The world-renowned economist and sitting member of UK’s House of Lords, Baroness Dambisa Moyo of Knightsbridge, lives in Provo, Utah. Read how she got from Lusaka, Zambia to London, England to now Provo, Utah— and what advice she has for Utah’s top business leaders.
Who is Dambisa Moyo?
Talk about a LinkedIn flex: Baroness Dambisa Moyo is a globe-trotting economist, investor and policymaker—a member of Time Magazine’s Top 100 Most Influential People, NYT bestselling author, principal at Versaca Investments and board member for giants like Chevron, 3M and Condé Nast. Born in Zambia, she made waves at Goldman Sachs before shaking up the world stage with her 2009 breakout book Dead Aid.
How did she become a Baroness?
With deep ties to the UK including earning her a PhD in economics from Oxford, (she also earned a Master’s from Harvard), she then worked at Goldman Sachs in London and serves on the Oxford University Endowment Investment Committee. In 2022 she was ennobled to become a British Life Peer with the title Baroness Dambisa Moyo of Knightsbridge by King Charles.
How did she become a member of the House of Lords? Isn’t that a hereditary designation?
Traditionally, members of the House of Lords inherited their titles, unlike the elected House of Commons. Today, most are appointed as Life Peers—chosen for their expertise—serving for life and focusing on scrutinizing legislation passed by the House of Commons.
Is she a voting member of Parliament even though she calls Provo home?
Sitting as a Baroness in the House of Lords, she is indeed an active member of the UK Parliament’s upper house. She is entitled to sit in the chamber, debate legislation, vote and hold office. Members of the House of Lords do not have to live full-time in the UK, though they are subject to strict tax and attendance rules.
What brought her to Utah?
Love—plain and simple. Though she’s kept the origin story private, she married Utah-based billionaire Jared Smith (Qualtrics cofounder and a driving force in the state’s tech rise), in a quiet pandemic-era ceremony. For the past five years, Provo has been home.
At a recent invite-only gathering with World Trade Center Utah, she laughed off her globe-trotting reputation: “I don’t know why people say it’s so hard to catch me—I live down the street.” She added that she’s grown deeply fond of the state: “I’m grateful I fell in love with someone from Utah of all places.”
And the economist in her is just as taken. By nearly every metric—from middle-class stability to upward mobility, she noted—“this place punches above its weight.”
What advice did she have for Utah’s business leaders?
Baroness Dambisa Moyo advised Utah leaders to question assumptions, embrace uncertainty and avoid rigid ideology. She emphasized preparing for both short-term shocks, like inflation or energy crises, and long-term shifts, such as AI-driven productivity changes. Quick fixes, like tariffs or redistribution, are less effective than reskilling, innovation and structural reforms. Leaders should balance global engagement with addressing domestic challenges like inequality and infrastructure. Her core message: stay adaptable, lead with humility and focus on long-term resilience rather than short-term certainty.
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