John Ashcroft

John is Chief Executive of pro-manchester and a member of the (AGMA) Business Leadership Council. John has served as a director of Marketing Manchester and Chief Economist at the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce at some stage, over the last five years. He is author of The Saturday Economist and is ranked by CityAM as one of the top ten most influential economists in the UK and Ireland.

John is a visiting Professor at MMU Business School, specialising in Economics, Strategy and Social Media and is an occasional lecturer at Manchester Business School.

John has been involved in businesses large and small, public and private, UK and international during his extensive career. In the 1980’s he was Chairman and CEO of Coloroll, growing the business from £6 million to over £600 million within the space of twelve years.

Educated at the London School of Economics, London Business School and with a PhD in Economics from Manchester Metropolitan University, John is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a companion of the British Institute of Management and a member of the Society of Business Economists.