It was with deep sadness that we heard of the death of our colleague and friend Professor Barry Standish at the age of 69 on 21 March.
Barry was a visiting professor on RSM’s MBA programmes for more than a decade, and was loved by students for his wit and insight, and for breaking down complex economic concepts with a sense of humour and unfiltered analysis. If asked for his opinion, Barry wouldn't sugarcoat his answer – and his students wouldn't have had it any other way.
Even after graduation, RSM alumni could still enjoy his insights through his popular ‘Lunch with Barry’ lectures, which started back in May 2020 with his predictions of the economic impact of Coronavirus.
In his final piece for RSM, published in November 2023, Barry described ‘policy oblivion’ as the conflict between stopping inflation with higher interest rates, and saving ‘zombie banks’ that need quantitative easing. "It might be said we can look forward to an interesting future" he said, "if such things interest you."
We regret that Barry won't be around to make sense of it for us the next time the world faces an economic crisis.
Our thoughts are with Barry's family. If you would like to leave a message for them, you can do so in the online condolence book they have created.