Senior Advisor – Dr. Scott B. MacDonald is the Chief Economist at Smith’s Research & Gradings. Prior to that position, he had a lengthy career in finance, serving as Head of Research at MC Asset (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation), Senior Managing Director, Head of Credit & Economics Research at Aladdin Capital Management, Chief Economist at KWR International, Director of Sovereign Research at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, Sovereign Analyst at Credit Suisse, and International Economic Advisor at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in Washington, D.C. He has taught courses in European Politics, Comparative Government, and International Politics as an adjunct at the University of Connecticut, St. Thomas Aquinas College and Manhattanville College. He is widely published, having authored, co-authored or edited 20 books, the most recent of which is The New Cold War, China and the Caribbean (Palgrave Macmillan 2022) and has had articles in The National Interest, Global Americans, World Politics Review, OilNow, Foreign Policy and Latin American Advisor as well as Caribbean and Latin American related reports for the Jamestown Foundation and the Center for Strategic & International Studies.

Dr. MacDonald received his BA in History and Political Science (Honors) from Trinity College, Hartford, his M.A. in Asian Studies from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Connecticut. He is active in his community through his service as Treasurer and Board Member of El Centro Hispano in Westchester Country. He is also a founding member of the Caribbean Policy Consortium, which is focused on Caribbean affairs. His current research is focused on the global energy transition, climate change and the Caribbean, with a particular interest in Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Curaçao.