Lord Bilimoria to stand as next CBI President

Lord Karan Bilimoria will stand for election as the new CBI President at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 16 June 2020. John Allan CBE, the current CBI President, will stand for election as Vice-President.

Lord Bilimoria is one of the country’s leading entrepreneurs. He founded Cobra Beer in 1989 - and remains its Chairman to this day - and was also founding Chairman on the UK-India Business Council. A former Chancellor of Thames Valley University (now the University of West London); he was the youngest University Chancellor in the UK when appointed. In 2014, he was appointed as the 7th Chancellor of the University of Birmingham. He is also Chair of the University of Cambridge Judge Business School Advisory Board. Lord Bilimoria has been an Independent Crossbench Peer for 14 years.

Further details of Lord Bilimoria’s career in business and politics can be found here.

On Lord Bilimoria’s nomination, Dame Carolyn Fairbairn, CBI Director-General, said: “We’re delighted that Lord Bilimoria has been nominated to stand for election as CBI President. Lord Bilimoria has had a remarkable career in British business, during which he has built a deep understanding what it takes to build a successful company. At such a critical time for the country, Lord Bilimoria’s wealth of experience will prove invaluable to the CBI and the UK business community.”

On the conclusion of John Allan’s term of office as President, Carolyn Fairbairn said: “The CBI has benefitted greatly from John’s many years of experience and understanding across many sectors of our economy. And we are lucky he is remaining as Vice-President so we can continue to draw upon his wise counsel given the scale of the task facing businesses rebuilding after COVID-19.”

The CBI Board and CBI Chairs’ Committee supported the nomination. In line with the CBI’s Royal Charter, Lord Bilimoria’s nomination will now go forward to the CBI’s AGM. In light of the COVID-19 crisis, the meeting will be held online with members casting their votes in advance.The CBI AGM will take place on 16 June 2020 with all CBI members invited to attend.