The 693rd Lord Mayor of London, Vincent Keaveny, hosted the annual Business and Industry Dinner at the Mansion House on the 7th of April. The themes for the dinner were ‘people and purpose’& ‘investing in a better tomorrow’, with the Lord Mayor proposing that business will continue to flourish based on a strong history of innovation, and by industry and government working together.
Music for the night was provided by the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) Orchestra in the Egyptian Hall of Mansion House. The Lord Bilimoria CBE DL, the very first ethnic minority President of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), was invited to sign the Distinguished Visitors’ Book, with his signature joining those of various world dignitaries including former US President Barrack Obama, and Emirati President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan.
Addressing an audience of senior political and business figures, Lord Bilimoria spoke alongside The Lord Mayor, and the Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng MP, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
Lord Bilimoria commenced his speech outlining the UK’s long history of business innovation, and how this could help address the multiple challenges that businesses are currently facing; followed by discussing strategies for energy security and how the country can take steps towards net zero; and finally addressing the launch of the CBI’s Change the Race Ratio, which seeks to increase ethnic minority participation in business.
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Box
Notable quotes
Lord Karan Bilimoria CBE DL
“The government has been magnanimous in spending £400bn. That is the swing to hit the ball. But if you stop there, the ball will hit the net. You need to follow through to get it over the net.”
“Let’s put power behind the energy security strategy. Let’s put real urgency and energy behind the energy security strategy.”
“Diversity without inclusion is useless.”
