Heinz Thomas Mayer & team, Deutsche Bank
The buy side says: “Mayer’s insights into the situation in Europe put him in a class by himself.”
Heinz Thomas Mayer, Deutsche Bank’s Frankfurt-based chief economist (and head of research), and his four-person team climb one rung to finish on top for the first time. One backer is grateful for the group’s ability to “continuously update us on developments in the European Union crisis, with lots of insight and a sense of the political developments and decision-making processes in Germany.” Mayer, 58, says his crew will continue to focus on the crisis throughout 2012. “The ability of Italy to contain its budget deficit and get its debt on a downward trajectory will decide whether the euro will continue to exist or not,” Mayer explains. However, he is optimistic: “I think the Italians will just about make it, because they’re under tremendous pressure.” Mayer earned a Ph.D. in economics from Germany’s Kiel University in 1982. He worked at the International Monetary Fund in Washington as a senior economist covering Europe, then joined Goldman, Sachs & Co. in Frankfurt and London as co-head of European economics. He moved to Deutsche Bank as chief European economist in 2002.
