About Edmund O’Sullivan

31 January 2013

For full coverage of business developments in Iran and the Middle East, see MEED

I am a reporter, writer, author, economist, media executive and retiredcompany director formerly employed by UK media company Ascential Plc.

I am now based in London where I undertake consulting, editing and writing assignments about trends in developments in the global energy industry, infrastructure development, economic trends in emerging economies and the Middle East region.

The fourth of six children, I was born near Slough in south-east England and went to school at Slough Grammar. My father was a shop worker who became a light infantry sergeant major in World War II and finished his career as a teacher. My mother was an ATS communications specialist during the war.

I studied at the LSE, where I graduated with an upper second class honours in in monetary economics. My teachers included the late Professor Alan Walters and Brian Griffiths, subsequently head of the Number 10 Policy Unit under Margaret Thatcher.

After teaching economics to engineers at Kings College London, I joined Reuters as a financial reporter. I was most interested in working as an economist and joined the UK government as part of the Price Commission team. When this was closed, I returned to the media industry and joined MEED as specialist in finance, energy and economics.

I was made editor aged 29. After MEED was acquired by EMAP (now Ascential), I joined the board of EMAP Business International and was editorial director of the company in its various forms until moving to Dubai in 2003. I was also made publisher of MEED with responsibility for the business’ bottom line.

In 2003, I was named PPA Business Publisher of the Year. In September, I moved to Dubai as General Manager of MEED. Four years later, I was made chairman of MEED Events whilst retaining a general interest in all aspects of the business. My duties involved travelling frequently across the Arab and Islamic world, from Morocco to Iran and from Turkey to Sudan. I also undertook consulting work in sub-Saharan Africa.

I have produced four books: The New Gulf, a modern history of the region: All My Brothers: A London Irish Family at Peace (principal editor); The Three Charlies: Darwin, Dickens & Marx at Christmas 1859 and End of the Market, an assessment of the impact of the rise of service industries.

I retired from Ascential in December 2015 and returned to my home in Islington.

I am married to Maria and have one grown-up son. You can follow developments in the economies of the Middle East at www.meed.com