Séan Rickard studied economics at the London School of Economics and Birkbeck College, London and has an MBA from Cranfield School of Management.
Prior to joining the Economics Group at Cranfield in 1994 he worked as a business economist and from 1987 was Chief Economist with the National Farmers' Union, Europe's largest trade association. As Chief Economist and Head of the NFU´s European and Economics Department, Séan directed research into - and commented publicly on - a wide range of issues relating to the agricultural and food industries in the UK and the European Union. Key areas of expertise are agricultural policy, (food) supply chain relationships, world trade relationship and the European Union. Séan has been a member of a number of prominent UK and EU committees and working parties, including the influential CBI's Economic Trends Committee.
Since joining Cranfield he has been a member of the Minister of Agriculture's Think Tank on future agricultural and rural policy and an employers' representative on the Agricultural Wages Board.
Séan wrote the present government´s agricultural manifesto and is currently an academic adviser to the government.
He is an experienced public speaker and appears regularly on radio and television.
In addition to lecturing and research he is retained as a consultant by a number of international companies and trade associations.
2006 McGraw-Hill Education Europe