Jakob Hensing

Jakob Hensing is Head of Political Economy at the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) in Berlin. His work primarily explores how technology, power politics and security concerns are reshaping the global economy and how Europe can navigate these developments. His broader interests include the relationship between business and the state in different political settings, as well as the interplay of economic and political processes in preventing and managing violent conflict. In pursuit of novel and actionable insights, Jakob also works on methodological innovations such as the use of games and simulations regarding these topics. His writing and commentary have been featured in Foreign Policy, Wirtschaftswoche, and Newsweek, among others.

Jakob’s experience comprises more than five years in management consulting with McKinsey & Company and with Orphoz Public, McKinsey’s dedicated public sector branch in Germany. In that role, he worked with corporate clients across various sectors on transformations, mergers and risk governance, with government institutions on digitizing public services, and with the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) on the future of the European economy. While at GPPi, he has also taught economic statecraft and security at Freie Universität Berlin and conducted research as a DAAD fellow at the American-German Institute in Washington, DC. 

Jakob received his doctorate from Oxford University for a study of the politics of post-war economic reconstruction in Angola and Mozambique, based on substantial primary research in both countries. A first-generation academic, he previously completed a master’s in international relations at Oxford and a bachelor’s degree in integrated social sciences at Jacobs University Bremen. His studies were supported by scholarships from the German National Academic Foundation and from Jacobs University.