Dr Martyn Davies, Chief Executive Officer, Frontier Advisory - Read More

Over his career, he has consulted for 1/3 of the top 100-listed firms on the JSE.
He is a Senior Fellow at the MasterCard Center for Inclusive Growth – a group comprising leading international economists which advises the top management of MasterCard on global macro-economic issues. He is also a member of MasterCard’s MENA Knowledge Forum providing strategic advice to the Board of MasterCard in the Middle East & African regions.
Martyn has been ranked the # 1 analyst in South Africa in the “Other African Economies & Markets” category as awarded by the Financial Mail in its prestigious Annual Analysts of the Year awards. He was previously an advisor to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) for its Global Development Outlook project.
Martyn was selected in 2010 as a Young Global Leader, an honour bestowed by the World Economic Forum each year to recognise the most distinguished young leaders nominated below the age of 40 from around the world. Martyn has chaired both public and private sessions at the World Economic Forum including chairing a session at the Forum’s annual meeting in Davos. He has been a member of the WEF’s Global Agenda Council on China, the world’s foremost intellectual network that helps inform the Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos as well as set the direction for global, regional and industry agendas. Martyn has also been an Advisor to the WEF’s “Emerging Best Practices of Chinese Globalizers” initiative as well as serving as an industry expert to the WEF’s Mining & Metals Industry Group – an advisory body providing strategic advice to leading global mining and extractive industry companies. Martyn is a recipient of a Dangote Fellowship awarded by the WEF for young Africans selected each year for their outstanding leadership, professional accomplishments and commitment to society. Continued…
Martyn has lectured by invitation at Harvard University, MIT, London School of Economics, Oxford University, IE Business School, Peking University, the African Development Bank, the OECD, the European Commission, the Royal African Society, the World Bank and has addressed leading global conferences that include the JPMorgan China Conference and the Fortune Global Conference.
He is widely published in academia and has written for the Financial Times and the Washington Post amongst many others publications and is a regular media commentator for the BBC, CNBC, CCTV, Al Jazeera, ThomsonReuters and AFP amongst others.
Martyn previously led Asian Studies at the Department of Political Science at Stellenbosch University and was the (founding) Director of the Centre for Chinese Studies (CCS) that was established under the South Africa – China Binational Commission at Vice Presidential level. During this time, he established the first Confucius Institute in Africa on behalf of the PRC Government in June 2004. He has also been a Faculty member at the Gordon Institute of Business Science, University of Pretoria. He maintains an involvement in academia and lectures at numerous institutions by invitation.
Martyn is widely published in a number of accredited journals and book chapters that include the Asian Economic Policy Review, the Review of African Political Economy, Brookings Institution Press, the South African Journal of International Affairs and the OECD’s Development Centre. Martyn holds a BA degree in Law, an Honours Degree in International Relations (cum laude), a Master's Degree in International Relations (cum laude) (University of the Witwatersrand), a Diploma in Asian Studies (Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea), and a PhD in International Relations (University of the Witwatersrand) – all completed by the age of twenty five. He also has an executive course certificate from Harvard Business School and has completed executive programmes at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and the Jackson Institute for International Affairs at Yale University.
In 2010, Destiny Man magazine named Martyn in its “Power 40” of leading South African businessmen under the age of 40. Martyn divides his time between South Africa and international travel. His is an avid reader and is an active sports fan and participant. He has been awarded Protea Colours for cycling for South African Universities and placed #5th in the Argus Cycle race in 2014 – the world’s largest individually timed cycle race. He also played soccer for his alma mater Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea and participated in athletics and cross country at provincial level during high school.
He is married to Suheima and he is the proud Dad of Mikha and Zarah