McKinsey partner of FT Business Book of the Year Award
For the 10th time in a row, the Financial Times will this year organise the ‘Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award’, an award provided to best business book of the year. After being involved from the start of the award, Goldman Sachs has now stepped down as co-sponsor and been replaced by McKinsey & Company. The consulting firm has immediately taken the opportunity to introduce a new award: the ‘Bracken Bower Prize’, an award for the most promising young business writer.
Established in 2005, the FT Business Book of the Year Award has since grown into one of the leading awards for books in the field of management and business. The award is given to the book that according to the professional jury* provides the “most compelling and enjoyable insight into modern business issues”. Five books will be short-listed for the final (24 September) and in November during the Grand Finale the overall winner will be announced.
McKinsey
Since the start of the FT Business Book of the Year Award, global investment bank Goldman Sachs had served as co-sponsor, as a result the prize was dubbed the ‘Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award’. This year, as the award enters its 10th successive year, McKinsey & Company has taken over the honors and committed itself as principal partner to the award.
The Bracken Bower Prize
In addition to the traditional award, the partners have launched a new award: the ‘Bracken Bower Prize’. This new prize will be awarded to the most promising young business writer (under 35) with the best book proposal on “the challenges and opportunities of growth”. The FT and McKinsey have established this award to encourage new talented writers to research subjects for future business books of the year. “The new award is aimed at encouraging the next generation to join the conversation on the challenges and opportunities of growth globally,” says Dominic Barton, Global Managing Director of McKinsey & Company.
The Bracken Bower Prize is named after Brendan Bracken who was chairman of the FT from 1945 to 1958 and Marvin Bower, Managing Director of McKinsey from 1950 to 1967, who were instrumental in laying the foundations for the present day success of the two institutions.
* This year’s jury chaired by Lionel Barber, editor of the Financial Times, consists of: Steve Coll, Dean of the School of Journalism at Columbia University in New York; Steven Denning, Chairman of General Atlantic; Mohamed El-Erian, Member of the Executive Board of Allianz International; Herminia Ibarra, Learning Professor of Organizational Behavior at Insead; Rik Kirkland, Partner and Director of Publishing McKinsey & Company and Shriti Vadera, Director of Shriti Vadera and Non-Executive Director at BHP Billiton and AstraZeneca.