Contributors

Alessandro Lanteri is Professor of Strategy at ESCP Business School and teaches executive education programs for Said Business School and London Business School. He is the author of CLEVER: The Six Strategic Drivers for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

David Lascelles was for many years New York correspondent and Banking Editor at the Financial Times. He is the author of Other People's Money, a history of banking and histories of Rathbones and Arbuthnot Latham. He currently lives and works in buildings designed by Horace Jones. This is his first book on architecture.

Deborah Lake joined the Royal Air Force at the age of 18, and served in various locations around the world. She is a qualified pilot, but has also worked as an actor in film, television and theatre. She has published numerous military books, including Smoke and Mirrors: Q-Ships against U-Boats in the First World War. She currently lives in Northumberland.

Malcolm Lambert was formerly Reader in Medieval History at the University of Bristol. Of his book Medieval Heresy (now in its third edition), the American medieval historian, Norman F. Cantor, wrote: 'A masterpiece of learning, thought, and insight. No serious student of the Middle Ages will fail to read and indeed reread this seminal work. I regard it as one of the finest and most important books on medieval history ever written.' His other books include The Cathars (1998) and Christians and Pagans: The Conversion of Britain from Alban to Bede (2000). He lives in Worthing.

Max Landsberg is an internationally recognised authority on executive coaching, development and leadership. His books on coaching, motivation and leadership have sold more than 250,000 copies in fifteen languages. Max combines the strategic perspectives of having been a partner at McKinsey & Company with the developmental insights learned and refined as a senior partner at Heidrick & Struggles, and currently at Korn Ferry. Previous books include: The Tao of Coaching, The Tao of Motivation, The Tools of Leadership.

Nick Lane is a biochemist in the Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment at University College London. 'Like his forebears in that same department – Steve Jones, JBS Haldane – he's that rare species, a scientist who can illuminate the bewildering complexities of biology with clear, luminous words' (Observer). His research focuses on the role of bioenergetics in the origin of life and the evolution of cells. Nick was awarded the 2015 Biochemical Society Award for his outstanding contribution to the molecular life sciences. He has published four critically acclaimed books, which have been translated into 20 languages. Life Ascending won the 2010 Royal Society Prize for Science Books. The Independent described him as 'one of the most exciting science writers of our time.'

David Lane has written for the Guardian and the Financial Times, and since 1994 has been The Economist's Business and Finance Correspondent for Italy. His last book was the highly regardedBerlusconi's Shadow (2004). He has lived in Rome since 1972.

Hugh Lasgarn was a veterinarian in Wales during the 1950s.

Laura Lau is a second-generation Chinese American writer. Her books include Best-Loved Chinese Proverbs, Wedding Feng Shui, and the Handbook of Chinese Horoscopes – now available in its 40th anniversary edition. She has written for Refinery29, Wedding Channel, The Knot, and Net-a-Porter Magazine among others. She lives in Los Angeles with her family.

Theodora Lau was born in Shanghai and has also published Chinese Horoscopes for Your Child.

Peter Leach is seen as the founding father of family business thinking in the UK and pioneered research in the field in the 80's. He founded the Stoy Centre for Family Business, and was previously a partner at BDO LLP. He founded his own business, Peter Leach & Partners LLP, in 2008, which won the STEP Family Business Advisor of the Year 2013/14 before being acquired by Deloitte LLP in 2015. He is now a partner at Deloitte leading the family Enterprise Consulting practice there.

Charles Leadbeater is one the world's leading authorities on innovation and creativity in organisations. He has advised companies, cities and governments around the world, from the BBC and RSC to Vodafone and Microsoft, has won the prestigious David Watt prize for journalism and in 2005 was ranked by Accenture as one of the top management thinkers in the world. His previous books include Living on Thin Air and Up the Down Escalator. Time magazine highlighted his work in its 2006 review of ideas that could shape the coming decade.

Lau Yee-Wa is one of Hong Kong's most exciting emerging authors. She studied Chinese Language and Literature and then Philosophy at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, graduating with a Masters degree before going on to earn her Postgraduate Diploma in Secondary Education. Yee-Wa worked as an editor in a publishing house for five years before her short story 'The Shark' won the prestigious Hong Kong Champion Award for Creative Writing in Chinese in 2016.