Huawei hired several alums of the Economist Group after the Chinese tech giant paid the influential magazine to help push its agenda to British and American policymakers.
Huawei, a telecommunications firm that the U.S. government considers a national security risk, has hired five people who used to work at the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the consulting arm of the popular British magazine. Two of the hires work in senior positions at the tech giant’s lobbying and public relations division, using their skills to boost Huawei’s image in the West, where suspicions of the company run high due to its ties to Chinese state espionage. Both the Economist magazine and the EIU are controlled by their parent, the Economist Group, and staffers working for each entity can move between them. Andrew Palmer, the current executive editor of the Economist, used to work in the EIU.
Andrew Williamson, the former global director of economic research at the EIU, now serves as the vice president of global government affairs and economic adviser for Huawei, according to his LinkedIn profile. Winter Wright, a former EIU senior editor, now works in Huawei’s content strategy division, ghostwriting columns for Huawei executives.
“My current research and strategic focus center on assessing country economic, financial, and operational risks to Huawei, as well as the economic contribution of the [information and communications technology] sector,” Williamson’s LinkedIn profile reads.
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