Leadership Group:
Fireside Chat with Sir Graham Wrigley
Tuesday 28 September, 12:00 – 13:15
Ever since visiting Nepal and India in 1981 Sir Graham Wrigley (MBA 89D) had wanted to work in international development. So, 15 years ago he quit his business career and decided to “retrain” for a new career by completing an MsC in Development Economics at SOAS. Since then, he has worked in a variety of roles with SME and microfinance organisations in sub-Saharan Africa, Nepal and the poor states of North India. He was appointed Chairman of CDC, the UK’s Development Finance institution in 2013, which commits around $2bn pa in Africa and South Asia.
Graham’s first career was in business. He was a founder partner of Permira and a member of the firm’s management board as it grew into one of the world’s leading private equity firms, with over $20bn under management. Prior to that he worked for Bain & Co.
Graham was knighted in the 2020 Queen’s Birthday honours list for services to international development spanning 32 years, when he started working with Sir Edmund Hillary’s Himalayan Trust. Graham studied Law and Economics at Cambridge University and has an MBA from INSEAD.
Moderator: Gaby Glasener-Cipollone (MBA 93D)