Our People
Anja Smith
Anja is Beam’s Storyteller and co-founder. She holds a PhD in Economics from Stellenbosch University, specialising in health financing in South Africa. She grew up surrounded by books and tales of eccentric people, fascinated by how life’s strange events enrich our everyday experiences. She is particularly intrigued by how the same stories and fables are retold across time and cultures.
For Anja, applied economics is data-driven storytelling. After spending 20 years in economic research, she’s mastered the art of translating complex data into narratives for policy and research. While numbers give us insights, it’s the story that makes those insights truly impactful.
Anja is intrigued by how stories are developed. Some emerge through careful design and years of deep thought—like Amor Towles described in a 2022 EconTalk podcast with Russ Roberts. Others arise unexpectedly, as seemingly unrelated events connect into a single narrative—much like Stephen King describes in On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.
Marna Landman
Marna is Beam’s Behavioural Expert and co-founder – the brain behind our behavioural science wizardry. With a unique blend of experience in finance and consulting in financial services, renewable energy, and economic development, she’s the perfect mix of analytical thinking and creative problem-solving. Oh, and did we mention she’s a Chartered Accountant and holds a PhD in Behavioural Economics?
At Beam, Marna’s role is a mix of scientific storytelling, research, and advisory work. She weaves behavioural science into everything we do. She also keeps our finances in check and helps steer the ship with a strong hand on our business strategy, all while drawing from her MBA experience.
What really makes Marna stand out though, aside from her credentials, is the way she brings deep thought to every single task. Her no-nonsense approach to problem-solving always cuts through the noise, and her humility ensures she’s a constant source of inspiration. And yes, we had to fight her a little to include the Nature-published journal article in this bio.
Lisa Rossouw
Lisa is the Creative Glue that keeps Beam’s design and knowledge in perfect harmony. With six years of experience in Knowledge Management and Design, she’s all about making information easy to find, use, and—bonus—look amazing. Her first design gig unexpectedly dropped her into the world of economic development (an area she never expected to be in), where she discovered her knack for blending creativity with impact storytelling. Since then, she’s also explored the design back-end of the systems that keep our platform-based economy going.
When she’s not crafting visual magic at work, she’s writing fiction that explores the art of storytelling (check out Our Work page for more on that!). Lisa loves a challenge—whether it’s figuring out a new design tool, decoding research into engaging content, or finding the perfect way to share a story across social media, videos, documents, or audio. If she doesn’t know how something works, give her a minute—she’ll crack the code.