Matt Ridley is a renowned journalist and scholar with several best-selling books on evolution, genetics and society. He is also an expert speaker on innovation, collaboration, macro-history, human progress and climate change.

In his TEDGlobal 2010 talk, Ridley asserted that human progress is powered by the convergence of ideas to produce new ones and that innovation is a product of human exchange, not government policy or mandates by the elite.

Before becoming an independent writer, speaker and entrepreneur, Ridley worked with The Economist for nine years as a science editor, Washington correspondent and US editor.

Ridley's books have sold over a million copies, been translated into 31 languages and won several prestigious awards.