser at The Entrepreneurs Network, Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and member of the Mont Pelerin Society (of which he was the youngest ever joiner).

Dr Madsen Pirie, Founder & President

Dr Madsen Pirie is President of the Adam Smith Institute, and was one of three Scots graduates working in the US who founded the Institute in 1977. Before that, Madsen worked for the House of Representatives in Washington DC, and was Distinguished Visiting Professor Philosophy at Hillsdale College in Michigan.

At the Institute, Madsen was part of the influential team which pioneered privatization and the extension of market choices and incentives. His work in helping to develop the Citizen’s Charter led to his appointment to the Prime Minister’s Advisory Panel from 1991-95.

A graduate of the universities of Edinburgh, St Andrews and Cambridge, Madsen has authored several books including The Book of the Fallacy, Micropolitics, Privatization, How to Win Every Argument, 101 Great Philosophers, Blueprint for a Revolution, and Freedom 101. He also writes children’s science fiction, and with his colleague Dr Eamonn Butler he has co- authored a series of books on IQ, including The Sherlock Holmes IQ Book.

The Institute itself remains at the forefront of a worldwide movement towards competitive free markets and free trade. Madsen’s personal website is http://madsen-pirie.com/.

Dr Eamonn Butler, Founder & Director

Dr Eamonn Butler is Director of the Adam Smith Institute, rated one of the world’s leading policy think-tanks. He has degrees in economics, philosophy and psychology, gaining a PhD from the University of St Andrews in 1978.

During the 1970s he worked on pensions and welfare issues for the US House of Representatives, and taught philosophy in Hillsdale College, Michigan, before returning to the UK to help found the Adam Smith Institute.

Eamonn is author of books on the pioneering economists Milton Friedman, F A Hayek, Ludwig von Mises and Adam Smith, and co-author of Forty Centuries of Wage and Price Controls and books on intelligence testing.

He contributes to the leading UK print and broadcast media on current issues, and his recent popular publications The Best Book on the Market, The Rotten State of Britain and The Alternative Manifesto have attracted considerable attention.

He has also contributed articles to national magazines and newspapers on subjects ranging from health policy, economic management, taxation and public spending, transport, pensions, and welfare.

Emily Fielder, Director of Communications

Emily Fielder is the Director of Communications

She previously worked in CCHQ as a Political Advisor and Press Secretary to the Chairman of the Conservative Party. She started her career in Parliament working for the Rt Hon Lucy Frazer KC MP.

She graduated from the University of St Andrews with a first-class undergraduate degree in English Literature and a distinction in Global Social & Political Thought.

Maxwell Marlow, Director of Research

Maxwell is the Director of Research at the Adam Smith Institute.

Before working at the Adam Smith Institute, he worked as a Public Affairs and Communications Executive at strategic consultancy Hanbury Strategy. Clients he worked with included leading financial institutes, crypto firms, fundraising platforms, and transport providers. He was previously Development and Research Officer for the ASI. He is also a Non-Executive Director at the Masonic Charitable Foundation, one of the UK’s largest charities, where he advises on policy horizons and strategic vision.

Maxwell graduated with a first class Joint Hons BSc in Politics and History from the London School of Economics & Political Science, where he was also twice consecutive President of the Hayek Society. Whilst at LSE, he was a Don Lavoie Fellow in Political Economy at the Mercatus Center, George Mason University. He is a Fellow at the Consumer Choice Center.

He has previously authored A Fare Shake: Reforming Taxis for the 21st Century and Pulling Out All the Stops: How the Government can Go For Growth and Cut the Cost Of Living for the Institute, as well as representing it on TalkTV, GBNews, and in various broadsheets.

Outside of wonkery, Maxwell enjoys cooking, reading Enlightenment history, and skiing. He tweets @maxwell_marlow. He can be reached at maxwell@adamsmith.org.

James Price FRSA, Director of Government Engagement

James is the Director of Government Engagement.

James Price has served as Chief of Staff and Senior Special Adviser (SpAd) to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and the Chairman of the Conservative Party. He was also a SpAd to the Education Secretary and to the Leader of the House of Lords.

Price has also worked as a senior political consultant, where he advised customers including Microsoft, Meta, Goldman Sachs and Uber.

James holds and MA from the University of Oxford, and an MSc in Security Studies from UCL. He is also the oldest-ever President of the Oxford Union, a Research Fellow at the CPS, and a former UK Kebab of the Year award judge.

Mimi Yates, Director of Engagement and Operations

Mimi is the Director of Engagement and Operations at the Adam Smith Institute.

Before working at the Adam Smith Institute, she completed her undergraduate degree in Philosophy at the University of Exeter, with a year abroad at Venice International University studying Global Governance. With published research papers, Mimi’s areas of interests include AI, psychedelics, and feminism, which she likes discussing in her podcast ‘The Thinking Woman’.

In her summers, she completed internships with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, and a Geneva-based think tank within the Frontier Technologies and Future of Work team. She also led a non-profit organisation called ‘Urban Angels’ that focuses on street safety for women.

Mimi is a keen documentary-watcher, solo traveller, and ceramicist. When not in the office, you may find her living the dolce vita.

She tweets on @mimi_yates21

Sam is the Director of the Next Generation Centre.

Sam Bidwell, Director of the Next Generation Centre

Sam has worked as a Parliamentary Researcher, and as a Press and Research Consultant for the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council. His writing on foreign affairs has been published internationally, including in Australia, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, and he was a contributor to the 2023 Commonwealth Security Review.

Sam is a graduate of the University of Cambridge where he studied Law at Sidney Sussex College, specialising in public law, jurisprudence, and legal history.

He Tweets at @sam_bidwell.

Siddhi Badole, Research Associate, Gap Year

Siddhi Badole is a research associate at the Adam Smith Institute for her gap year before university.

Before working at the Adam Smith Institute, she left Kendrick Grammar School after achieving A-levels in Economics, Philosophy and Art, with an EPQ on immigration policy.

Her interests outside of economics include painting, reading philosophical fiction, and event photography.

Samuel Bailey, Research Associate, Gap Year

Samuel Bailey is a research associate at the Adam Smith Institute for his gap year.

Before working at the Adam Smith Institute, he graduated Clifton College after completing A levels in Economics, Politics and Maths alongside an EPQ researching the economics of crime. Current research interests include monetary economics and immigration policy.

During his gap year he began studying French and is hoping to spend the summer working as an Au Pair in France.