Curriculum Vitae
Llb(Hons), D.Univ, D.Lit, DL, D.Sc(econ), CIMgt, FRI, HonFIIMechE
Digby serves as Chairman of the International Business Advisory Board of HSBC. He is Corporate Ambassador for Jaguar Cars and a corporate advisor to JCB. He is Chairman of Triumph Motorcycles Limited and Neutrino Concepts Limited. He is a member of the Advisory Board of Monitise plc and a Business Advisor to ISeeU Limited, Grove Investments Limited and Barberry Properties plc. He is a Senior Advisor to the Harvey Nash Group. He is a non executive director of Leicester Tigers Rugby Club plc. He is Ambassador to Microsoft's Britain Works Programme. He also serves as an unpaid Advisor to HRH The Duke of York in his capacity as Special Representative to UK Trade & Investment.
Born in Birmingham on 28th October 1955, he began his schooldays at Alvechurch Primary School Birmingham (1960 – 1966) before winning a major scholarship to Bromsgrove School (1966 – 1974). He gained an Upper Second class Honours Degree in Law at University College London in 1977.
He was awarded a University Cadetship in the Royal Navy (1974 – 1977) then took articles with the Birmingham corporate law firm Edge and Ellison in 1978. He was admitted as a Solicitor in 1980.
He made Partner at Edge and Ellison in 1984 and it was in corporate finance and client development that he made his name. He was responsible for developing the firm’s London presence and establishing its representation in many European countries and several states in America. He was involved in most of the major management buy-outs and merger and acquisition activity in the West Midlands in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was made Deputy Senior Partner in 1990, becoming the Firm’s Senior Partner in 1995.
In 1998 he joined KPMG as vice chairman of Corporate Finance, acting as close advisor to many public companies across the United Kingdom and in KPMG’s global markets.
Digby served as Director-General of the CBI, the Confederation of British Industry, the UK’s ‘Voice of Business’, from 1 January 2000 to 30 June 2006 where he regularly visited businesses in the UK and worldwide – taking their views back to those who make the rules. During his appointment he took the British business message to 70 different countries, internationalising the organisation and opening CBI offices in Washington DC and Beijing.
Following his departure from the CBI he held a number of senior corporate advisory positions – Senior Advisor to the Executive of Deloitte; Senior Advisor to Barclays Capital; Corporate and Governmental Affairs Advisor to Ford of Europe and its Premier Automotive Group; Senior Advisor to JCB; Special Advisor to His Royal Highness the Duke of York in connection with his role as the UK Special Representative for International Trade & Investment; Senior Advisor to Computer Science Corporation inc., Member of the Advisory Board of Monitise Ltd; Member of the Advisory Board of Thales (UK) Ltd; Advisor to Hugh James, Solicitors, Cardiff and London, Advisor to Wragge & Co., Solicitors, Birmingham and London, Non-Executive Director of Alba plc, i-Clean Systems Ltd. and Leicester Tigers Rugby plc.
In 2007 he served as the UK’s Skills Envoy, campaigning for both private and public sector employers to raise the level of skills of all of their employees to Level Two by 2010.
Digby is a Fellow of University College London (2004), an Honorary Fellow of Cardiff University (2004), an Honorary Doctor of the University of Central England (2002), the University of Birmingham (2002), the University of Manchester, Institute of Science and Technology (2003), the University of Hertfordshire (2004), Middlesex University (2005), Sheffield Hallam University (2005), Aston University (2006), the University of Hull (2006), Queen’s University, Belfast (2006), Warwick University (2006), Bradford University (2006), Thames Valley University (2006), Wolverhampton University (2006), Loughborough University (2007) and Nottingham University (2007). He is a visiting professor at the University of Hull Business School and Chairman of the Birmingham University Business School Advisory Board.
Digby was Joint-Founder of Enterprise Insight (2000) now the Make-your-Mark Organisation, he served as a Commissioner for Racial Equality (2001 to 2007) and also served as an Ambassador for Investors in People (2004 - 2007), was President of the Diversity Works Initiative (2004 - 2007) – a programme led by the disability organisation, Scope. He was a Director of Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre (2004 – 2007). President of Heads, Teachers and Industry (2004-07), Deputy President of the Institute of Export (2005 - 2007) and Vice President of the Friends of the British Library (2005 - 2007). He was President of the Ambassadors for the West Midlands region (2004 - 2007) and Honorary President of Birmingham Forward (2006 - 2007), the professional services lobby group.
Digby is a Corporate Ambassador for Cancer Research UK, Chairman of the Corporate Development Board of Sense, helping those born deaf and blind and a Fellow of UNICEF. He is a Diamond Ambassador for Mencap’s WorkRight initiative, designed to spread the message of equality for disabled people, a Vice-President of Birmingham Hospice, a Patron of Lifecycle UK, Chairman of the trustees of the Redrow Foundation, a Patron of the Campaign for Learning, a Patron of Every Child a Reader, a Patron of London Excellence, a Corporate Ambassador and member of the Royal British Legion and a member of the Aston Reinvestment Trust. He is a member of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Development Trust, a Trustee of Millenium Point, Birmingham, a Patron of F1 in Schools, a Patron of the British Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Honorary Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
He is Vice President of the Birmingham Civic Society and a Guardian of the Birmingham Assay Office, a member of the Bromsgrove School Foundation Board, Chairman Kind Edward VI School Stratford Fundraising Initiative, a member of The Reform Club, a member of the Yorkshire Society, a Freeman of the City of London, and a member of the Japan Society, Vice President of BEN, the Motor Industry charity.
He is Chairman of the London Board of Sportaccord, a member of the UK India Business Council Advisory Board, a member of the Major Projects All Party Group established to look at the challenges associated with major infrastructure projects across the UK. Digby was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Birmingham Law Society in 2001 and a Lifetime Contribution to Midlands Business by the Midlands Business Awards in 2009.
In 1998, as Chairman of the Birmingham Hospice Appeal, which raised £1.5 million, he personally raised £218,000 towards their target by cycling from John O’Groats to Land’s End in 14 days. He ran the 2005 London Marathon in under six hours raising £191,000 for both Cancer Research UK and UNICEF.
Lord Jones appears regularly on television, radio and in the newspapers, being known for his firm views on several aspects of life in a globalised economy. He is an active public speaker at events and engagements all over the world and is President of the Speakers Trust. He is also the Association of Speaker Clubs Speaker of the Year 2008.
He was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2005 New Year Honours’ List.
From 01 July 2007 to 04 October 2008 he served as the United Kingdom Minister of State for Trade & Investment accepting a lifetime peerage in the House of Lords where he now sits on the cross benches and is known as Digby, Lord Jones of Birmingham. During his 15 months in Ministerial office he made 45 overseas visits, travelling to 31 different countries and meeting with the world’s top business leaders and politicians. He changed the way that UK Trade & Investment was perceived in delivering a record year for inward investment and expanding the UK’s presence in all of the major international markets. Following his departure from Ministerial office he was appointed as a Business Ambassador for UK Trade & Investment.
Digby is married to Pat. They live in Marylebone and Warwickshire. He enjoys the theatre, skiing, football, rugby and cricket and has more than a passing interest in military history.