New York, NY – Columbia Business School bestowed Sebastian Mallaby, two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and Paul A. Volcker Senior Fellow for International Economics at the Council on Foreign Relations, with its 2017 George S. Eccles Prize for Economic Writing. Instituted to foster greater interest in and public discourse about economic theory, practice, and issues, the George S. Eccles Prize is presented annually to the author of the best book that bridges economic theory with practice.

Chosen for his book, The Man Who Knew: The Life & Times of Alan Greenspan, Mallaby’s biography takes readers through the early years of Alan Greenspan’s life to his more than 30 years leading the Federal Reserve Bank, and past his retirement to the 2008 housing crisis – which many have wondered whether he foresaw. Following the award presentation, a candid discussion and question-and-answer session led by Glenn Hubbard, Dean and Russell L. Carson Professor of Finance and Economics, took place.

Established in 1986 by Spencer Eccles, chairman and chief executive of First Security Corporation of Salt Lake City, Utah, the George S. Eccles Prize for Excellence in Economic Writing honors his uncle, George Eccles, a 1922 graduate of Columbia Business School. The selection is comprised of a committee of Columbia Business School faculty members and a member of the Eccles family and is based on the academic rigor and accessibility of the author’s material.

Previous honorees include Ben Bernanke for The Courage to Act: A Memoir of a Crisis and Its Aftermath; Joseph Stiglitz and Bruce Greenwald for Creating a Learning Society: A New Approach to Growth, Development, and Social Progress; Jagdish Bhagwati and Arvind Panagariya for Why Growth Matters; Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson for Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty; and Henry Kissinger for Henry Kissinger on China. The event is organized by the School’s Jerome A. Chazen Institute for Global Business.

To learn more about the Eccles Prize, its history, and past winners, please visit http://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/newsroom/prizes-awards/eccles-prize/history.

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About Columbia Business School

Columbia Business School is the only world-class, Ivy League business school that delivers a learning experience where academic excellence meets with real-time exposure to the pulse of global business. Led by Dean Glenn Hubbard, the School’s transformative curriculum bridges academic theory with unparalleled exposure to real-world business practice, equipping students with an entrepreneurial mindset that allows them to recognize, capture, and create opportunity in any business environment. The thought leadership of the School’s faculty and staff, combined with the accomplishments of its distinguished alumni and position in the center of global business, means that the School’s efforts have an immediate, measurable impact on the forces shaping business every day. To learn more about Columbia Business School’s position at the very center of business, please visit www.gsb.columbia.edu.

The Jerome A. Chazen Institute for Global Business

The Jerome A. Chazen Institute for Global Business at Columbia Business School draws on the expertise of world-class faculty members and business leaders to help shape the thinking and discourse on major global business issues. By sharing its thought leadership, training the next generation of global leaders, and supporting major research, the Chazen Institute serves as a gateway to the people and ideas that transform the international marketplace. For more information, please visit www.gsb.columbia.edu/chazen.  

PHOTO: Left to right: Randal Quarles, son-in-law of Spencer Eccles; Hope Eccles ’89, daughter of Spencer Eccles; Glenn Hubbard, dean, Columbia Business School; Sebastian Mallaby; Spencer Eccles, chairman and chief executive of First Security Corporation; and Lisa Eccles, daughter of Spencer Eccles and president, George S. Eccles Foundation