Jim O'Neill

Jim O’Neill is a member of the House of Lords, sitting on the cross benches since he stepped down as Commercial Secretary to the Treasury in September 2016. After finishing his term as Chair of Chatham House, he became a member of the panel of Senior Advisors.

Jim is Chair of Northern Gritstone, a private investment company to support and expand start -up businesses originating from the Universities of Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield.

Jim is also now the Chair of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership. He chaired the Cities Growth Commission in the UK, which formed the basis for the Cameron government’s approach to devolution and the concept of the Northern Powerhouse.

Jim continues to be very active in International Health Policy, as a result of the pandemic and his experience on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), contributing to the UK G7 on Health, and serving on the Monti Commission. Jim chaired an independent Review into AMR for the Cameron Government, helping drive HM Government’s strategy as well as providing key input to the United Nations high level agreement in 2016. In 2018, Jim published a book, Superbugs, on AMR with two of his colleagues from the Review.

He is Honorary Professor of Economics at Manchester University. He holds honorary degrees from the University of Sheffield, University of Manchester, University of London and from City University London. He received his PhD from the University of Surrey and is now a Visiting Professor there.

Jim, creator of the acronym “BRIC”, worked for Goldman Sachs from 1995 until April 2013, spending most of his time there as Chief Economist.

He is a board member and a founding trustee of the UK educational charity, SHINE. Jim has served on the boards of a number of educational foundations.