Ben Thompson

Biography:

Ben Thompson began his BBC career in 2001 at Radio Wales in Cardiff.  Whilst studying at university, he produced the network’s morning news programme, Good Morning Wales.  He was then selected as a BBC Trainee Scheme, working in different parts of the newsroom and getting a taste for television. 

After completing a degree in International Business and French at Cardiff University, and a postgraduate diploma in Broadcast Journalism, Ben moved to London to start work in the Business & Economics Unit of BBC News.  There, he was the business producer for the rolling news service BBC News 24 and the BBC’s international news channel, BBC World.  In that job, Ben got to grips with explaining how global trade was reshaping business and the impact of big business on our everyday lives. 

He later joined BBC Breakfast as a producer, swapping international time zones for night shifts and early mornings to explain how money, savings, pensions and pay affect the money in our pockets and our own personal finances. 

In 2008, Ben moved in front of the camera to become the BBC’s Middle East Business Correspondent.  Based in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Ben spent three years travelling the length and breadth of the region including Egypt, Algeria, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Particularly challenging stories included covering the Dubai Financial Crisis, reporting from Egypt and Tunisia during the ‘Arab Spring’ uprisings and the growing tensions in Syria.  But in his down time, Ben made the most of the sunshine and beaches to learn to kite-surf. 

From there, Ben returned to the UK to become the Business Presenter for the BBC News Channel at a particularly busy time for the global economy.  As the financial crisis dominated the headlines, Ben kept viewers updated with the latest business and market news and the economic fallout of the global debt crisis.  He also helped make sense of complex moves in global markets and the actions of bankers and politicians around the world as they tried to contain the growing crisis.

Soon after, Ben moved to New York to become the BBC’s North America Business Correspondent.  On Wall Street every morning, he reported live the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, before meeting business leaders, technology entrepreneurs and international investors in one of the world’s financial capitals.  With the financial crisis still dominating the headlines, it proved to be a particularly volatile period for global stock markets. 

And that volatility continued when Ben covered Hurricane Sandy as it hit New York.  When half a million New York residents were evacuated, Ben ran the other way – to the BBC bureau – to keep global viewers up to date. For two days he reported almost continuously for BBC TV and radio (whilst sleeping in the office) and spent days without power and water at his apartment in the city. Whilst based in New York, Ben also covered the US Presidential Elections and the deadlock in American politics that nearly pushed the US economy into bankruptcy.

Now based back in the UK, Ben presents the business news on Breakfast every Friday and co-hosts BBC Business Live on Monday-Thursday.  It’s a programme broadcast around the world on the BBC News Channel and BBC World News.  The daily show brings an international perspective on the big business news stories of the day, including a look back at what happened overnight in Asia and a full briefing on the trading day ahead in Europe and the US.   

When he’s not at work, Ben enjoys travelling, photography, music and theatre.