Gillian Romaine Tett (born 10 July 1967) is a British author and journalist. She is the chair of the editorial board for the Financial Times, jointly serving as its U.S. editor-at-large. She writes weekly columns, covering a range of economic, financial, political and social issues. Tett co-founded Moral Money, the paper's sustainability newsletter. Her work covering the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-08 received extensive media attention for its prescient coverage of the financial instruments that led to the crisis. Tett was appointed the provost of King's College, Cambridge in October 2023.

Early life and education

Tett was born on 10 July 1967. She was educated at the North London Collegiate School, an independent school for girls in Edgware, in the London Borough of Harrow in northwest London, during which time, at the age of 17, she worked for a Pakistani nonprofit. After leaving school, Tett studied at Clare College, Cambridge, graduating in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Archaeology and Anthropology. She then undertook a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Social Anthropology based on field research in Tajikistan in the former Soviet Union. Her doctoral thesis was titled "Ambiguous alliances: marriage and identity in a Muslim village in Soviet Tajikstan". She expressed frustration with an academic anthropology career that in her view was like committing "intellectual suicide" and decided instead to pursue a career in journalism.

Career

In 1993, Tett joined the Financial Times as a correspondent from the former Soviet Union and Europe. In 1997, she was posted to Tokyo, where she later became bureau chief. In 2003, she became deputy head of the Lex column. Tett was then U.S. managing editor at the FT, before working as an assistant editor and columnist before returning to the U.S. managing editor position. She is also the chairwoman of the board of trustees for the Knight–Bagehot Fellowship in Economics and Business Journalism with Columbia University. From 2005 to 2007, Tett conducted ethnographic research on the American banking institution J.P. Morgan and discovered that the insular culture was leading to the creation of financial instruments that had little basis and that could cause severe economic disruption. In a series of articles in the Financial Times between 2006-07, she wrote about the dangers posed by securitization and financial derivatives, and the unreliability of credit rating agencies. Her 2009 book Fool's Gold: How the Bold Dreams of a Small Tribe at J.P. Morgan Was Corrupted by Wall Street Greed and Unleashed a Catastrophe recounts the lead-up to the economic crisis and the eventual collapse. She also played a significant role in the 2010 documentary Inside Job about the financial crisis of 2008. The book was widely reviewed throughout the English-speaking world and won the Spear's Book Award for the financial book of 2009. Anthro-Vision, a New Way to See in Life and Business, published in June 2021, concerns the behaviour of organizations, individuals, and markets by looking through an anthropological lens.

King's College, Cambridge

In February 2023, her election was announced as the next Provost of King's College, Cambridge. She took up the post in October 2023 in succession to Professor Michael Proctor.

Personal life

Tett lives in London, England and has two children. Tett was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to economic journalism.

Awards and honours

Books