Rain Newton-Smith (born 1975) is the director general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) after being appointed in April 2023.^[1] She was the CBI's chief economist from August 2014 to March 2023.^[2]

Rain Newton-Smith is the daughter of Canadian-born Oxford philosopher William Newton-Smith (1943–2023) and his first wife Dorris Heffron.^[3]

Newton-Smith earned a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) from the University of Oxford, and an MSc in economics from the London School of Economics (LSE).^[4][5]

Newton-Smith spent nine years at the Bank of England where she prepared global forecast reports for the central bank's rate-setting committee.^[6] She went on to lead the emerging markets division at the Oxford Economics consultancy specialising in the Chinese economy.^[6] Newton-Smith previously held a position advising the UK executive director at the International Monetary Fund.^[2]

Newton-Smith was previously chief economist of the CBI, where she served from August 2014 until March 2023.^[1][6][2] In that role, The Guardian described her as a "vocal commentator on the struggles faced by businesses after the pandemic".^[1]

She left the CBI in March 2023 and took up a post at Barclays as a managing director to lead the bank's environmental, social, and corporate governance policy.^[6] After the dismissal of Tony Danker in early April 2023 following complaints of misconduct, Newton-Smith was appointed as the CBI's new Director General.^[6][4]

Newton-Smith is married with four daughters.^[5] She lives in Oxfordshire.^[5]