Rumi Verjee, Baron Verjee (born 1957) is a British businessman, philanthropist and

Liberal Democrat Several political party, political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democracy, liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties ...

member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

. Born in

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

, Rumi moved to the UK as a child before studying at

Downing College, Cambridge Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 650 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to Cambridge University between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the olde ...

Early life

Rumi Verjee was born in Uganda and spent his early childhood in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

before coming to Britain. Many of the Verjee family assets were seized under

Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern w ...

's regime in the expulsion of Indians in Uganda in 1972. He attended

Haileybury College Haileybury may refer to: Australia * Haileybury (Melbourne), a school in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia **Haileybury Rendall School, an offshoot in Berrimah, North Territory, Australia China * Haileybury International School, an international ...

, Hertford, and

, where he gained a BA in law, before being

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

from

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

Business

Aged 27, Verjee approached

Tom Monaghan Thomas Stephen Monaghan (born March 25, 1937) is an American entrepreneur who founded Domino's Pizza in 1960. He owned the Detroit Tigers from 1983 to 1992. Monaghan also owns the Domino's Farms Office Park, located in the Ann Arbor Charter Town ...

at a conference in the US, and persuaded him to sell the

franchising Franchising is based on a marketing concept which can be adopted by an organization as a strategy for business expansion. Where implemented, a franchisor licenses some or all of its know-how, procedures, intellectual property, use of its busine ...

rights to

Domino's Pizza Domino's Pizza, Inc., trading as Domino's, is an American multinational pizza restaurant chain founded in 1960 and led by CEO Russell Weiner. The corporation is Delaware domiciled and headquartered at the Domino's Farms Office Park in Ann Arbor ...

in the UK. Verjee launched the chain in Britain and it now employs over 20,000 people in the UK Verjee sold his stake in the firm in 1989, and went on to oversee the development of the

Brompton Hospital Royal Brompton Hospital is the largest specialist heart and lung medical centre in the United Kingdom. It is managed by Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. History Consumption in the 19th Century In the 19th century, consumption was a co ...

site. From 1993 until 1997, Verjee, alongside the singer

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

, co-owned

Watford F.C. Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. They play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club’s original foundation is 1881, aligned with that of its antecede ...

In 1995, he bought Thomas Goode, which holds two royal warrants and has over 160 years experience in iconic glassworks. He sold Thomas Goode in 2018.

Philanthropy

Verjee established a UK Charity, The Rumi Foundation, in 2006. The Foundation supports humanitarian work through education, innovation and knowledge building. Its work is principally focussed in the UK but has also supported projects in India, East Africa and South America. In keeping with its aims, the Foundation has supported a number of initiatives including: * Established a Chair in perpetuity at Downing College Cambridge, to research the early detection of cancer in children. * Endowed a five-year programme of Innovation Night Lectures at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...

. Speakers have included

will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "Will-I-am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is the founding and lead member of the musical group Black Eyed Peas. ...

, Director of Creative Innovation, Intel, the fashion designer Christopher Bailey, Chief Creative Officer at Burberry, and

Chad Hurley Chad Meredith Hurley (born January 24, 1977) is an American webmaster and businessman who serves as the advisor and former chief executive officer (CEO) of YouTube. He also co-founded MixBit. In June 2006, he was voted 28th on Business 2.0's "5 ...

, Founder of YouTube. * The Global Leadership Foundation, established by Nobel Peace Prize winner,

F.W. de Klerk Frederik Willem de Klerk (, , 18 March 1936 – 11 November 2021) was a South African politician who served as state president of South Africa from 1989 to 1994 and as deputy president from 1994 to 1996 in the democratic government. As South A ...

, which draws on the vast experience of former presidents, Prime Ministers, and senior ministers to discreetly and in confidence support current political leaders, promote good governance around the world and to strengthen democratic institutions and practices. * Supported the launch, of

Free the Children WE Charity (french: Organisme UNIS), formerly known as Free the Children (French: ''Enfants Entraide''), is an international development charity and youth empowerment movement founded in 1995 by human rights advocates Marc and Craig Kielburger. ...

becoming Chair of the UK board of directors in 2014. Alongside Holly Branson, Verjee co-chairs the UK initiative,

We Day We Day (stylized as WE Day) was an annual series of stadium-sized youth empowerment events organized by We Charity (formerly known as Free The Children), a Canadian charity founded by brothers Marc and Craig Kielburger. WE Day events host tens ...

which encourages young people to take a greater role in their communities. Princess Beatrice has since gone on to become involved in WE Day. * An ongoing partnership with the

Clinton Foundation The Clinton Foundation (founded in 2001 as the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation, and renamed in 2013 as the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation) is a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code. It was e ...

on their Building Tomorrow project in Uganda. * Mosaic, a charity whose patron is Prince Charles and is dedicated to teaming up young people from deprived communities with high-flying mentors who can help them negotiate life's challenges. * Sponsoring the Wired Innovation Fellowships. In 2009, Verjee was awarded a

CBE 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 o ...

for his charitable work. In addition, the

British Olympic Association The British Olympic Association (BOA) is the National Olympic Committee for the United Kingdom. It is responsible for organising and overseeing the participation of athletes from the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic Team, at both ...

appointed Verjee to its advisory board ahead of the London Olympic and Paralympic Games. In 2015, it was announced that Verjee had become an adviser to

MassChallenge MassChallenge is a global, zero-equity startup accelerator, founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 2009. MassChallenge is headquartered in Boston's Seaport District in the Innovation and Design Building, and has additional U.S. locations in Texas ...

, the world's biggest startup accelerator programme. In 2017, it was estimated that Verjee had given away a total of £33.9 million, which equated to 20.54% of his wealth.

Politics

An active Liberal Democrat for several years, Verjee was appointed to the House of Lords in August 2013. His political activity includes support for the party's Leadership programme to improve representation from under-represented groups. On 17 September 2013 he was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

taking the title Baron Verjee, of

Portobello Portobello, Porto Bello, Porto Belo, Portabello, or Portabella may refer to: Places Brazil * Porto Belo Ireland * Portobello, Dublin * Cathal Brugha Barracks, Dublin formerly ''Portobello Barracks'' New Zealand * Portobello, New Zealand, on Ot ...

in the

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is an Inner London borough with royal status. It is the smallest borough in London and the second smallest district in England; it is one of the most densely populated administrative regions in the ...

External links

Rumi Foundation website

Liberal Democrats profile

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Verjee, Rumi 1957 births Living people Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge Fellows of Downing College, Cambridge Ugandan Ismailis British Ismailis British businesspeople in retailing Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Liberal Democrats (UK) donors Ugandan emigrants to the United Kingdom Date of birth missing (living people) Life peers created by Elizabeth II British people of Indian descent Khoja Ismailism