Vicky Pryce

Why organisations work with Vicky Pryce

• She has operated on both sides of the policy-commercial divide: as the senior government official responsible for UK productivity strategy at the Government Economic Service, and as Chief Economist and strategic adviser at KPMG and FTI Consulting. That combination is rare and difficult to replicate from outside it.
• Her book Women vs Capitalism (Hurst, 2019) makes a specifically economic case (not a social one) that gender inequality is a structural market failure with direct consequences for productivity and growth. It reframes inclusion as a strategic performance issue, supported by empirical evidence rather than advocacy.
• Her current position at CEBR means her economic analysis is grounded in live forecasting and modelling – not retrospective commentary or academic abstraction.
• She co-founded GoodCorporation, an advisory firm on corporate social responsibility and business ethics, giving her a rare combination of macro-economic credibility and applied governance insight.
• As the first woman to serve as Chief Economic Adviser at what is now the Department for Business, she brings direct experience of where the gap between policy intention and commercial impact typically opens: a perspective shaped by being inside the room when the policy was being made.

Biography highlights

• Chief Economic Adviser and board member, Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR)
• Former Joint Head of the UK Government Economic Service and Director General for Economics, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
• First woman appointed Chief Economic Adviser at the Department for Trade and Industry (2002)
• Former Partner and Chief Economist, KPMG; Senior Managing Director, FTI Consulting; earlier career roles at Williams & Glyn’s Bank (RBS) and Exxon Europe
• Author of seven books including Women vs Capitalism (Hurst Publishers, 2019) and How to be a Successful Economist (Oxford University Press, 2022)
• Visiting Professor, Birmingham City University and King’s College London; Fellow, UK Academy for Social Sciences; Companion, British Academy of Management
• Co-founder, GoodCorporation (corporate social responsibility and business ethics advisory)
• Senior Member, British Chambers of Commerce Economic Advisory Council; Advisory Board member, OMFIF (central banking think-tank)

Biography

UK productivity has been the central puzzle of British economic policy for three decades. Vicky Pryce worked on it from the inside, first as the first female Chief Economic Adviser at what is now the Department for Business, then as Joint Head of the Government Economic Service, overseeing economic analysis and evidence across Whitehall from 2007 to 2010.

That insider perspective shapes how she reads the policy landscape now. At KPMG, where she served as Partner and Chief Economist, and at FTI Consulting as Senior Managing Director, she translated government intent into commercial implication, helping large organisations understand what regulatory and fiscal shifts meant for their strategic position. Her current role as Chief Economic Adviser and board member at the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) keeps that analytical work live, grounded in ongoing economic modelling and forecasting.

Her book Women vs Capitalism (Hurst, 2019) makes an argument that separates her from most economics commentators: gender inequality is not a social problem the market will eventually correct, but a structural market failure with direct consequences for productivity and growth. The case is economic and evidential. Greekonomics (Biteback, 2012), which was shortlisted for the Spear’s best business book award, applied the same forensic clarity to the eurozone crisis, and led to her appearing as an expert witness before the House of Lords cross-party subcommittee on economic and financial affairs.

Pryce also co-founded GoodCorporation, advising organisations on corporate social responsibility and ethics. She is Visiting Professor at Birmingham City University and King’s College London, a Fellow of the UK Academy for Social Sciences, and a Senior Member of the British Chambers of Commerce Economic Advisory Council.

Key speaking topics

• UK and global economic outlook
• Economic policy, fiscal strategy, and government reform
• Productivity, competitiveness, and long-term growth
• Political and regulatory risk for business
• Gender economics and labour market policy
• Corporate ethics and responsible business practice
• Manufacturing, industrial policy, and economic rebalancing

Ideal for

• CFOs, strategy directors, and board executives navigating policy-driven economic risk
• Financial services, professional services, and public affairs organisations requiring independent economic analysis
• HR and talent leaders seeking an evidence-based, economic case for gender inclusion
• Senior leadership conferences with a UK or European economic policy dimension

Audience outcomes

• A framework for distinguishing short-term economic fluctuation from structural policy shifts that require a strategic response
• Clearer understanding of how the UK’s persistent productivity challenge affects their sector and what policy instruments are actually in play
• An economic – not ideological – argument for why gender inclusion is a business performance issue, grounded in market failure analysis and labour market evidence
• Sharper contextual understanding of the regulatory and fiscal environment shaping their planning horizon
• Practical basis for scenario planning under conditions of domestic and international economic uncertainty