George Anders (born 1957) is an American business

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and the author of five books, including the ''New York Times'' bestseller, ''Perfect Enough''. He has worked as an editor or staff writer at ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'',

LinkedIn LinkedIn () is an American business and employment-oriented online service that operates via websites and mobile apps. Launched on May 5, 2003, the platform is primarily used for professional networking and career development, and allows job se ...

, ''Fast Company'' magazine and

Bloomberg View Bloomberg News (originally Bloomberg Business News) is an international news agency headquartered in New York City and a division of Bloomberg L.P. Content produced by Bloomberg News is disseminated through Bloomberg Terminals, Bloomberg Tele ...

. He currently resides in Northern California. Anders's articles and essays have appeared in publications including ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

BusinessWeek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...

'', ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'',

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', and the ''

Harvard Business Review ''Harvard Business Review'' (''HBR'') is a general management magazine published by Harvard Business Publishing, a wholly owned subsidiary of Harvard University. ''HBR'' is published six times a year and is headquartered in Brighton, Massach ...

''.''

Early life and education

Anders is a 1978 graduate of

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, with a bachelor's degree in economics. At Stanford, he was elected to the

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

honor society.

Career

Anders has been writing for national publications since the 1980s. He started his writing career working for ''

'' and eventually became a top feature writer, specializing in in-depth profiles. A 1996 profile of electronics salesman Jeff Bloom, and his battle to regain his health after being diagnosed with AIDS, became part of a package of Journal articles awarded the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting. Anders's 1998 article on Healtheon's difficulties developing medical-record software was seen as a major reason why the company soon afterward postponed its much-awaited initial public offering. In

The New New Thing ''The New New Thing: A Silicon Valley Story'' is a book by Michael M. Lewis published in 1999 by W. W. Norton & Company. Synopsis The book is written with a comedic touch similar to that of the Lewis's earlier book ''Liar's Poker''. The book f ...

, author

Michael Lewis Michael Monroe Lewis (born October 15, 1960) Gale Biography In Context. is an American author and financial journalist. He has also been a contributing editor to '' Vanity Fair'' since 2009, writing mostly on business, finance, and economics. H ...

wrote that when Healtheon CEO Mike Long read the Journal article he "knew instantly that the roadshow was over." After his first stint with ''The Wall Street Journal'', Anders served as West Coast bureau chief for ''

Fast Company ''Fast Company'' is a monthly American business magazine published in print and online that focuses on technology, business, and design. It publishes six print issues per year. History ''Fast Company'' was launched in November 1995 by Alan Web ...

'' from 2000 to 2003. Anders rejoined the Journal in 2003 and left in 2008. He later became a founding member of the

board of editors and began working for

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

as a contributing writer in 2012. In October 2017, he joined

's editorial team, where he is a senior editor at large.

Awards and honors

He shared in a

Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting This Pulitzer Prize has been awarded since 1942 for a distinguished example of reporting on national affairs in the United States. In its first six years (1942–1947), it was called the Pulitzer Prize for Telegraphic Reporting – National. Li ...

in 1997, while at ''The Wall Street Journal''. On May 19, 2018, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by

Washington & Jefferson College Washington & Jefferson College (W&J College or W&J) is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania. The college traces its origin to three log cabin colleges in Washington County established by three Presbyterian missionaries to ...

, where he delivered the 2018 commencement address.

Bibliography

Books

* * * * *

Critical studies and reviews of Anders' work

* Review of ''You can do anything''.

References

1957 births Stanford University School of Humanities and Sciences alumni American business and financial journalists American male journalists Living people 20th-century American journalists {{US-journalist-1950s-stub