Simplify the following text for a Grade 9 native English-speaking person.
Original: The chairman of the Nations board was the economist John Maynard Keynes , who came to be an important influence on the newly merged paper , which started with a circulation of just under 13,000 .
Simplified: The chairman of the Nations board was the economist John Maynard Keynes , who came to be an important influence on the paper .