Sales forecasting using economic data: tips, tricks, and common pitfalls

Marcos assists clients in the corporate sector at Oxford Economics in gaining key insights from our forecasts and analyses, as well as understanding how to use economic insights to make strategic business decisions.

He is based in our London office. Prior to working in corporate advisory, Marcos was the chief economist and general manager for Oxford Economics in Latin America based in Mexico City, in charge of managing a team of economists producing research and forecasts for over 30 countries as well as leading several consultancy projects with major firms. Before joining Oxford Economics in 2012, Marcos completed his MSc in Economics & Finance at the Barcelona School of Economics and worked at the Brazilian Development Bank in Rio de Janeiro. Marcos is fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Alex Mackle is a Corporate Advisory Engagement Lead in the US Macro Consulting team based in New York. Alex focuses on scenarios and stress testing, as well as CECL/IFRS9 scenarios. He also frequently gives training sessions on the Global Economic Model, focusing on scenarios and stress testing capabilities.

Prior to joining the US Macro Consulting team in 2017, Alex worked in the Scenarios team in London, contributing to the Global Scenario Service and various stress testing exercises. He has also worked on several modelling projects, including a macro model for the Central Bank of Oman.

Amit Sharda is an Associate Director within the Global Industry Services team at Oxford Economics. In this capacity, he leads bespoke consultancy engagements focused on sales and market demand forecasting and has responsibility for Oxford Economics’ global machine tool market analysis.

Since joining Oxford Economics, he has overseen the quarterly industry forecast updates, articulated the organisation’s house view on industrial developments through its monthly publications, and produced forecasts across a broad spectrum of sectors, including chemicals, pharmaceuticals, construction, automotive, and aerospace. He has contributed to a range of economic reports, notably an evaluation of the drivers of competitiveness in the European chemical industry. In addition, he has applied the Global Economic Model to forecast macroeconomic developments in Sweden and Norway. He holds a first-class degree in Economics of Money, Banking, and Finance.