Economist who built the BRIC to retire

THE Sheffield University graduate who found international fame when he coined the term BRICs is to retire from Goldman Sachs after two decades, writes Bernard Ginns.

By The Newsroom

Published 7th Feb 2013, 08:57 BST

Jim O’Neill, 55, pictured, came up with the acronym for Brazil, Russia, India and China in 2001 to describe the group of fast-growing major economies.

The chairman of Goldman’s asset management division is an economist by training who joined the investment bank in 1995 as a partner in the roles of co-head of global economics research and chief currency economist. “Jim is an influential economist and thought leader, and is regarded as an expert in the world’s foreign exchange and bond markets,”said chief executive Lloyd Blankfein.

The postman’s son grew up in Gatley, between Stockport and Manchester, and studied economics and geography at Sheffield University in the late 1970s. The lifelong Manchester United fan became honorary president of the university’s economics society in 2009 and is due to visit Sheffield later this year.

Brazil Russia