University honour for key business figure
A prominent Birmingham business leader, best known as a key figure in the city’s financial services sector for nearly four decades, is to receive an honorary doctorate from Birmingham City University (BCU).
Mark Hopton, former Midlands regional chairman of accountancy firm KPMG, is to be conferred with the top honour at a ceremony at Symphony Hall later this month.
An alumnus and a former chair of the board of governors at BCU, he will be joined by hundreds of graduates from the university’s Faculty of Business, Law and Social Sciences.
“This is a proud moment for me,” said Hopton. “As a former student of the university, I’ve come full circle after all these years.”
“Most importantly, it’s a proud moment for Birmingham City University’s graduating class of 2023, who will be crossing the stage to receive their degrees in the presence of their friends and families. I want to congratulate them on their achievements to date.”
After studying a vocational business programme at BCU in 1973 (when the institution was known as Birmingham Polytechnic), Hopton went on to enjoy a successful career with KPMG, which saw him rise to one of the leading figures in the Midlands’ burgeoning financial services sector, before taking on senior roles across the world.
As a member of BCU’s board of governors from 2013 until earlier this year, eventually going on to become chair, Hopton oversaw tremendous growth and transformation of the university and its facilities.
“I’m incredibly proud of BCU’s heritage and its important mission to be the University for Birmingham,” he said.
“During my time on the board of governors, we relocated the university from Perry Barr to the heart of the city.
“But this was not a story of bricks and mortar – we were able to design facilities tailored to teaching, learning and research in the 2020s and beyond.”
Reflecting on his career in financial services, Hopton thinks accountancy firms now have a wider social responsibility, compared to when he began his career in the late 1970s.
“I came up in an era when capital markets wanted assurance on financial performance alone.
“Today, we see escalating focus and demand for assurance on a much broader set of obligations – the environment, diversity and inclusion, for example – and with this comes exciting new career opportunities for young professionals in the sector.”
Hopton is a passionate advocate for the aspirations, development care of young people across the city, which has seen him apply his business expertise and experience as a trustee for Acorns Children’s Hospice since 2012.
