Lord Cairns – Investment Committee
Lord Cairns has had a distinguished business career leading some of the UK's most successful investment banks. Lord Cairns was Chairman of Allied Zurich and BAT Industries plc and also Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of SG Warburg. Between 1992 and 2004, he chaired Actis Capital LLP (formerly CDC Group plc), one of the largest emerging market venture capital operations with investments in agriculture, financial services, industry and infrastructure in some eighteen African countries. Lord Cairns also founded and chaired the Commonwealth Business Council at the request of Prime Minister Tony Blair and President Mbeki of South Africa, an organisation that provides a platform for governments and the private sector to work together to increase trade and investment across the Commonwealth, with a focus on Africa.