Owain Mulligan was born in London in 1982, during a period of significant change in British society. The Thatcher era was in full swing, reshaping the economic and social landscape of the United Kingdom. Born to middle-class parents (details of whom Mulligan keeps relatively private in his public accounts), he entered a world that would offer both stability and opportunity, but also one marked by the uncertainties of the late Cold War period.
London in the early 1980s was a city of contrasts-the financial deregulation that would transform the City of London into a global financial powerhouse was underway, while many traditional industries were in decline. This backdrop of economic transformation would later inform Mulligan's perspective as both a historian and business professional.