David Kennedy (born 29 September 1969) is a British

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

and

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

, Chief Executive of the British government's

Committee on Climate Change The Climate Change Committee (CCC), originally named the Committee on Climate Change, is an independent non-departmental public body, formed under the Climate Change Act (2008) to advise the United Kingdom and devolved Governments and Parliament ...

from 2008 until 2014, now director general for economic development at the

Department for International Development , type = Department , logo = DfID.svg , logo_width = 180px , logo_caption = , picture = File:Admiralty Screen (411824276).jpg , picture_width = 180px , picture_caption = Department for International Development (London office) (far right ...

Life

The son of Peter Kennedy and Anne Kennedy, he was educated at the

University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

, where he gained a BA degree in Economics and Econometrics, then at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

, graduating MA in Economics, and finally at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

where he took a PhD for research in Economics in 1995.‘KENNEDY, David’, in '' Who's Who 2014'' (A. & C. Black, 2014)
online edition
(subscription site) accessed 19 April 2015 His doctoral thesis was title
The economics of London bus tendering
Kennedy was a research fellow at the London School of Economics from 1993 to 1996, then briefly a consultant at the Centre for Regulated Industries in 1996–1997, before joining the

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is an international financial institution founded in 1991. As a multilateral developmental investment bank, the EBRD uses investment as a tool to build market economies. Initially focus ...

as a Senior Economist. In 2003 he moved to the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

, where he remained until 2006. In 2008 he was appointed as Chief Executive of the

. In May 2014 it was announced that he was leaving to take on a new role, and that the committee's chief economist, Adrian Gault, would act as interim chief executive until a substantive appointment had been made.

Lord Deben John Selwyn Gummer, Baron Deben, (born 26 November 1939) is a British Conservative Party politician, formerly the Member of Parliament (MP) for Suffolk Coastal and now a member of the House of Lords. He was Conservative Party Chairman from 19 ...

commented that "He is the best kind of civil servant; intellectually robust and technically proficient, bringing sound judgment and careful evaluation to every issue. We owe him a great debt for a job well done." Kennedy commented that he was leaving with a good deal of sadness. In June 2014 he took up a new appointment as first director general for economic development at the

.Jessica Shankleman
Committee on Climate Change searches for new chief as Kennedy quits
dated 23 May 2014 at businessgreen.com, accessed 20 April 2015

Private life

In 2001, Kennedy married Philippa Stonebridge, and they have one daughter, two sons and a cat called Blu. In ''

Who's Who ''Who's Who'' (or ''Who is Who'') is the title of a number of reference publications, generally containing concise biography, biographical information on the prominent people of a country. The title has been adopted as an expression meaning a gr ...

'' he gives his recreations as "kids, classical clarinet, jazz saxophone, literature, Manchester City".

Selected publications

*''Building a Low-carbon Economy'', 2008, with

Adair Turner Jonathan Adair Turner, Baron Turner of Ecchinswell (born 5 October 1955) is a British businessman and academic and was Chairman of the Financial Services Authority until its abolition in March 2013. He is a former Chairman of the Pensions Commiss ...

*''Meeting Carbon Budgets: the need for a step change'', 2009 *many articles on energy, infrastructure, and climate change

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, David 1969 births Living people Alumni of the University of Sheffield Alumni of the University of Manchester Alumni of the London School of Economics British economists