Noreena Hertz

Noreena Hertz (born 24 September 1967) is an English academic, economist, author and the Economics Editor of ITV News. In 2001 The Observer newspaper dubbed her "one of the world's leading young thinkers" and Vogue magazine described her as "one of the most inspiring women in the world.". In September 2013 Hertz was featured on the cover of Newsweek Magazine. Describing herself as "a campaigning academic", critics have called her "a do-gooder who moves like a grasshopper from one high-profile good cause to another." She has been called the 'Nigella Lawson of economics' by the UK media,"because she combines striking beauty with a formidable mind."Fast Company magazine has named her "one of the most influential economists on the international stage" and observed: "For more than two decades [her] economic predictions have been accurate and ahead of the curve."

Hertz's books are published in 22 languages.

Hertz is a great-granddaughter of British Chief Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz, and was born and brought up in East Finchley, London. When she was 20 years old, her mother, the fashion designer and feminist activist Leah Hertz, died of cancer.

Hertz was a precocious child and began her schooling aged just 3 years, taking her A levels at age 16. She first attended North London Collegiate School followed by Westminster School. She graduated from University College London in philosophy and economics at the age of 18. She then attended The Wharton School, Philadelphia, where she majored in finance and earned her MBA at age 21. Hertz then worked for a short period at Triad Artists, a talent agency in Los Angeles, California, where she originally planned to break into the film industry as a producer, before taking up a position as a consultant for the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Disillusioned by what she perceived as failings in the World Bank's approach to post-Soviet reforms, she quit her post and worked briefly for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Of the IFC, she said: "Early on I raised the issue of social safety nets and was quite shocked to see how clearly my concerns were dismissed." Having returned to the UK she studied for a PhD in economics and business at King's College, Cambridge. Her Cambridge doctoral thesis, Russian Business Relationships in the Wake of Reform was published in 1997 by St. Martin's Press.

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