lord Bilimoria, a native of Dehradun, is the first incumbent of Indian origin to have been appointed as Chancellor of the University of Birmingham.
He will take up his post at an Installation Ceremony in July, making him the seventh University of Birmingham Chancellor. He follows in the footsteps of Chancellors, including the Right Honorable Joseph Chamberlain and the Right Honorable 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 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.”
Bilimoria, a native of Dehradun, is the first incumbent of Indian origin to be have been appointed as its Chancellor. Karan is son of late lt. Gen. FN Bilimoria. His mother Yasmin and younger brother Nadir live here in their family house in Vasant Vihar.
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.
Giving his reaction on it, Bilimoria said: “I am 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 which 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.
He received a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Osmania University in Hyderabad, India, in 1981 and then moved to london where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant.
He then went on to read law at Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge, graduating in 1988.
Bilimoria 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.
He has been acknowledged as an ambassador for Britain, India and the Parsi Community.
In 2013, he established the Zoroastrian All-Party Parliamentary Group, which is intended to provide an official forum for parliamentarians to increase their awareness of this ancient religion.