Lord Bilimoria of Chelsea CBE, the India-born founder of Cobra Beer, has been appointed Chancellor of the University of Birmingham.
The International Trade Expo speaker will will take up his role at an Installation Ceremony in July, making him the seventh University of Birmingham Chancellor.
Professor David Eastwood, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Birmingham, said: "We are absolutely delighted that Lord Bilimoria will be our new Chancellor. He is a highly respected global businessman and Crossbench Peer with a clear passion for higher education and the value it brings to society and to the economy. He not only encapsulates the University's commitment to internationalisation but his appointment underlines further the importance we place on forging strong, mutually beneficial partnerships between business and higher education."
The Chancellor acts as the ceremonial figurehead of the University and has an important ambassadorial role, working with the Vice-Chancellor and the Pro-Chancellor to raise the University's profile and advance its interests nationally and internationally.
On accepting the role, Lord Bilimoria said: "I am honoured and humbled to have been asked to be Chancellor of this internationally renowned University with its vibrant, global community. I am also delighted to have the opportunity to take on such a prominent role at the University where both my mother, my uncle and my maternal grandfather studied; the University that instilled the value of higher education in them, and in turn drove my own passion for learning and discovery."
Lord Bilimoria is the founder of Cobra Beer, Chairman of the Cobra Beer Partnership Limited and of Molson Coors Cobra India, both joint ventures with the global brewing company, Molson Coors. He is also the founding Chairman of the UK India Business Council. In 2004 he was appointed Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for services to business and entrepreneurship, and in 2006 he was appointed an Independent Crossbench Peer in the House of Lords and was made Baron Bilimoria of Chelsea in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, making him the first ever Zoroastrian Parsi to sit in the House of Lords.
Lord Bilimoria will be delivering a presentation at the International Trade Expo at 11:30 on 10th June. His topic is 'Adapt or Die'.
The International Festival for Business - IFB 2014 - is the most exciting international business initiative of 2014 and International Trade Expo will be at its heart.
A two day expo with exhibitors, seminars, workshops and networking events designed to plug your business into the engine of international trade. Expert speakers, country profiles, advice clinics and innovative solutions for the challenges of doing business in the global market place. International Trade Expo is the event for everyone concerned with international trade.
