Frances Cairncross
Journalist, Author, & Former Senior Editor at The Economist
Noted journalist, author and former senior editor at The Economist Frances Cairncross looks at the trends in the coming century, how business can lead environmental change and the impact that technology has on business and society. She is the author of Costing the Earth: The Challenges for Governments, the Opportunities for Business, Green, Inc., The Company of the Future and The Death of Distance, a study of the economic and social effects of the global communications revolution.
Frances Cairncross became Rector of Exeter College in October 2004. Previously, she was on the staff of The Economist for 20 years, most recently as management editor. She was The Economist's first Environment Editor, and in that capacity published two books on the subject, Costing the Earth: The Challenges for Governments, the Opportunities for Business, and Green, Inc.
Cairncross was on the staff of The Guardian from 1973 to 1984, and prior to that spent periods on the financial staff of The Times, The Banker and The Observer. She chaired the Economic and Social Research Council for six years until 2007 and was President of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (2005-06). She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, a Senior Fellow at the School of Public Policy, UCLA and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). Ms Cairncross read Modern History at St Anne's College, Oxford, and holds an MA in Economics from Brown University, Rhode Island. She holds honorary degrees from Trinity College Dublin, Glasgow, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, City, Loughborough and Kingston Universities.
Her latest book, The Company of the Future, was published in 2002 by Harvard Business School Press. In March 2003 she won the Institute of Internal Auditors' annual award for business and management journalism. She is also the author of The Death of Distance, a study of the economic and social effects of the global communications revolution, first published in 1997 and re-published in a completely new edition in 2001. She is a non-executive director of Stramongate Ltd, and a regular presenter of BBC Radio Four's Analysis programme. In 2004-05, she held the honorary post of High Sheriff of Greater London.
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The Death of Distance
How does the internet and associated technologies alter the world for companies, for society and for government? -
Business and the Environment
Examines how companies can respond to and lead environmental change. -
Shaping the Future: Seven Top Trends for the Coming Century
This talk looks at the main factors likely to shape the coming century, including demography, technology and globalisation.
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February 2002The Company of the Future
Cairncross argues that we've grossly underestimated the power of the Internet to change the way companies behave. We're entering a volatile period of fundamental organizational change from which will emerge a new type of company-one that will require a new set of leadership and management skills to run it. The Company of the Future boldly asserts that managers and their companies must embrace and exploit the very technologies that have upended their jobs and their businesses. And they must look inside-improving the relationships among managers and employees-before they can realize the enormous potential that new technologies hold for enabling collaboration with customers, suppliers, and partners.
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May 2001The Death of Distance, 2.0
Never before in human history has technology advanced as quickly as today. The biggest changes are taking place in communications and computers, which are being combined in new and astonishing ways. In this updated and revised addition, Frances Cairncross analyzes the impact of this revolution on business, government and society. The author sees a world where time zones will matter more than miles, where culture, language and interests bind communities more closely than geography, and where new ideas and information will travel faster than ever before to the remotest corners of the globe. The death of distance as a determinant of the cost of communicating may well be the single most important force shaping society in the first half of this century.
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August 1995Green, Inc.: A Guide To Business And The Environment
Written in a clear and engaging style, and illustrated with a wealth of examples from around the world, Green, Inc. provides a thought-provoking analysis of the complex relationship between government, business and the environment.
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March 1993Costing the Earth
In Costing the Earth, Frances Cairncross shows the ways in which government can and must create the right conditions for businesses to develop environmentally sound practices and products. Covering issues such as water pollution, the greenhouse effect, and the destruction of the rain forests in a global context, the author shows how governments can design environmental policies that spur industry to innovate. Using economically based arguments, she demonstrates how the needs of industry must go hand in hand with those of ecology.
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