21 Facts About Karan Bilimoria

Karan Bilimoria was born in Hyderabad, India into a Zoroastrian Parsi family which hailed from Gujarat.

Karan Bilimoria's family had a strong background in trade and commerce, but his father and both his grandfathers served in the Indian armed forces.

Karan Bilimoria later served as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Indian Army's Central Command.

Karan Bilimoria was deputed by the Government of India to Sri Lanka to review the work of the Indian Peace Keeping Force, which had been deployed in that country during the Sri Lankan Civil War under the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord.

Karan Bilimoria did his early schooling in Hyderabad from Hyderabad Public School at Begumpet, Hyderabad where the family lived at his mother's ancestral home, Anand Bhavan, while his father served in different military stations in the country.

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When he was still nineteen, Karan Bilimoria received his Bachelor of Commerce degree from Osmania University in Hyderabad in 1981.

Karan Bilimoria began to import polo sticks from India to fill in the gap, selling these successfully and profitably to Harrod's and Lillywhites.

Karan Bilimoria experimented with importing fashion goods, fabrics, and other products from India, but unlike the polo sticks these were not very successful ventures.

Karan Bilimoria noticed that regular lager was too gassy and bloating to be enjoyed with food, while ale was too bitter to accompany a meal.

Karan Bilimoria came up with a concept for a beer that had 'the refreshing qualities of a lager' but the 'smoothness and drinkability of an ale' to accompany food – in particular, Indian food and curry.

At the time Karan Bilimoria had a student debt of £20,000, and funds to start the business were not easy to find.

Karan Bilimoria delivered cases of Cobra to Indian restaurants, where it became very popular with customers.

In October 2009 Karan Bilimoria stated that the creditors of Cobra Beer would be settled out of future profits of the joint venture.

Karan Bilimoria was implicated in the Panama Papers leak: he was listed as a shareholder in Mulberry Holdings Asset Limited, a company registered in the Virgin Islands.

Karan Bilimoria was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant for Greater London in 2001 and he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2004 Birthday Honours for his services to business and entrepreneurship.

Karan Bilimoria was appointed an Independent Crossbench Life Peer in the House of Lords and was created Baron Bilimoria, of Chelsea in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea on 16 June 2006.

Karan Bilimoria is the first Zoroastrian Parsi to sit in the House of Lords.

Karan Bilimoria has been a non-executive director and senior independent director of the Booker Group PLC, the UK's largest wholesale operator, since 2007.

Karan Bilimoria was awarded an honorary doctorate from Heriot-Watt University in 2005.

On 17 July 2014, Karan Bilimoria was installed as the 7th Chancellor of the University of Birmingham.

In June 2020, Karan Bilimoria was elected as the President of the Confederation of British Industry.