Keith Francis Palmer (born 27 July 1947) is a British businessman. Birmingham University Chamberlain Tower - geograph

Education

Palmer was born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

to Gwenda () and Frank Palmer. His early education was at

Howardian High School Howardian High School was a secondary school that was established in Cardiff from 1885 to 1990. Howardian originated in 1885 as the ''Cardiff Higher Grade School'', which was founded by the Cardiff School Board at Howard Gardens, Adamsdown (), ...

in Cardiff. He graduated from the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

with a BSc in Geology in 1968, and a PhD in 1971.

Career

Palmer is a businessman in

public–private partnership A public–private partnership (PPP, 3P, or P3) is a long-term arrangement between a government and private sector institutions.Hodge, G. A and Greve, C. (2007), Public–Private Partnerships: An International Performance Review, Public Administ ...

s in

international development International development or global development is a broad concept denoting the idea that societies and countries have differing levels of economic or human development on an international scale. It is the basis for international classifications ...

. He was the founding chairman of economic consultancy Cambridge Economic Policy Associates (CEPA) and is currently chairman of

AgDevCo AgDevCo is a social impact investor and project developer working in the African agriculture sector. The company supports small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) involved in farming, agriprocessing, and logistics, with the aim of creating jobs ...

, which develops sustainable agriculture in Africa, and of InfraCo, which develops infrastructure in Africa and Asia. Previously Palmer was Vice-Chairman of

N M Rothschild & Sons Rothschild & Co is a multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company, and the flagship of the Rothschild banking group controlled by the French and British branches of the Rothschild family. The banking business o ...

from 1997 to 2002. He is a Research Fellow at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

and was an Honorary Professor at the

University of Dundee The University of Dundee; . Abbreviated as ''Dund.'' for post-nominals. is a public university, public research university based in Dundee, Scotland. It was founded as a University college#United Kingdom, university college in 1881 with a donation ...

Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy The Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy (CEPMLP) is a graduate school at the University of Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom, focused on the fields of international business transactions, energy law and policy, mining and the ...

Honours

Palmer was appointed an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in the 2010 Birthday Honours for services to economic development overseas. He was awarded the honorary degree of DUniv by

Birmingham University , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

in 2013.

Personal life

Palmer has been married to Penny McDonagh since 1974; they have four daughters.

References

Alumni of the University of Birmingham Living people 1947 births Officers of the Order of the British Empire British businesspeople {{UK-business-bio-stub