By OUR STAFF REPORTER
London, 11 Jul: Indian and Dehradun origin Lord Karan Bilimoria has been awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the London Business School (LBS).
London Business School is consistently ranked as one of the top business schools in the world.
LBS is renowned for its cutting-edge business education and influential research. It grants Honorary Fellowships to individuals who have demonstrated exceptional contributions to global business and society. Previous recipients include Bill Gates, Co-founder of Microsoft, Michael Bloomberg, former Mayor of New York City and founder of Bloomberg L.P. and Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations.
The Fellowship was awarded during LBS’s annual congregation ceremonies, which celebrated 1,600 graduates from the MBA, Executive MBA, Masters, and PhD programmes.
This recognition from London Business School underscores Lord Bilimoria’s lifelong commitment to driving change and creating a lasting impact through public service and business. As the founder of Cobra Beer and an active member of the House of Lords, Lord Bilimoria continues to inspire and lead by example.
On receiving the award Lord Bilimoria said: “I am truly honoured, privileged and humbled to have been appointed an Honorary Fellow at London Business School of which I am a proud alumnus. I will always be grateful for what I have learnt studying at London Business School, and I have been fortunate to return and lecture at LBS regularly over the years. This is the 60th Anniversary Year of LBS, and the Business School has achieved so much within these decades, rising to being respected globally as one of the finest Business Schools in the world. I am very grateful to the Chairman of the Governing Board, Dr David Pyott CBE and to Dr François Ortalo-Magné, Dean of LBS, for awarding me my Honorary Fellowship. I also thank Dr Niro Sivanathan for the kind citation he delivered. I look forward to being a lifelong ambassador for LBS.”
Dr. Niro Sivanathan’s Citation: “It is with great pleasure that I stand before you today to introduce a remarkable individual who is being honoured with the prestigious title of Honorary Fellow of London Business School. Each year we award a small number of Honorary Degrees to individuals who have rendered exceptional service to the School, or who have attained outstanding distinction in business, commerce, or public affairs.
As an innovative and dynamic leader, Lord Bilimoria’s accomplishments exemplify our School’s vision to have a profound impact on the way the world does business and the way business impacts the world.
Karan Bilimoria is the founder of Cobra Beer, Chairman of the Cobra Beer Partnership Limited, Joint Venture with Molson Coors. In the Monde Selection, one of the most prestigious quality awards in the world for beer, Cobra have collectively been awarded a total of 146 Gold Medals since 2001, making it one of the most rewarded beers in the world.
Lord Bilimoria is the Founding Chairman of the UK lndia Business Council, Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London, former Chancellor of Thames Valley University (now the University of West London); he was the youngest University Chancellor in the UK when appointed. Karan was a former Senior Non-Executive Director of the Booker Group, now TESCO PLC from 2007-2016; he is one of the first two visiting entrepreneurs at the University of Cambridge, he is a founder member of the Prime Minister of India’s Global Advisory Council. In 2006, Karan Bilimoria was appointed the Lord Bilimoria of Chelsea, making him the first ever Zoroastrian Parsi to sit in the House of Lords. In 2008, he was awarded the Pravasi Bharti Samman by the President of India. He is an Honorary Life Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), an Honorary Fellow of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, and was Chair of the Advisory Board of the Judge Business School, Cambridge University from 2015 to 2020 and subsequently appointed as an Honorary Ambassador.
He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with the Institute for Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and graduated in law from the University of Cambridge. He is also an alumnus through executive education of the Cranfield School of Management, London Business School, and Harvard Business School. In July 2014, he was installed as the seventh Chancellor of the University of Birmingham, making him the first Indian-born Chancellor of a Russell Group University in Great Britain, and he is President of the UK Council for International Student Affairs. Since 2017, Lord Bilimoria has been a Bynum Tudor Fellow at Kellogg College, University of Oxford. Lord Bilimoria is an Honorary Group Captain in the 601 Squadron Royal Air Force. In June 2020, he was appointed President of the Confederation of British Industry for a 2-year term ending in 2022. In November 2022, he joined the board of the International Chamber of Commerce. In September 2020, he was appointed a Visiting Fellow at the University of Oxford based at the Centre for Corporate Reputation. Karan has been awarded Honorary Doctorates from University of East Anglia, University of Birmingham, Brunel University, Cranfield University, University of Exeter, Heriot-Watt University, London Metropolitan University, Staffordshire University, York St John University, University of West London (formally Thames Valley University) and University of Westminster. Karan is also Co-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for International Students. In June 2022, Karan became a non-remunerative Trustee of Policy Exchange, a non-profit educational charity. In December 2023, Lord Bilimoria was appointed as Lieutenant to His Majesty’s Commission of Lieutenancy for the City of London.
As you can hear, our honouree today exemplifies the qualities of excellence, dedication, and innovation. Please join me in congratulating Lord Bilimoria, as we proudly confer upon him the title of Honorary Fellow, in recognition of his exceptional contributions and profound impact.”
