Our Patrons
Rt Hon Mrs Preet Kaur Gill MP
Mrs. Preet Kaur Gill MP represents Birmingham, Edgbaston, serving as the Shadow Minister for Primary Care and Public Health and proudly holds the distinction of being the UK’s first female Sikh MP. Hailing from the West Midlands, she began her career as a social worker and later transitioned into local politics, serving as a Councillor and Cabinet Member for Public Health and Protection before embarking on her parliamentary journey.
At the forefront of various parliamentary initiatives, Mrs. Gill chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for British Sikhs and holds the position of Vice Chair for key groups including the APPG for International Freedom of Religion or Belief, the APPG for the Commonwealth Games, and the APPG for Aid Match. Additionally, she co-chairs the APPG for Levelling up Birmingham, demonstrating her commitment to addressing regional disparities.
Recognized for her significant contributions, Mrs. Gill was featured on Birmingham City University’s Brummies Who Inspire list in 2018 and received the prestigious Sikh Woman of Substance award from the Sikh Women’s Alliance. Her dedication to public service was further acknowledged in 2020 when she was honored as MP of the Year by the Patchwork Foundation.
Professor S Raghunath specialises in Strategic Alliances and Strategic Leadership. He teaches post-graduate and doctoral Courses in Alliance Management, Strategic Networks, Corporate Strategy, E- Business strategies and models and Strategic Management in the Media and Entertainment Industry, leads IIMB executive programmes on Strategic Issues in Alliances, Outsourcing, Negotiations, Strategic Leadership of IT Companies and General Management Programme For Media and Entertainment Industry. He was a Visiting Scholar at the Graduate SchooI of Business, Stanford University (1990-91) where he engaged in research in strategy making in IT companies. He was also a Visiting Professor at INSEAD, France; HEC Paris; University of Buckingham, UK; RMIT School of Business; Melbourne, Australia; and LBSNAA, Mussoorie.
His research has focused on Structuring and Managing Alliances, Outsourcing Management, e-Business Strategy and Models and MNC Subsidiary-headquarters relationships. He has written extensively in the areas of international alliances for practitioner and academic communities.