Manu is a partner of the Centennial Group, a strategic advisory firm headquartered in Washington D.C. and is the Founding Chief Executive Officer of its Singapore subsidiary, Centennial Asia Advisors. He co-ordinates the Asian business of the group and leads its economic research practice, which provides in-depth analysis of macro-economic trends in Asia for investment institutions, government agencies and companies with interests in Asia.
Previously, Manu held senior positions at Societe Generale’s Asian investment banking division where supervised Asian economic and investment strategy analysis and was a member of the executive committee in charge of Asian equity research. In 12 years with the firm, he helped establish its business presence in Southeast Asia and South Asia while also helping to develop the firm’s highly rated equity and economic research. Prior to that, Manu worked for the Singapore government, supervising a team that prepared strategic political and economic assessments of Asia for senior Singapore government officials. Manu is an adjunct senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies in Singapore where his main interests are in analyzing macro-economic policy frameworks in Singapore. Manu is a member of the Singapore Competition Appeals Board; a member of the board of advisors of the school of economics at Singapore Management University; a council member of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs; and vice president of the Economics Society of Singapore. He serves as a director of several companies including one listed on the Singapore stock exchange. Manu was educated at Magdalene College at Cambridge University, where he earned a master’s degree, and at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University where he obtained a master’s degree in public administration.
