Gillian Tett - Speaker - By Promotivate Speaker Agency

Gillian Tett

Conference Speaker Gillian Tett - By Promotivate Speaker Agency

Gillian Tett

Award Wining FT Economist, Author and Speaker on International Economics


North America

View Videos & Related Speakers

Get In Touch With Us

/ /

Gillian Tett is the Managing Editor of the Financial Times in North America and a force in economics to be reckoned with. Her fortitude and savvy had her predict the 2006 financial crises, an event that led to her award-winning book ‘Fools Gold’ covering the situation.

Gillian earned her Ph.D. in Social Anthropology from the University of Cambridge’s Clare College. Her dissertation was based on field research done in Tajikistan which had been part of the former Soviet Union. Seeing an academic career in anthropology as committing intellectual suicide, Gillian decided to pursue a career in journalism.

1993 saw Gillian joining the Financial Times as a correspondent from the former Soviet Union and Europe. Thereafter, in 1997, she was transferred to Tokyo where she later became bureau chief. Subsequent positions include:

Gillian’s prediction of the 2006 financial crises led to her penning Fool’s Gold, a book that details the events leading up to the economic crises and eventual collapse. She also made a significant contribution to 2010’s Inside Job, a documentary looking at aspects of the financial crises.

She has thus far penned a number of books on finance. These include:

She also has a number of awards under her belt:

Gillian was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from the Baruch College of the City University of New York in 2013. She gave the commencement address at this event.

Gillian Tett – Speaker

Award-winning journalist authority on capital markets, Gillian Tett is known for being able to discern wide stream changes in the economy and anticipating their effects.  The U.S. managing editor of the U.S. Times covers a range of financial, social, economic, and political issues on a global scale.

‘Listen, if you don’t take note of what’s going on, the way that finance has changed so fundamentally, there is going to be an accident.’ – Gillian Tett

Speaking Topics

Here are some ideas from recent client engagements Gillian has been involved with that have proven valuable to clients in the past and are meant only to suggest the speaker range and interests.

Gillian covers a wide range of subjects. She speaks frequently on the intersection of Politics, Populism and Financial Markets. Her unique perspective, as a behavioural scientist, gives her different insights on financial markets and corporate life in general.

Every talk Gillian gives is based on the briefing so she adapts her remarks for each audience and the issues that are most relevant to each organisation.

Recent talks have included;

Trump, Brexit and the dangers of modern political tribalism
Gillian gives an incisive and illuminating view on the current and emerging forces impacting our world today, both in the US and internationally.

Dazed and Confused: Making Sense of an Uncertain Economy
Gillian gives her views on the current trials and tribulations of the economy — she takes a global view and adds her individual focus on what lies ahead.

The Disrupted World
Today’s world is economically and politically unstable, anti-expert, post-truth, uncertain of its financial and physical borders. Gillan will outline why it is so crucial to take a joined-up view about what lies ahead for the political economy.

Fintech and Financial Markets — the road ahead?
Gillian warns on the trend between increasing reliance on complex financial instruments, the risks of relying on excessively expert experts and a world where fast returns are made on capital. We shouldn’t forget the lessons of a decade ago with Fintech strategies that few truly understood and which led to disastrous outcomes for many.

Why Every CEO Needs an Anthropologist
Gillian outlines the nature of ‘tribal’ behaviour and how organisations work as distinct societal groups. She gives examples where certain organizations developed ‘tunnel vision; and ways to survive this trap by expanding their thinking across boundaries by embracing diversity, holistic thinking and to design system-wide learning.

Silo-busting: a new perspective on why diversity really matters
Diversity has many faces and is an essential part of any healthy organization. She gives prime examples of where this lack of diversity led to catastrophic mistakes and also where it led to improved thinking and decision making. Within this area, Gillian also can talk about the boundary between finance and philanthropy and finance and technology.

Silo-busting; the secret to success in the tech world
Why do some companies succeed brilliantly, but others fail? Why do some executives seem to triumph in business, but others do not? If you ask many tech experts that question, they might point to skills in computer engineering. But as Gillian Tett will explain, citing the examples from well-known firms, that this only explains part of the tale. The other key ingredient which technology experts need to ponder is social engineering — or the importance of cultural and social patterns. And one of the most important of these cultural challenges is the problem created by silos — and the need to overcome this.

  • “Tett really wowed them, she talked about the present and the future of the markets. It's clear that she's interviewed leaders in the financial world from Madoff, Geithner, Volcker and heads of state. She talked about the recent downgrading of the U.S. economy by Standard and Poors and it's impact on the debt ceiling, the value of the dollar and treasury bills.”

    Global US Retail Financial Services Firm

  • Gillian Tett “Tett really wowed them, she talked about the present and the future of the markets. It's clear that she's interviewed leaders in the financial world from Madoff, Geithner, Volcker and heads of state. She talked about the recent downgrading of the U.S. economy by Standard and Poors and it's impact on the debt ceiling, the value of the dollar and treasury bills.”
    5 / 5
  • “Your contribution to the overall success of the event was the difference between a very good event and an excellent one. One client, head of our national treasury management, said to me on leaving that in all of the years attending our event – 8 years – you were easily the best and most captivating speaker. It was apparent you put a lot of thought and preparation into what you were going to say and it was very well received. Your insights were unique and your presentation was compelling and it was clear to all of us how much passion you had for the chosen subject. And so a sincere thank you for being our 2016 guest speaker. It was my first event as managing partner and, while I had a lot to live up to, your presence and presentation made this an event to remember for the all the right reasons.”

    International Law Firm

  • Gillian Tett “Your contribution to the overall success of the event was the difference between a very good event and an excellent one. One client, head of our national treasury management, said to me on leaving that in all of the years attending our event – 8 years – you were easily the best and most captivating speaker. It was apparent you put a lot of thought and preparation into what you were going to say and it was very well received. Your insights were unique and your presentation was compelling and it was clear to all of us how much passion you had for the chosen subject. And so a sincere thank you for being our 2016 guest speaker. It was my first event as managing partner and, while I had a lot to live up to, your presence and presentation made this an event to remember for the all the right reasons.”
    5 / 5