Chris Anderson (entrepreneur)

Anderson was born to British parents in Pakistan in 1957.{{cite web|url=http://www.ted.com/speakers/chris_anderson_ted.html|title=Profile: Chris Anderson – TED Curator|publisher=TED.com|work=Speaker Page|accessdate=10 May 2014}} His father was "an eye surgeon and evangelical Christian", and ran a mobile hospital in rural Pakistan.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/i-was-losing-1-million-a-day-every-day-for-18-months-meet-chris/|title='I was losing $1 million a day, every day for 18 months': Meet Chris Anderson, the man behind TED talks|first=Mick|last=Brown|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=29 April 2016|accessdate=9 August 2018|via=www.telegraph.co.uk}} He has two sisters, and is the middle child.

He studied at Woodstock School in the Himalayan mountains of Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, India briefly, before moving to Monkton Combe School, a boarding school near Bath, England.{{cite web|title=Tributes to "extraordinary" daughter of Future founder after Bath tragedy|url=http://www.bathchronicle.co.uk/Tributes-extraordinary-daughter-Future-founder-Bath-tragedy/story-11341261-detail/story.html|website=Bath Chronicle|publisher=Local World Ltd|accessdate=8 April 2016}}{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{cite web|url=https://www.woodstockschool.in/alumni/distinguished-alumni/anderson/|title=Chris Anderson '74|website=Woodstock|accessdate=9 August 2018}} At the University of Oxford, Anderson initially studied physics before changing to philosophy, politics and economics, and graduated in 1978.{{cite web|url=http://www.woodstockschool.in/page.cfm?p=656#|title=Distinguished Alumni of Woodstock School – 2008 Chris Anderson '74|publisher=Woodstock School|work=Woodstockschool.in|accessdate=12 August 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012150114/http://www.woodstockschool.in/page.cfm?p=656|archive-date=12 October 2013}}

Anderson began a career in journalism, working in newspapers and radio. He produced a world news service in the Seychelles.

After returning to the UK in 1984, Anderson was captivated by the home-computer revolution. He became an editor at two of the UK's early computer magazines, Personal Computer Games and Zzap!64.{{Cite web|url=http://www.zzap64.co.uk/zzaphistory.html|title=The History of Zzap!64|website=www.zzap64.co.uk|access-date=2018-10-26}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.outofprintarchive.com/articles/features/out-of-print/Retro_Future.html|title=out-of-print archive • Retro Future|website=www.outofprintarchive.com|access-date=2018-10-26}} A year later he founded Future Publishing with a $25,000 bank loan. The new company initially focused on specialist computer publications, but he eventually expanded it into other areas such as cycling, music, video games, technology and design. It doubled in size every year for seven years.

In 1994, Anderson moved to the United States. There he developed Imagine Media, publisher of Business 2.0 magazine and creator of the popular video game users' website IGN. Anderson eventually merged Imagine and Future, taking the combined entity public in London in 1999, under the name Future US. At its peak, it published 150 magazines and websites and employed 2,000 people.

Based on this financial success, Anderson established a private nonprofit organization, the Sapling Foundation. He wanted to find new ways to tackle tough global issues through media, technology, entrepreneurship and ideas.

In 2001, the foundation acquired the TED Conference, then an annual meeting of luminaries in the fields of technology, entertainment and design, held in Monterey, California. Anderson left Future to work full-time on TED.

He expanded the conference to cover all topics, including science, culture, academia, and business and key global issues. He added a fellows program, which now has some 400 alumni. He also established the TED Prize, which grants recipients $1 million to support their "one wish to change the world".{{Cite web|url=https://www.ted.com/about/programs-initiatives/ted-fellows-program|title=TED Fellows Program|website=www.ted.com|language=en|access-date=2018-10-26}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.ted.com/participate/ted-prize|title=TED Prize|website=www.ted.com|language=en|access-date=2018-10-26}}

In 2006, TED experimented with posting some of its talks on the Internet. Their viral success encouraged Anderson to develop the organization as a global media initiative devoted to "ideas worth spreading". In June 2015, the organization posted its 2,000th talk online.{{Cite news|url=https://blog.ted.com/the-2000th-ted-talk/|title=The TED Talks library, now 2,000 talks strong|date=2015-06-16|work=TED Blog|access-date=2018-10-26|language=en-US}} The talks are free to view. Through a related project, they have been translated into more than 100 languages with the help of thousands of volunteers from around the world.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ted.com/about/our-organization/history-of-ted|title=History of TED|website=www.ted.com|language=en|access-date=2018-10-26}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.ted.com/about/programs-initiatives/ted-translators|title=TED Translators|website=www.ted.com|language=en|access-date=2018-10-26}} Viewership has grown to approximately one billion views per year.

Continuing a strategy of "radical openness", in 2009 Anderson introduced the TEDx initiative. The TED organization provides free licences to local organizers who want to organize their own TED-like events. Requirements are that speakers must appear for free, and the events have to be non-profit, with talks released to TED through Commons Media.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/09/fashion/Chris-Anderson-Curator-of-TED-Talks-Builds-his-Brand.html|title=No, His Name Is Not Ted|work=The New York Times |date=7 March 2014 |access-date=2018-10-26|language=en |last1=Hochman |first1=David }} More than 10,000 such events have been held, generating an archive of 100,000 TEDx talks.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ted.com/tedx/events?when=past|title=TEDx {{!}} Event Listing {{!}} TED|website=www.ted.com|language=en|access-date=2018-10-26}}{{Cite news|url=https://blog.ted.com/achievement-unlocked-tedx-celebrates-100000-talks/|title=Achievement unlocked: TEDx celebrates 100,000 talks!|date=2017-10-19|work=TED Blog|access-date=2018-10-26|language=en-US}}

Three years later, the TED-Ed program was launched. It offers free educational videos and tools to students and teachers.{{Cite web|url=https://ed.ted.com/about|title=Lessons Worth Sharing|website=TED-Ed|language=en|access-date=2018-10-26}}

In 2012, Anderson was honored with an Edison Achievement Award for his commitment to innovation throughout his career.{{Cite web|last=Bird|first=Susan|date=19 April 2012|title=Bird's Eye View: The Edison Award To Chris Anderson of TED|url=https://wf360.typepad.com/bev/2012/04/the-edison-award-to-chris-anderson-of-ted.html}}

In May 2016, Anderson published TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking which offers tips and advice for public speaking. The book became a New York Times bestseller.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2016/05/22/advice-how-to-and-miscellaneous/?action=click&contentCollection=Books&referrer=https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2016/05/15/advice-how-to-and-miscellaneous/®ion=Header&module=ArrowNav&version=Right&pgtype=Reference&mtrref=www.nytimes.com&gwh=EFB40F305197EBC6297C83022EDE3E2A&gwt=pay|title=Advice, How-To & Miscellaneous Books Best Sellers |work=The New York Times |date = May 22, 2016|access-date=2018-10-26|language=en}}

In January 2024, Anderson published a book titled Infectious Generosity: The Ultimate Idea Worth Spreading.{{citation needed|date= May 2024}}

Anderson married Lucy Evans. Together they had three daughters, Zoe, Elizabeth and Anna, before their divorce.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/9209302/Plumber-jailed-after-boiler-killed-millionaires-daughter.html|title=Plumber jailed after boiler killed millionaire's daughter|date=17 April 2012|accessdate=9 August 2018|via=www.telegraph.co.uk}} The eldest, Zoe, died in 2010 at age 24, from carbon monoxide poisoning due to an improperly-installed bathroom boiler.{{cite news |author= |date=31 Jan 2011 |title=Tribute to daughter 'poisoned by carbon monoxide |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-12329379 |access-date=9 Aug 2015}}

In 2008, Anderson married Jacqueline Novogratz, the founder and CEO of Acumen, an organization that pioneered social impact investing.{{Cite news|url=http://fortune.com/2014/03/20/worlds-greatest-leaders-9-dynamic-duos/|title=World's Greatest Leaders: 9 dynamic duos|work=Fortune|access-date=2018-10-26|language=en}}

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Category:1957 births

Category:Living people

Category:Date of birth missing (living people)

Category:Place of birth missing (living people)

Category:Alumni of the University of Oxford

Category:British expatriates in India

Category:British expatriates in Pakistan

Category:British expatriates in the United States

Category:British magazine founders

Category:British magazine publishers (people)

Category:People educated at Monkton Combe School

Category:TED (conference)