Meet Eve Mitleton-Kelly: A Trailblazer in Complexity Theory

8th March

Eve Mitleton-Kelly, an Alexandrian Greek with a rich history, recently joined Riverstone a few weeks ago. Known for her pivotal role in developing Complexity Theory, she transitioned from a career in the Civil Service, to leading a research group, applying this theory to societal issues. Eve's career highlights include being the first woman to undertake a business course in Bristol, working in the Civil Service negotiating European Directives, and later delving into academia at the London School of Economics. Her journey led her to explore Complexity Theory, culminating in significant research advancements and groundbreaking applications.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? What's your background and how did you get to where you are now?

My family from my mother's side have been Alexandrian Greeks for generations. My father was British, met my mother during the Second World War and that was it, really. But having then got British nationality, we were not made very welcome after Suez.

In 1956, most British and French Nationals were thrown out. But we were allowed to stay under house arrest. This being agony for my party-animal parents, we came here to England and settled in Bristol.

How did you transition into your career?

I was the very first woman to do the first business course in Bristol. Surrounded by men! But it wasn't tough because I was used to it. Before, I was the only girl doing physics at school, so it was my way of life.

And also because I didn't try to compete with them, they just accepted me as one of them. We had a very good relationship and there were times when they would look after me like brothers, almost. It worked very well.

I then worked in the Civil Service for the Department of Trade and Industry. It was really fun. I was negotiating European Directives and later on International Affairs, so I was able to work on some interesting cases.

However, then I fell pregnant and it started to make work harder. When you're dealing with top-secret documents, you can't take them out of the office, you have to be there. I would often work until 10/11/midnight and this became increasingly difficult.

After I had my son, I decided to have a change and I went to the London School of Economics to study for an MSc in Information Systems. To go back to such a demanding job with a young baby is hard. So I left and started a new chapter. I was really proud of the work I was able to do during my academic career. I then decided to do a PhD and my research question was the relationship between the business and the IT Department. At the time it was a hot issue and I had a phenomenal response to my invitation to interview CEOs and Chairmen of the top 100 companies. I met some incredibly interesting men (they were all men at the time…).

But at the end of the two years and all those interviews, I asked myself:
"What have I added to the sum of human knowledge?" And my honest answer was:
Nothing.

Yes, I had gathered a lot of insights, a lot of very, very interesting discoveries. But it wasn't groundbreaking.

What about your work in Complexity Theory? How did that unfold?

During my IT studies, when I was questioning the value of what I had achieved, a friend sent me a paper based on Chaos Theory applied to management. I found the concepts fascinating but disagreed with the conclusions. However, I felt that there was something there, which I needed to explore further.

At the time, complexity science was developed primarily in physics, mathematics, biology and chemistry. It is the study of complex systems where many components interact with each other and are able to create something new. The Earth's global climate, the human brain or even infrastructure such as power grids, are all complex systems.

So I began absorbing as much information on the science as possible and I thought, how do these amazing ideas apply to the social sciences?

It all started just as a discussion group where I invited academics to come along. We would look at some of the principles and then ask, how do they apply in a social context to humans? It was so exciting because we were pioneers and we were exploring all these wonderful new ideas.

I made it very clear at the beginning: I don't want to look at these principles as metaphors. You push a metaphor far enough and it breaks down. I want to understand how and why do they apply in a human context. So that is how we developed our understanding of complexity theory in the Social Sciences.

I was then approached by the Physical Sciences Research Council themselves and they suggested I put together a small proposal of £36,000 for a year. Not only do they usually not offer funding, but researchers have to compete for funding, so this was huge! This was really how it all started.

By the time I finished, my last project was for 7.4 million euros with 16 partners in 10 different countries over four years. The project was studying evacuation after a major disaster. Can you imagine how big this was? We were looking into some groundbreaking stuff!

The real breakthrough, in my opinion, was when we developed an app that provided the emergency services with information on the density, direction and speed of movement of a crowd. We could not set up a real disaster, so we tested the app in peace conditions, but in an environment with large crowds, moving all the time. We tested it during the annual Lord Mayor’s Show in the City and the City of London police force is still using the app to this day.

What do you think your strengths have been that have gotten you this far?

My career has been all about timing. I ask the right questions at the right time and do what people wouldn't dare do. For example, during my PhD, when I wrote to 100 of the most influential chairmen and CEOs expecting to get half a dozen replies. I got a 60% response. It took me two years to interview them! But they engaged with me because I was daring to ask the right questions at the right time.

I also engage with people in the right way. I’m very enthusiastic and I always ask open-ended questions, encouraging people to think about things they may not otherwise have the time for. One of my measures for this is a situation I remember very clearly. For one of my interviews, the CEO I was interviewing said,

“I don't know why I've agreed to do this. I can only give you 20 minutes.”

But that’s all I needed. So at the end of the 20 minutes, I said,

“Thank you very much, but our 20 minutes are over.”

He was so absorbed by our conversation that he cancelled his next appointments and we ended up speaking for 3 hours!

Has gender ever led to you feeling like you’ve been treated differently?

Yes. All the time. I’ve been told so many times “You're only a woman”.  In other words, how could I possibly understand?

How did you respond to that?

Well, I just turned around and I would actually use technical language to explain. And then they realize we are on a par. We're on the same level. Possibly. I may even be more advanced than they are.

Everyone says that a woman has to work twice, three times as hard. You cannot take anything for granted. You have to prepare and prepare and prepare.

Never be combative, that only sets up the wrong dynamic. You question and you challenge, but not in a combative manner. The reality is, that if you make someone’s life easier, regardless of who they are, then they end up supporting you. You have to work with them, rather than against them.

What has it been like transitioning to Later Life?

I still keep very busy with work. I lecture and lead international workshops, every year.

But my main job is I've been appointed as the Editor of the Encyclopaedia of Complexity. It’s a four-year job and, I've appointed three brilliant co-editors.

Between us, we have different networks and can invite a wide variety of contributors, in different fields of the theory and practice. But the point is, I have to approve every entry and that’s really exciting as I am still learning and keeping up to date with the latest research.

What about your recent move to Riverstone?

I love it. But it has been a large step for me, it's very different.

After my husband died, I became accident-prone. I fell and had a triple fracture in my pelvis. After two operations I spent 7 weeks in a nursing home.

My bedroom in my home was three floors up, so until I could walk up those stairs, I could not go back home. I then also realised that I didn’t mind going up, it was the coming down that was terrifying.

And this, again, lucky timing. I was thinking that maybe I would need to move to an apartment with everything at the same level, when one of my neighbours came to see me. She mentioned that a friend of hers had just moved to Riverstone Fulham and that I should give them a call to see if it would be right for me.

So I checked out Riverstone and although it was hard to let things like my vast painting collection go, it was worth it. It was the facilities and events that sold it for me. I go to performances and art talks. Visit the theatre and the opera, without having to organise everything myself. It is such a pleasure and a relief!

I'm really, really enjoying it. And so it's that sort of thing that makes it worth it.

And I've met quite a few of the residents. We meet in the evening at the social table and they’re all so brilliant. When my son visits, he loves to stay for hours chatting with everyone!