Dr. Vikas Shah MBE DL
Dr. Vikas Shah MBE DL is one of the most prolific interviewers of his generation. For over fifteen years, he has pursued a single question: what do the world’s most remarkable people actually think?
The result is Thought Economics — one of the most significant long-form interview archives on the internet. More than 600 conversations with Nobel laureates, heads of state, pioneering scientists, artists, entrepreneurs and cultural icons. Not soundbites. Not panels. Proper, unhurried dialogue about the ideas and forces shaping our world.
Interviewees have included Daniel Kahneman, Nadia Murad, Steven Pinker, Sir Richard Branson, Matthew McConaughey, Usain Bolt, Melinda Gates, Yuval Noah Harari, Jane Goodall, Garry Kasparov, Jordan B. Peterson and hundreds more. The archive spans economics, philosophy, science, politics, creativity, sport and the arts — a living record of intellectual life at the turn of the 21st century. His book Thought Economics, published by Michael O’Mara Books, distils the most profound insights from across the archive.
Beyond Thought Economics, Vikas is a Manchester-based entrepreneur, board director and public servant with a portfolio of significant roles spanning business, government and civic life.
He founded and led Swiscot Group for 25 years — building it from the ground up before a successful exit to a NASDAQ-listed company — and brings that hard-won operational experience to his board and advisory work. He currently serves as a Non-Executive Director at the UK Government’s Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ), where he chairs the Audit, Risk & Assurance Committee, and as a Lay Non-Executive Director at the Solicitors Regulation Authority. His private sector roles include Non-Executive Director at Certo Aerospace, Chairman of AI scale-up Rdentify, and Entrepreneur in Residence at The University of Manchester Innovation Factory. He is also Co-Founder of Little Ox, a doctor-designed supplement brand.
Vikas was awarded an MBE for Services to Business and the Economy in the Queen’s 2018 New Year’s Honours List, and appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Greater Manchester in 2021. He holds an Honorary Professorship at Alliance Manchester Business School, an Honorary Professorial Fellowship at Lancaster University Management School, and an Honorary Doctorate in Business Administration from the University of Salford.
More about Vikas and his work can be found at vikas.work.