Supporting British students to attend Harvard Business School
The mission of the British Friends of Harvard Business School is to support British students to attend Harvard Business School. We do this by providing scholarships and leading access initiatives. Our MBA scholarships support British students from non-traditional career paths, a variety of universities and those with financial need. Former scholars include civil servants, NHS doctors and international development professionals, firsts in their family to go to university, and state school or bursary aided pupils. Our access programs, work with state schools and UK universities to level the playing field and encourage applications to Harvard Business School and other leading MBA programmes.
The British Friends of Harvard Business School, a registered charity no. 100531, was founded in 1990. Since 1990, the charity has provided scholarships to 81 British students to study at Harvard, focused on those with financial need and non-traditional career paths before and after HBS. Through its broader access work, the British Friends has encouraged many others to apply to HBS and other leading US business schools.
Two Trustees made an exceptional contribution to the leadership of the British Friends of Harvard Business Schools, for its first three decades.
Sir Cyril Taylor
A pioneering social entrepreneur, who had a distinguished career in public service and education. He attended Harvard Business School, graduating with an MBA in 1961, benefiting from a Charles Bell Scholarship from the London Chamber of Commerce. Sir Cyril went on to found his own company, the American Institute of Foreign Study, which promoted global educational experiences and grew to a substantial scale. He founded his own university (Richmond, The American International University in London), was instrumental to the Specialist School and Academy movement in the UK, and for 20 years advised ten successive Secretaries of State for Education. He held honorary degrees from four universities, and received two knighthoods (the first in 1989, the second in 2004)
2017 Scholars with Sir Cyril Taylor from left to right: Nick Matthews, Kieron Stopforth, Rob Malan
Bruno Schroder
A British banker, born into the Schroder banking family, he spent his six decades leading and stewarding Schroders in various capacities. He was the longest serving non-executive director of a large British company, having joined the Schroders Board in 1963 and serving till 2019. During that time Schroders saw tremendous growth, and evolution, as the financial services and banking industry evolved dramatically. Bruno attended Harvard Business School, graduating with an MBA in 1960. Bruno had extensive interests in farming, estate management, and was a central to life in Islay, an island in the Inner Hebrides.
Trustees
Chris Benson
Chair
Chris Benson
Chair
Chris is a Partner at Astorg, the leading pan-European private equity firm, where he leads Services investing across Europe and UK coverage in the mid market. Chris has more than 17 years of professional experience, including 12 years at Advent International, and roles at Actis and OC&C Strategy Consultants. A British citizen, Chris attended a state school before gaining an MA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Chris studied at HBS as a Fulbright Scholar and is a former scholar of the British Friends of HBS. LinkedIn
Charles Lazarevic
Deputy Chair and Treasurer
Charles Lazarevic
Deputy Chair and Treasurer
Charles Lazarevic is an experienced chartered accountant, having risen to senior equity partner with Moore Global. His parents emigrated to the UK following WWII. Charles was awarded a scholarship to Bedford Modern School, studied Mathematical Physics at University of Sussex, has an MBA from Bayes Business School, London and completed the Advanced Management Program at HBS. He is frequently asked to give expert testimony in international arbitrations and courts. His background has instilled in him a sense of purpose and a commitment to giving back. LinkedIn
Christine Fairchild
Christine Fairchild
Christine Fairchild was most recently the Director of Alumni Relations at the University of Oxford; she retired in 2023 and lives in Oxford. Prior to moving to the UK in 2011, she was the Executive Director of External Relations at HBS overseeing fundraising, alumni engagement, alumni communications and other related functions. She has had a 40+ year career in Advancement and constituency engagement and currently serves as a consultant and volunteer on various boards and is an Emeritus Fellow at Jesus College, Oxford. LinkedIn
Geoffrey Jones
Harvard Business School
Geoffrey Jones
Harvard Business School
Geoffrey Jones is Isidor Straus Professor of Business History at Harvard Business School. Born in Birmingham, England, he moved to Harvard in 2000. He teaches in the MBA programme and writes about the ecological and social responsibility of global business. His most recent book, Deeply Responsible Business, was published by Harvard University Press in 2023.
Gulshan Batool
Gulshan Batool
Gulshan Batool is an Investor for a Private Family Office where she invests across asset classes. She has over 15 years of experience in Investment Banking and Private Equity including the M&A divisions of NM Rothschild, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs and has experience at European buyout funds, investing primarily in healthcare. Gulshan started her education at state schools in Glasgow and studied at Magdalene College, Cambridge. She was a Fulbright Scholar at Harvard Business School, graduating in 2010. LinkedIn
James Ruane
James Ruane
James Ruane is a Managing Director at CDPQ London LLP, where he is responsible for the International Capital Solutions business. He has more than 20 years of experience in in international financial services, including at J.P. Morgan, Apax Partners, and Deutsche Bank. A native of Dublin, Ireland, James studied Business Studies and Economics at Trinity College Dublin. His studies at Harvard Business School were funded by a scholarship from the O’Reilly Foundation. James graduated from HBS in 2005 as a Baker Scholar. LinkedIn
Lilit Davoyan
Lilit Davoyan
Lilit Davoyan is the Director for New Product Delivery in the Financial Institutions Group at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. She has over 20 years of experience in development finance and consulting. Lilit holds a Bachelor’s in Economics from Yerevan State University, an MA in Economic Development from Vanderbilt University, and an MBA from Harvard Business School, supported by scholarships from the U.S. Government through the Edmund Muskie Fellowship and the Tavitian Foundation, respectively. LinkedIn
Lucy Shaw
Lucy Shaw
Lucy Shaw is a writer and energy investor based in London. She previously worked at Blackstone, International Finance Corporation and Actis, and as a consultant at Boston Consulting Group and the United Nations. She has an MBA from Harvard Business School, where she graduated as a Baker Scholar, and an MPA in International Development from Harvard Kennedy School. She was a Fulbright Scholar and British Friends of HBS scholarship recipient. LinkedIn
Meredith Hunter
Meredith Hunter
Meredith has over 25 years of experience as a global fundraiser, beginning her career at Harvard University and bringing her experience to London Business School in 2010. She most recently led the Kew Foundation at Kew Gardens. Meredith is also on the board of Barnardo’s and is a Commissioner of the Crown Estate Paving Commission. She holds American and British citizenship and has her BA and MBA from the USA. LinkedIn
Pawan Dhir
Pawan Dhir
Pawan Dhir is a portfolio Non-Executive Director with roles across education, healthcare and financial services.
He has more than three decades of global financial services experience, including at PwC, SBC Warburg, Morgan Stanley and UBS. He holds a degree in physics from Manchester University and is a Fellow of ICAEW.
Pawan is a passionate advocate for equality, diversity and inclusivity and serves on the boards of several educational institutions, all of which positively benefit underrepresented and disadvantaged individuals, facilitating broader social mobility, health, wellbeing and sustainable economic prosperity. LinkedIn
PATRONS
ADRIAN BEECROFT
Adrian is an HBS MBA 1976. Adrian is a British venture capitalist, businessman and philanthropist. He was until recently Chairman of Dawn Capital and was for many years Chief Investment Officer at Apax Partners, which he joined in 1984. He has an extensive career in private equity & venture capital, spending 25 years at Apax Partners, where he was the company’s representative on the boards of over 20 public & private companies. He graduated from Queen’s College, Oxford, in 1968 with a first-class degree in Physics and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. Adrian Beecroft helped to fund the Beecroft Institute for Particle Physics & Cosmology, Oxford University, in addition to the Beecroft Building. He supports Hymer’s College in Hull, was a Trustee of Impetus Trust, and is a supporter of Chance to Shine, where he was Chairman for 6 years.
SIR RONALD COHEN
Sir Ronald is an HBS MBA 1969. Sir Ronald Cohen is President of the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (GSG), The Portland Trust, and the recently-created International Foundation for Valuing Impacts (IFVI). He is also a former co-founder Chair of Bridges Fund Management, Big Society Capital, and Impact Weighted Accounts (IWA) at Harvard Business School and a co-founder Director of Social Finance UK, USA, and Israel. In 2012 he received the Rockefeller Foundation’s Innovation Award for innovation in social finance. He co-founded and was Executive Chairman of Apax Partners Worldwide LLP (1972-2005). He was a founder director and Chairman of the British Venture Capital Association and a founder director of the European Venture Capital Association. Sir Ronald is a graduate of Oxford University, where he was President of the Oxford Union and serves as an Honorary Fellow of Exeter College. He has an MBA from Harvard Business School to which he was awarded a Henry Fellowship.
DAVID DUTTON
David is an HBS MBA 1969. David started his first company, Pizzaland, a pizza restaurant chain, after graduating from Harvard. It was sold for a substantial consideration to a major public food company in 1978. Mr. Dutton then founded a property company, subsequently taken to the AIM market, and then sold to a major property company in 1989. Since then, he has been involved as a “hands on” business angel in a number of small company start-ups whilst concomitantly working as The Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT), a major UK media company. David was a non-Executive Director, UCLB PLC, Zoopla PLC. Among his business achievements, Mr. Dutton has also been President of the Harvard Business School Club of London, Honorary Treasurer of the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine (part of London University), Honorary Fellow of University College of London, Founder and Chairman of UCLB PLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of UCL, Member of the Board of the Moller Conference Centre. David graduated from Churchill College, Cambridge University, graduating with a BA in Economics and an MBA from Harvard University, graduating Summa cum laude.
SIR HARPAL KUMAR
Sir Harpal is an HBS MBA 1991, and the prior Chair of the British Friends of the Harvard Business School. Sir Harpal is the President of GRAIL Europe. He most recently served as Senior Vice President and Head of Innovation EMEA at Johnson & Johnson. Before joining Johnson & Johnson Innovation, Sir Harpal spent 15 years with Cancer Research UK and served as the organization’s Chief Executive Officer. Sir Harpal received a Masters in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cambridge, and an MBA as a Baker Scholar from Harvard Business School. He has been awarded Honorary Doctorates from the Universities of Manchester, Newcastle, and Glasgow, and the Institute of Cancer Research, and he is a Fellow of The Academy of Medical Sciences. In 2016, he was knighted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for services to cancer research.
SIR MARTIN SORRELL
Sir Martin is an HBS MBA 1968. Sir Martin Sorrell is Founder and Executive Chairman of S4 Capital plc, the tech led, new age / new era digital advertising and marketing services company for global, multinational, regional and local clients, and millennial-driven influencer brands. Sir Martin was Founder and CEO of WPP for 33 years, building it from a £1 million ‘shell’ company in 1985 into the world’s largest advertising and marketing services company. When Sir Martin left in April 2018, WPP had a market capitalisation of over £16 billion, revenues of over £15 billion, profits of approximately £2 billion and over 200,000 people in 113 countries. Sir Martin supports a number of leading business schools and universities, including his alma maters, Harvard Business School and Cambridge University, and a number of charities, including his family foundation. He has been nominated as one of the TIME 100: The Most Influential People and received the Harvard Business School Alumni Achievement Award.