Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Confirm Lord Patten as Keynote Speaker for Business Book of the Year Award 2011

London, 26th May 2011: The Financial Times and Goldman Sachs today announced Lord Patten of Barnes, Chairman of the BBC Trust as the keynote speaker for the 2011 Business Book of the Year Award event in London on 3rd November. Lord Patten is Chancellor of Oxford University and Co-Chair of the UK-India Round Table, and was Governor of Hong Kong from 1992 until 1997, overseeing the return of Hong Kong to China.

This year’s award was launched in London at a breakfast debate hosted by Lionel Barber, Editor, Financial Times, and attended by heads of business, retail and publishing including Nigel Newton, Founder and CEO, Bloomsbury; Stefan McGrath, Managing Director, Penguin Press; and Caroline Michel, CEO, PFD. The topic "The Battle for Content: Who Owns What We Read - and Who Should Own It?" inspired lively debate, coverage of which can be seen at www.ft.com/bookaward.

Lionel Barber, Editor, Financial Times will chair the distinguished panel of judges, which this year welcomes Vindi Banga, Partner, Clayton Dubilier & Rice and Arthur Levitt, former Chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. The full list of judges comprises:

  • Vindi Banga, Partner, Clayton Dubilier & Rice

  • Lynda Gratton, Professor of Management Practice, London Business School

  • Arthur Levitt, former Chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission

  • Mario Monti, President of Bocconi University, Milan, European chairman of the Trilateral Commission, honorary president of Bruegel

  • Jorma Ollila, Chairman of Nokia and Royal Dutch Shell

Lionel Barber said: “We are delighted that Lord Patten has accepted our invitation to speak at this year’s event, and look forward to building on the success of the previous years’ awards.”

Lloyd Blankfein, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Goldman Sachs and co-chair of the prize said: “The prize has established a strong track record of recognising well written and thought-provoking books on business, economic and management issues. I look forward to reading this year's submissions."

The Business Book of the Year Award is designed to highlight the book that provides the most compelling and enjoyable insight into modern business issues, including management, finance and economics. Entries are invited from publishers of business books in the English language that are first published between 16th November 2010 and 15th November 2011. The deadline for entries is 30th June 2011 and the entry form is available online at www.ft.com/bookaward.

The judging panel will then select a shortlist of up to six authors, which will be announced in September.

The overall winner will be announced at the Awards Dinner co-hosted by Lionel Barber, Editor, Financial Times and Lloyd C. Blankfein, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc at The Wallace Collection in London on 3rd November 2011.

The winner of the Business Book of the Year Award 2011 will be awarded £30,000, and each of the remaining shortlisted authors will receive £10,000 each.

The 2010 Award was won by Raghuram Rajan for ‘Fault Lines’. The Award was presented at a dinner in New York, which was attended by more than 200 senior executives from the publishing and business communities. Winner of the 2009 Award was Liaquat Ahamed for ‘The Lords of Finance’; Mohamed El-Erian’s ‘When Markets Collide’ was the 2008 winner; William D. Cohan won the 2007 Award for ‘The Last Tycoons’; ‘China Shakes the World’ by James Kynge won the 2006 Award; and the winner of the inaugural Award in 2005 was Thomas Friedman for ‘The World Is Flat’.

For further information please contact:

UK: Katrina Power/Steven Williams/Tracey Jennings, Midas PR
T: +44 (0)207 361 7880 / +44 (0)79639 62538
E: katrina.power@midaspr.co.uk /tracey.jennings@midaspr.co.uk
Follow on Twitter @Bizbookaward

Lizzie Allen, Financial Times
T: +44 (0)207 873 4463
E: lizzie.allen@FT.com

US: Mark Fortier, Fortier Public Relations
T: +1 212-675-6460, +1 646-246-3036
E: mark@fortierpr.com
Follow on Twitter @Bizbookaward

Darcy Keller, Financial Times
T: +1 212 641 6614
E: darcy.keller@ft.com

Ed Canaday, Goldman Sachs
T: +1 212 357 0005
E: ed.canaday@gs.com

Notes to editors:
Entry forms and details of the Terms and Conditions are available from www.ft.com/bookaward. This annual Award aims to identify the book that provides the most compelling and enjoyable insight into modern business issues, including management, finance and economics. A shortlist of up to six titles will be announced in September, and the winner will be announced at a gala event in London on November 3rd 2011. Submissions are invited from publishers or bona fide imprints based in any country.

Eligibility:
Books must be published for the first time in the English language, or in English translation, between 16th November 2010 and 15th November 2011. There is no limit to the number of submissions from each publisher/imprint, provided they fit the criteria, and books from all genres except anthologies are eligible. There are no restrictions of gender, age or nationality of authors. Authors who are current employees of the Financial Times or Goldman Sachs, or the close relatives of such employees, are not eligible.

About the Financial Times:
The Financial Times, one of the world’s leading business news organisations, is recognised internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. Providing essential news, comment, data and analysis for the global business community, the FT has a combined paid print and digital circulation of 605,402 (Deloitte assured, 3 January 2011 to 3 April 2011) and a combined print and online average daily readership of 2.1 million people worldwide (PwC assured, November 2010). FT.com has over 3.4 million registered users and 224,000 paying digital subscribers. The newspaper, printed at 24 print sites across the globe, has a global print circulation of 372,076 (ABC, April 2011).

About Goldman Sachs:
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm that provides a wide range of financial services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and high-net-worth individuals. Founded in 1869, the firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong and other major financial centers around the world.

About Lord Patten of Barnes:
Lord Patten of Barnes is Chancellor of Oxford University and Co-Chair of the UK-India Round Table. He was a Member of Parliament from 1979 to 1992. He was a Minister in the Northern Ireland Office and Department of Education and became Minister for Overseas Development in 1986. He became Secretary of State for the Environment in 1989 and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Chairman of the Conservative Party in 1990. He was made a Privy Counsellor in 1989 and a Companion of Honour in 1998.

Lord Patten was appointed Governor of Hong Kong in April 1992, a position he held until 1997, overseeing the return of Hong Kong to China. He was Chairman of the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland, set up under the Good Friday Peace Agreement, which reported in 1999. In September 1999 he became European Commissioner for External Relations, a post he held until November 2004. On leaving office in Brussels he was made a Life Peer and took his seat in the House of Lords in January 2005.

He was Chancellor of Newcastle University from 1998-2008 and was elected Chancellor of Oxford University in 2003. He was appointed Chairman of the BBC in April 2011. Lord Patten has written a number of best-selling books on international politics.
 

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