Richard O'Brien (economist)

For other uses, see Richard O'Brien (disambiguation).

Richard O'Brien
Born	Richard Rhys O'Brien (1950-11-19) November 19, 1950 (age 74) Banbury, Oxfordshire, England
Alma mater	University of Oxford
Occupation(s)	Economist, futurist, author and consultant
Known for	Co-founder of Outsights planning consultancy

Richard Rhys O'Brien (born 19 November 1950, Banbury, Oxfordshire) is a British economist, futurist, author and co-founder of Outsights, a scenario planning consultancy. ^[1] Since 2009, he has also been a singer songwriter ^[2] and biographer.

Early life

After graduating from Oxford University (MA Hons. Philosophy, Politics and Economics) and Edinburgh University (Diploma in African Studies), O'Brien worked at Rothschild Intercontinental Bank and American Express Bank for 21 years. At American Express, he was Chief Economist and Executive Director and Editor of The Amex Bank Review where he did country risk analysis. ^[3] O'Brien created the economics essay competition called "The Amex Bank Review Awards", in memory of EU architect Robert Marjolin. He worked with the Group of Thirty (G30) on regulation and the World Bank. O'Brien worked on several books on the global economy, including Global Financial Integration: The End of Geography (1992). ^[4]

Later career in future planning

In 1998, O'Brien set up the scenario planning consultancy Outsights, with Tim Bolderson, who had worked with him at Global Business Network, where they completed large-scale scenario planning projects such as The Future of Japan. ^[5] O'Brien has led and developed scenarios for business and the UK Government in a wide range of sectors, including "The Future of the International Environment 2010–2020" ^[6] and directing the Sigma Scan, ^[7] an online database of future trends to 2050.

Music career

Since 2009, O'Brien has published six albums of songs, under his full name Richard Rhys O'Brien.

Biographer career

In 2019, he published an online study of the network of Lady Margaret Rhondda, the suffragette, businesswoman and publisher. In October 2022, under his full name, Richard Rhys O'Brien, his first biographical study of the political and other campaigns of Margaret Lloyd George, the wife of the Prime Minister David Lloyd George 1918-1922, was published by Y Lolfa, followed in 2025 by the prequel, The Woman Who Helped Win the War, The Welfare Campaigns of Margaret Lloyd George 1914-1918 [Y Lolfa].

Publications and songs

• I know a little place, music album 2012
• Anguneau sunset, music album 2014
• Sense in our brains, music album 2015
• Don't Believe the Crystal Ball, music album 2018
• The Ballad of Highbury Barn, music album 2019
• Wherever the Moon Is, Songs of Migration, music album 2019
• * The Campaigns of Margaret Lloyd George. The Wife of the Prime Minister 1916–1922, Y Lolfa, ISBN   978-1-80099-231-3
• The Woman Who Helped Win the War. The Welfare Campaigns of Margaret Lloyd George, 1914-1918 (Y Lolfa) ISBN 978-1-80099-640-3
• "Drivers of change for the future of the UN", in Stephen Browne and Thomas G. Weiss (eds), Post 2015-UN Development: Making change happen? (2014), Routledge, ISBN   978-0-415-85662-1
• The Annual Register 300th Edition: a personal future, ProQuest, the 2009 Annual Register: World Events, 9–15, 2009. ISBN   978-1-60030-828-4
• "The Geography of Finance: After the Storm" (with Alasdair Keith), Oxford University Press, Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Volume 2, Issue 2, July 2009. ISSN 1752-1386
• The Future of the Global Economy (with Alasdair Keith and Michael Prest), Outsights Ltd, 2009
• Corporate Governance, Financial Markets and Global Convergence (editor, with Morten Balling and Elizabeth Hennessy), Springer (1997). ISBN   978-0-7923-4825-2
• Risk Management in Volatile Financial Markets (with Fraco Bruni and Donald E. Fair), Allen, Springer (1996). ISBN   978-0-7923-4053-9
• Finance and the International Economy 8. The Amex Bank Review Prize Essays (editor), Oxford University Press, 1994. ISBN   0-19-828962-6
• Global Financial Integration: The End of Geography, Council on Foreign Relations Press (1992). ISBN   978-0-87609-123-4
• "Banking Perspectives on the Debt Crisis", Oxford Review of Economic Policy , 2: 25–38, 1986
• Private Bank Lending to Developing Countries: Past, Present and Future, World Bank Staff Working Paper No. 482, World Bank, Washington, DC, 1981

Associations

O'Brien serves and has served on a number of governing councils, and has chaired several international competitions:

• BBC World Challenge ^[8]
• Shell/Economist Writing Prize ^[9]
• The Annual Register
• Royal Institute of International Affairs
• Society of Business Economists ^[10]
• Royal Economic Society ^{[ citation needed ]}
• Research Advisory Board, Economic and Social Science Research Council
• Kingswood School, Bath
• Chair and Trustee, Highbury Opera Theatre

References

1. "Q&A Richard O'Brien" (PDF). ERisk. January 2001. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
2. "Home". richardrhysobrien.com.
3. Malkin, Lawrence (28 March 1992). "ECONOMIC SCENE - International Herald Tribune". International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on 24 November 2006. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
4. O'Brien, Richard (1992). Global financial integration: the end of geography. Council on Foreign Relations Press. ISBN   978-0-87609-123-4.
5. "Views from 2020 | Economist.com". The Economist . 19 March 1998. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
6. "ForeSight". Foresight.gov.uk. May 2008. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
7. http://www.sigmascan.org Sigma Scan.
8. "World Challenge | 2008 Finalists". Theworldchallenge.co.uk. Archived from the original on 19 June 2008. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
9. "Press release: Winners announced for the fifth Shell and the Economist writing competition - Shell Chemicals". Corterra.com. 19 November 2004. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
10. "The Society of Business Economists is the leading organisation serving business economists in the UK". Sbe.co.uk. Retrieved 11 November 2008.