Thursday, August 15, 2013

Jim O'Neill

There can be no discussion on emerging economies without a reference to BRICs. This acronym was coined in 2001 by Jim O'Neill who recently took an early retirement (age 56) from his longtime employer, Goldman Sachs. He was last the Chairman of GS Asset Management which manages assets worth around 700 billion dollars.

The acronym has stood the test of time for more than 12 years. It will continue to enjoy its shelf-life even after the BRIC nations start losing their sheen, a process that has already started. O'Neill is also reputed as a currency expert. He had also coined the acronym MIKT for Mexico, Indonesia, (South) Korea and Turkey. (MIST may have been more meaningful!) MIKT is unlikely to be as popular as BRIC.

It is an interesting coincidence that BRIC nations are on the wane when Jim O'Neill retires from GS.

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