Born the son of a Church of Ireland archdeacon in Clane, Co. Kildare, Ireland, Handy was educated as a boarder at Bromsgrove School and Oriel College, Oxford.
Handy's business career started in marketing at Shell International. He was a co-founder of the London Business School in 1967 and left Shell to teach there in 1972.
Career
- Marketing Executive, Shell International Petroleum Company 1956-65
- Economist, Charter Consolidated 1965-66
- International Faculty Fellow, MIT 1966-67
- London Business School 1967-95 (Professor 1978-94)
- Warden, St George's House, Windsor Castle 1977-81
- Writer and broadcaster, 1981-
He was Chairman of the Royal Society of Arts 1987-89.
He has Honorary Doctorates from Bristol Polytechnic (now the University of the West of England), UEA, Essex, Durham, Queen's University Belfast and the University of Dublin. He is an Honorary Fellow of St Mary's College, Twickenham, the Institute of Education City and Guilds and Oriel College, Oxford. He was awarded a CBE in 2000.