University of Birmingham cheered as beer entrepreneur becomes new Chancellor
THE India-born founder of Cobra Beer, Lord Bilimoria of Chelsea, has been appointed as the new Chancellor of The University of Birmingham.
The university said the appointment of such a leading entrepreneur reflected its position as a global educational institution.
Lord Bilimoria will take up his role at an installation ceremony in July, making him the seventh University of Birmingham Chancellor. He follows in the footsteps of Chancellors including Joseph Chamberlain and Anthony Eden, the Earl of Avon, and succeeds Sir Dominic Cadbury, who stepped down last December after 11 years in the role.
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 already a member of the University of Birmingham Business School Advisory Board.
In addition to founding Cobra Beer, he is chairman of the Cobra Beer Partnership 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.
His appointment will be key to helping the university strengthen its links with the sub-continent, where it is keen to expand its influence.
