Sir Michael Aron Heller (born July 1936) is a British business executive and philanthropist.

Early life

Michael Aron Heller was born in July 1936, and educated at the

Harrogate Grammar School Harrogate Grammar School is a co-educational academy school and sixth form in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. It has around 1,900 pupils in the main school. A 2022 Ofsted inspection rated the school as 'Outstanding' in all five areas of ...

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor at ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

, England. He graduated from St Catharine's College, a constituent college of the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, where he received a Master of Arts degree in 1955. He is married to Morven Livingstone, Lady Heller (b.1940). Her father, Julius Livingstone (b. Glasgow, 1908) was a family doctor. Her mother Pearl (née Levy, b. Manchester, 1918) studied law but never practiced it. Morven was raised with her younger sister, the human rights lawyer Frances Raday, in Manchester.

Business career

Heller serves as the Chairman of Bisichi Mining. He also serves as the Chairman of

London & Associated Properties London & Associated Properties is a property corporation listed on the London Stock Exchange. It owns 42% of Bisichi Mining. Operations *King Edward Court, Windsor, Berkshire *Kings Square, West Bromwich * Market Row, Brixton, London *Orchard Sq ...

. Additionally, he serves as the Chairman of Electronic Data Processing.

Philanthropy

Heller co-founded the Michael & Morven Heller Charitable Foundation in 1988. Thanks to a charitable gift they made to the

Magen David Adom The Magen David Adom ( he, מגן דוד אדום, abbr. MDA, pronounced ''MAH-dah'' per its Hebrew acronym, ) is Israel's national emergency medical, disaster, ambulance and blood bank service. The name means "Red Shield" or "Red Star of Davi ...

UK Friend Society in 2006, a Mobile Intensive Care Unit which drives pregnant women in Israel to the nearest hospital was named in their honour. Eight years later, in 2008, as a result of another donation, an ambulance was also named in their honour. In 2010, they attended a fundraising dinner for the British ORT, a Jewish charity. Meanwhile, they have made charitable contributions to the

Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. Roxana Silbert has been the artistic director since ...

and the London Jewish Cultural Centre. They also donated to the Save Van Dyck for the National Portrait Gallery to acquired

Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy. The seventh c ...

's self-portrait. Heller served as the Deputy Chairman of the

Conservative Friends of Israel Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI) is a British parliamentary group affiliated to the Conservative Party, which is dedicated to strengthening business, cultural and political ties between the United Kingdom and Israel, as well as between the Br ...

. By 2012, he had donated over GBP£100,000 to the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

. In 2014, he attended a GBP£50,000 dinner with Conservative Prime Minister

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

. He also served as the Deputy Chairman of the

Centre for Policy Studies The Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) is a think tank and pressure group in the United Kingdom. Its goal is to promote coherent and practical policies based on its founding principles of: free markets, "small state," low tax, national independe ...

, a center-right think tank based in London. He now serves as a member of its Board. Heller was named Fellow Commoner by his alma mater, St Catharine's College, in 2003. He received an honorary degree from

Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The university is based on two sites; the City Campus is located in the city centre near Sheffield railway station, while the Collegiate Cr ...

in 2010. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in the

2013 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2013 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Hon ...

"for charitable services".

Personal life

With his wife Morven, he resides in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

in North London. He is a member of the

Royal Automobile Club The Royal Automobile Club is a British private social and athletic club. It has two clubhouses: one in London at 89 Pall Mall, and the other in the countryside at Woodcote Park, near Epsom in Surrey. Both provide accommodation and a range o ...

, a private members' club. He collects modern art.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heller, Michael 1936 births Living people People from Hampstead Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge British business executives British corporate directors English philanthropists Jewish British philanthropists British art collectors Knights Bachelor