
Geoffrey Owen
Head of Industrial Policy
Sir Geoffrey Owen is Head of Industrial Policy at Policy Exchange. The larger part of his career has been spent at the Financial Times, where he was Deputy Editor from 1973 to 1980 and Editor from 1981 to 1990. He was knighted in 1989. Among his other achievements, he is a Visiting Professor of Practice at the LSE, and he is the author of three books – “The rise and fall of great companies: Courtaulds and the reshaping of the man-made fibres industry”, “Industry in the USA” and “From Empire to Europe: the decline and revival of British industry since the second world war.” He is the co-author, with Michael Hopkins, of “Science, the State, and the City: Britain’s struggle to succeed in biotechnology”

Related Posts & Publications


Where next for Industrial Strategy?
by Geoffrey Owen | Mar 12, 2021
Related Content “A pudding without a theme” was how Kwasi Kwarteng, Business Secretary, speaking in the House of Commons this week, described Theresa May’s 2017 industrial strategy. He had been asked by Greg Clark, who was in charge of what Mrs May had renamed the...
Batteries for Electric Cars: A case study in industrial strategy
by Geoffrey Owen | Apr 18, 2018
Read Publication Can the UK lead the world in the development and production of batteries for electric cars? This is the stated aim of the government’s support programme for the battery sector. Yet, in the light of the current state of the UK battery sector and the...
Lessons from the US on Innovation Policy
by Geoffrey Owen | Mar 18, 2017
Read Publication A commentary by Sir Geoffrey Owen, Head of Industrial Policy at Policy Exchange and former Editor of the Financial Times. Sir Geoffrey examines the reasons for US leadership in two key sectors, information technology and biotechnology, highlighting...
Electric cars: a question for the next PM
by Geoffrey Owen | Jul 8, 2019
Related Content Could batteries for electric cars be a successful intervention in industry? Jaguar Land Rover’s decision to build a range of electric cars at its Castle Bromwich factory in the Midlands is a welcome boost for the government’s industrial strategy. The...Support Us
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