Top Influencers: 25 UK Vice Chairman’s To Follow in 2022

Sudhir Choudhrie is a pioneering and successful entrepreneur who has played an active role in international commerce, diplomacy, philanthropy and politics. Born and educated in India, Sudhir is now living in the UK and became a British national in 2010. He is married to Anita, and has two children, Bhanu and Dhairya. Throughout his business career Sudhir has established a strong reputation for facilitating the growth of the companies he invests in, helping to broker strategic partnerships and cross border investment. Sudhir began his career in India, founding the Magnum International Trading Company Ltd in 1975, focusing on the exploration and expansion of India’s export markets. In 1995 Sudhir established a joint venture with Taj Hotels Resorts, which went on to develop Taj Kerala and a portfolio of four beautiful local resorts. In 1995 Sudhir, along with Adidas AG founded Adidas Indian Trading, introducing the brand to India and establishing a network of 180 stores and dedicated, state of the art, manufacturing facilities. This was exited in 2006. From 1999 to 2005 Sudhir served as a non-Executive Director of Ebookers PLC, the pioneering internet travel search agency. In 2003 Sudhir invested in Air Deccan, India’s first budget airline, which consisted of just one plane. Five years later, the airline was carrying seven million passengers a year on 200 flights a day. Sudhir now uses his 30 years’ experience of nurturing businesses across multiple sectors to act as a visionary to C&C Alpha Group, based in London. He has assisted in expanding the group’s many subsidiaries including in healthcare, aviation, banking, real estate, hospitality, niche technologies and energy. Notable recent successes include the significant growth of Alpha Aviation Group, training airline pilots in the Philippines and Middle East, and UK based Alpha Hospitals, which was sold to Cygnet Healthcare. Sudhir is significantly involved in key client acquisition, brokering strategic partnerships and identifying potential opportunities and venture funding. His time is spent consulting for numerous global companies, helping clients establish vision with strategic intent, growth plans and risk management. He is recognised for turning many companies around. Sudhir has been a member of the YPO since 1998 and WPO since 2001. In 2013 Rt Hon Theresa May MP awarded him the “Asian Business Lifetime Achievement Award”. With a strong interest in foreign affairs, Sudhir served as the Republic of Latvia’s Honorary Consul General in India from the country’s independence in 1991 until late 2006. During this time Latvia posted impressive Europe-leading GDP growth figures. Sudhir continues to take a keen interest in politics. He has been involved in strategic relations between India and the UK and is currently an adviser on India to the leader of the UK Liberal Democrats, a party he has supported for more than ten years. Sudhir is an (Honorary) Radcliffe Fellow of Green Templeton College, at Oxford University and worked with the College to set up their annual Emerging Markets Symposium. Sudhir is also a member of Oxford University’s Vice-Chancellor’s Circle. Along with the rest of the Choudhrie family, Sudhir has a proud record of philanthropy and is involved with a number of charities in the fields of education and health in the UK, US and India. Following a successful heart transplant operation in 1999, Sudhir became major benefactor of the Columbia University Medical Center in New York, where a professorship in Cardiology was established in his name. In 2010, the Choudhrie Family Foundation was established to support the advancement of medical science, funding research into the causes of genetic cardiovascular disease and the search for a cure, supporting life-saving organ donor campaigns and educational initiatives that add to public understanding. Sudhir and the Foundation continue to work tirelessly to promote this cause, most recently with a display on heart transplantation with the National Science Museum in London, which has already been viewed by almost 2.4 million people in its first 12 months. Sudhir is personally passionate about the arts, and by setting up the Stellar International Art Foundation has provided modern Asian artists with significant access to the UK and US for the first time. He also has a large vintage car collection which he has grown passionately over three decades. Learn more about Sudhir Choudhrie on Crunchbase…

Richard Burston, a successful entrepreneur and private equity investor, founded Regency Capital International Limited, a London-based merchant bank in 1991. From 2002 to 2004, He was the CEO of Bostream AB, following Regency Capital’s purchase of a majority interest in the company. He built Bostream into Sweden’s leading independent broadband ISP, prior to selling the company in late 2004. Before founding Regency Capital in 1991, he was employed by Morgan Stanley. Mr Burston, a Canadian citizen, has a B.A. in Economics from Yale University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. Learn more about Richard Burston on Crunchbase…

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Rory Sutherland read Classics at Christ’s College, Cambridge, before joining Ogilvy as a Graduate Trainee. He was appointed Creative Director of OgilvyOne in 1997 and ECD in 1998. In 2005 he was appointed Vice-chairman of the Ogilvy Group in the UK. Sutherland was President of the Direct Jury at Cannes in 2007, and was elected President of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising in 2009. He is a visiting professor at Warwick University and in 2012 was awarded an honorary doctorate (D.Litt) by Brunel University. He also writes The Spectator’s Wiki Man column. Learn more about Rory Sutherland on Crunchbase…

Sir Harry Solomon is the co-Founder and Vice Chairman of the Portland Trust. He qualified as a Solicitor in 1960 and practised law until 1976 when he jointly founded and was Chairman and Chief Executive of Hillsdown Holdings plc, which became one of the largest food groups in Europe with a turnover of over £3 billion and employing over 50,000 people. Since Sir Harry resigned as Chairman of Hillsdown he has been involved in many businesses and charitable organisations and is currently a director and shareholder of a number of companies both public and private. Amongst other charitable initiatives in which Sir Harry is involved he is the Chairman of the UJIA Ashdown Board and a Trustee of the National Life Story Collection. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and was awarded a Knighthood for his services to the food industry in 1991. Learn more about Sir Harry Solomon on Crunchbase…

Justin is Terra Firma’s Vice Chairman, having joined the firm in September 2015. In addition, Justin serves as Chairman of Wyevale Garden Centres and sits on the board of Annington. He was previously the CEO of Sainsbury’s between 2004 and 2014, where he led the business through a major turnaround which led to nine years of profit growth. Before joining Sainsbury’s, Justin was Head of Food at Marks & Spencer. He held prior roles at Asda, Haagen-Dazs, PepsiCo and Mars in a thirty-year career spanning consumer goods and grocery retailing. Justin is a member of the Public Interest Body of PwC. He has previously served as a director of Staples and a board member of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and was on the audit committee of both organisations. He was also a member of the Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Group. Justin is well known for his interest in motorsport. In early 2015, Justin played a key role in the recovery of the Marrusia Formula One team (now Manor Racing Formula One team) through a company voluntary arrangement and served as its interim chairman. His son, Jordan, races in the IndyCar Series, and previously competed in GP2 in addition to being a development driver for Manor Racing. In 2013, Justin was named Most Admired Business Leader by Management Today as well as Britain’s Most Impressive Businessman in the IPSOS-MORI Captains of Industry Report. Justin received an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of Bath, and in 2009 the University of Bath awarded him with an Honorary Doctorate of Business Administration. Justin was awarded a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 2011. Learn more about Justin King on Crunchbase…

David is a senior technologist working for Motorola Solutions in the area of advanced system architecture and design, and a specialist in wireless communication system security. He is active in the standardisation of mission critical communications systems, and holds a number of positions of responsibility in that field, acting as vice chairman of ETSI TC TCCE, chairman of TC TCCE WG4, responsible for advanced air interfaces, vice chairman of TC TCCE WG6, responsible for security, and vice chairman of 3GPP SA6, responsible for mission critical application design.David holds a BSc in Electronic and Electrical Engineering from the University of Birmingham, England; and is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the IET. He holds a number of patents in the field of radio communications systems. Learn more about David Chater-Lea on Crunchbase…

Francesco Moccagatta obtained a degree in Political Sciences at University of Milan, with a specialization in macroeconomics.Moccagatta has gained a strong experience in corporate governance since he served for several years as Managing Director for important financial institutions such as Banca IMI (Intesa San Paolo Group) and DC Advisory Partners.Moccagatta has served as Director in CreditAccess Asia since 2011. Learn more about Francesco Moccagatta on Crunchbase…

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Based in London, Constantine Logothetis, shares the principal executive responsibility for the Libra Group. He began his career in the Logothetis family’s London based shipping company, Lomar Shipping, in 2000 where he was a key member of the management team before becoming the founding Executive Vice Chairman of the Libra Group when it was formed in 2003. As Executive Vice Chairman, Constantine Logothetis has been at the forefront of the group’s diversification from shipping into other asset classes, notably the finance, hospitality, real estate and renewable energy sectors. Learn more about Constantine Logothetis on Crunchbase…

Julian joined Jack Morton in 2002 as director of operations in London and became managing director in 2005. He joined the Global Executive Team in 2009, became President, EMEA in 2011 and was appointed President, International in 2015. Under his leadership, the International operation has grown significantly in size and reputation, including the foundation of Jack offices in Dubai, Germany, and South Korea. Today, Julian is Vice Chairman of Jack Morton Worldwide, stewarding the creative quality and output of the agency in addition to his continued leadership of the agency outside of the US. In his 30 years in the industry, Julian has led major communications campaigns and projects for most of the world’s leading brands. Julian remains a passionate creative at heart, winning many creative awards during his accomplished career. Teams under his leadership have earned over 500 awards, including well over 100 in just the last 2 years. He has served as a member of the board of the International Visual Communications Association, is a regular commentator within the industry trade press and event circuit and is a member of the Superbrands Council. Learn more about Julian Pullan on Crunchbase…

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David is our Executive Vice Chairman and former Chief Executive Officer. He is an integral part of our management team and one of our board members. A trained theoretical physicist, he was one of the Founders of the business and became our CEO in 2009 having spent almost two decades as the Managing Director of Oxford Innovation, a company that has supported hundreds of successful new technology ventures. David successfully led Tokamak Energy through three investment rounds and worked with colleagues and investors to mastermind an ambitious, yet achievable, business plan to drive innovation and accelerate the development of our fusion energy mission. David’s ample experience has proved invaluable in growing and directing the business. He is a former Chairman of the R&D Society and has been a director at various high technology and knowledge-based start-ups. He has also won and delivered major contracts aimed at supporting innovation, entrepreneurship and business growth at regional and international levels. Learn more about David Kingham on Crunchbase…

Matthew Bryars is a Vice Chairman at Speik (formerly known as Aeriandi Ltd). Learn more about Matthew Bryars on Crunchbase…

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As president of International Markets at Mastercard, Ann Cairns is responsible for the management, growth and expansion of all markets and customer-related activities outside of North America. Working across both mature and emerging markets Ann has firsthand insight and experience of how to build a team focused on delivering strong business growth and meaningful global and local partnerships through innovative, sustainable and inclusive business models. Ann has more than 20 years’ experience as a senior leader, having held management positions across Europe and the U.S., and has previously run global retail, commercial and investment banking operations. A mathematician and statistician Ann holds a Pure Mathematics degree from Sheffield University and a M.Sc. from Newcastle University. Among her many accomplishments Ann has been an award-winning research engineer and was the first woman qualified to go offshore in Britain. A champion of inclusion – digital, financial and gender – Ann is a member of the World Food Programme investment committee and the AstraZeneca board. Learn more about Ann Cairns on Crunchbase…

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Stefano is Chair of EMEA and Vice-Chair globally. A talented and highly skilled turnaround expert with more than 30 years of experience, Stefano works with investors, boards, and managements of industrial companies, developing business plans, driving financial and operational turnarounds, and implementing large-scale performance improvement programs. Learn more about Stefano Aversa on Crunchbase…

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Steve Sparke has been the Chief Operating Officer of Marex Spectron Group Limited since June 2008. Mr Sparke has also been chairman of the Futures Industry Association Europe (FIAE), the main trade association for the European derivatives industry since the end of 2007. Prior to joining Marex Spectron, Mr Sparke was managing director and global head of exchange-traded derivatives at UBS from 1998 to 2006 and headed the Short Term Rates trading Business for SBC London from 1994 to 1998. Mr. Sparke graduated with a law degree from Nottingham University in 1979. Learn more about Steve Sparke on Crunchbase…

The Rt Hon. the Lord Browne of Ladyton (Des Browne) was admitted as a solicitor in 1976 and called to the Scottish Bar in 1993. In 1997, he was elected Member of Parliament for Kilmarnock and Loudoun and represented that constituency until 2010. As a back-bencher, he served on the Northern Ireland Affairs and Public Administration Select Committees. In 1998, he became the Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Donald Dewar, Secretary of State for Scotland. In 2000, he became PPS to Adam Ingram, Minister of State for Northern Ireland. Subsequently, he served on the first Joint Committee on Human Rights. In 2001, he was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. In 2003, Browne was promoted to Minister of State for Work at the Department for Work & Pensions and in 2004, he was appointed Minister for Immigration & Citizenship in the Home Office. Re-elected in 2005, he joined the Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury and was appointed to the Privy Council. In 2006, he was appointed Secretary of State for Defence and from 2007-2008 he combined this role with the role of Secretary of State for Scotland. In October 2008, he returned to the back-benches and was appointed Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s Special Envoy to Sri Lanka. He also served on the first Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy. Since October 2009, he has been Convenor of the Top Level Group of Parliamentarians for Multi-Lateral Nuclear Disarmament and Non-proliferation. Since its inception, he has been the Convenor of the European Leadership Network. In July 2010 he was introduced to the House of Lords. In 2014, NTI announced Browne’s new role as NTI’s vice chairman. In this role, he will help shape NTI’s strategic direction, including long-term planning and international outreach. Learn more about Des Browne on Crunchbase…

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