Kay, John

1948 – He was born this year in Edinburgh, Scotland. He completed his schooling and undergraduate education in that city.

1969 – He applied for and to his astonishment got a permanent teaching post in the University of Oxford.

1970 – Through this year, he developed a conventional academic career, publishing in academic journals, and writing my first book Concentration in Modern Industry (with Leslie Hannah, an economic historian colleague).

1976 – He decided it was time to move on. The success of IFS had been built on serious economics accompanied by a commitment to popularization and application.

1986 – He accepts a chair at the London Business School in this year, and at the same time, to establish a consulting company, London Economics.

1991 – By this year, managing the company had become a major responsibility. He revised his arrangements with London Business School. His new contract was as Visiting Professor, but his job as executive chairman of London Economics took the larger part of my time.

1996 – He was attracted by the idea of going back to Oxford to help establish a new business school there and gave up the Chairmanship of London Economics to take the Directorship of the newly created Said Business School.

1997 – He became the first Professor of Management to be elected a Fellow of the British Academy; it became possible to believe that the study of business was, even in Britain, achieving intellectual respectability.

1999 – At the end of this year, he became seriously ill and, although recovery from that seems to be complete, it left him with an ongoing determination not to do things that were not enjoyable and productive. Mostly, that has been popular writing with a serious theme.

2002 – In August of this year, he completed his most substantial book so far, The Truth about Markets, which was published in the UK and Europe.