Sir Richard Lambert, BA Oxf, Hon DLitt City, Hon LLD Warw

Biography

Sir Richard Lambert was appointed Chancellor of the University at a joint meeting of the University's Senate and Council on Wednesday 19th March. He took up the position on 1st August 2008 in succession to Warwick’s current Chancellor Sir Nick Scheele and was officially installed at a ceremony on 10th December 2008.

Sir Richard is the former Director-General of the CBI. He was knighted in the 2011 New Year Honours for service to business.

Having studied history at Balliol College, Oxford, Sir Richard joined the Financial Times in 1966. He edited the Lex column in the 1970s, becoming financial editor in 1979. In 1982 he moved to New York as the Bureau Chief, returning to the UK a year later as Deputy Editor. He became Editor of the Financial Times in 1991 and during his 10 years in this role launched successfully the US version of the newspaper.

From August 2002 he spent a semester at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He was commissioned by HM Treasury, the Department for Education and Skills and the Department for Trade and Industry to write the Lambert Review of Business-University Collaboration which was published in December 2003. The report made a series of recommendations which encouraged universities to identify distinctive strengths in research, and encouraged business to give a greater priority to understanding the opportunities for exploiting innovation and creativity through universities.

Sir Richard was appointed as a member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, a position he held from Spring 2003 until Spring 2006.

The University of Warwick awarded him an Honorary Degree (LLD) in 2004.

Role of the Chancellor

The Chancellor is the formal Head of the University, whose official duties are to confer degrees on behalf of the University. Beyond the formal and representational duties, the new Chancellor will play a key role in the University’s life by promoting the work and ambitions of the University in the UK and overseas. The Chancellor will also play an important role in the development and fundraising activities of the University.