Sir Geoffrey Owen (born 16 April 1934)
is an English academic and journalist, who is the former editor of the ''
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
,'' and currently Head of Industrial Policy at Policy Exchange, the UK's leading Think Tank. He is also a Visiting Professor in Practice in the Department of Management, London School of Economics.
Early life
Geoffrey Owen is the son of L. G. Owen and the tennis player
Violet Owen
Violet Owen (15 February 1902 – 22 October 1998) was a British tennis and field hockey, hockey player. She captained the British Field hockey in England, hockey team, and played at the The Championships, Wimbledon, Wimbledon tennis championship ...
. He was also a tennis player and competed at
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
during the 1950s.
Owen was educated at the
Dragon School
("Reach for the Sun")
, established = 1877
, closed =
, type = Preparatory day and boarding school and Pre-Prep school
, religion = Church of England
, president =
, head_label = Head
, head = Emma Goldsm ...
,
Rugby School
Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England.
Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...
and
Balliol College,
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
. He served in the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
for two years as part of the national service.
Career
He joined the ''Financial Times'' as a feature writer in 1958. He held several posts on that paper, including those of industrial correspondent, industrial editor, and US correspondent based in New York. Between 1968 and 1973, he left journalism, serving first as an executive in the
Industrial Reorganisation Corporation The Industrial Reorganisation Corporation was an entity established by the Government of the United Kingdom to reorganise British industry.
History
The corporation was established by the First Wilson ministry in 1966 with the objective of encouragi ...
and then as personnel director in the overseas division of
British Leyland Motor Corporation. He was deputy editor of the ''Financial Times'' from 1973 to 1980 and editor from 1981 to 1990. He was knighted in 1989.
He was a non-executive director of
Laird Group plc from 2001 to the end of 2006.
Personal life
He is married to literary editor
Miriam Gross
Miriam Gross, Lady Owen is a literary editor and writer.
She was the deputy literary editor of ''The Observer'' from 1969-81, the women's editor of ''The Observer'' from 1981-84, the arts editor of ''The Daily Telegraph'' from 1986-91, and the ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Owen, Geoffrey
Living people
1934 births
People educated at The Dragon School
People educated at Rugby School
Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford
English male journalists
Financial Times editors
Knights Bachelor
Academics of the London School of Economics
Honorary Fellows of the London School of Economics
British male tennis players
English male tennis players