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Honorary Doctor of Business Administration, 2008
Bio | Citation

Walter is one of the most important social entrepreneurs in the UK and a key contributor to the Cambridge technology base. He started his career within the world of banking before making his name as the man who nurtures UK technology enterprise - a pioneering role that has made him known throughout the East of England.

With a sociology degree from the University of Durham, Walter joined Barclays Bank in Liverpool in the 1970s and later transferred to its Cambridge branch. He was a maverick when it came to banking, taking more risks than most, lending money to high-tech start-up companies such as Acorn Computers. After 18 years with Barclays, Walter spent three years at Coopers and Lybrand, where he became Corporate Finance Director. He was later appointed onto the steering committee for the St. John's Innovation Centre. Walter was the Managing Director from 1990 until he retired at the end of 2008. The Innovation Centre, based in Cambridge, is regarded as a model for incubators, particularly those linked to universities, both nationally and internationally. It provides a range of facilities and services for start-ups, including office space and business advice.

Walter is Chair of the Enterprise from Innovation Board of the University of East Anglia and of the Steering Committee of the Hauser Forum at the University of Cambridge. He is also Enterprise and Innovation Champion for EEDA. In 1999, Walter was awarded an OBE for services to businesses in the East of England and in 2002 was the Cambridge Evening News 'Businessman of the Year'. In 2006 he received the Queens Award for Enterprise Promotion and was appointed Visiting Professor at the University of Hertfordshire. He has been collaborating with our Ashcroft International Business School on various projects, including the launch of a new BA (Hons) Enterprise and Entrepreneurial Management course.

In 2008, Walter Herriot OBE was awarded the Honorary degree of Doctor of Business Administration.
Areas Of Interest: Business
Faculty: Lord Ashcroft International Business School
Citation:

"Vice Chancellor, it is my pleasure to read the Citation for Walter Herriot OBE, for the award of Honorary Doctor of Business Administration.

Walter Herriot OBE, has been described as being 'one of the most important social entrepreneurs in the UK' and a key contributor to the Cambridge technology base which is one of the reasons why Anglia Ruskin University has requested the pleasure of his company here today.

He started his career within the respectable world of banking before becoming famous as the man who nurtures UK technology enterprise - and it is this pioneering role that has made him known throughout the east of England. Walter has been the Managing Director of St John's Innovation Centre Ltd since 1990. The Innovation Centre, based in Cambridge, is regarded as a model for incubators, particularly those linked to universities, both nationally and internationally. It provides a range of facilities and services for startups, including office space and business advice. A social enterprise, St John's Innovation Centre covenants all its profits to St John's College, University of Cambridge, the sole shareholder. This allows for continuous re-investment in the educational activities of the College. The centre currently occupies around 55k square feet of office and service space, with around 50 tenants mainly in software and IT. The average tenure for most startups in the innovation centre is five years. Examples of the most notable companies to pass through the centre include Autonomy and Saviso.

So what do we know about the man Walter Herriot? Born in Liverpool, with a sociology degree from the University of Durham, Walter joined Barclays Bank in Liverpool in the 70s and later transferred to their Cambridge branch. He was a maverick when it came to banking taking more risks than most, lending money to high-tech start up companies such as Acorn Computers which resulted in the birth of other equally successful spin-out operations.

After 18 years with Barclays, Walter spent three years at Coopers and Lybrand, where he became Corporate Finance Director. He was later appointed onto the steering committee for the St. John's Innovation Centre. He is a member of the CBI East of England Council, the steering committee of the Greater Cambridge Partnership and is Chair of the East of England Enterprise Agencies. In 1999, Walter was awarded an OBE for services to businesses in the East of England and in 2002 was the Cambridge Evening News "Businessman of the Year". In 2006 he received the Queens Award for Enterprise Promotion and was appointed Visiting Professor at the University of Hertfordshire.

In more recent times, he has been collaborating with Anglia Ruskin University's Ashcroft International Business School on various projects including the launch of a new BA (Hon) Enterprise and Entrepreneurial Management course which is changing the way employers view new business graduates. This new course, sees students working directly with business winners and experts from Cambridge, to 'fast track' themselves into the highly competitive 'real' world of business.

An 'Entrepreneur in Residence' scheme is being developed for the course which will be managed by Walter who will ultimately become Director of the Entrepreneur in Residence network. In a press interview, Walter once described Cambridge as 'essentially a market town that has a great university attached to it'. As he looks to retire next month, and spend much more time with Anglia Ruskin University's Ashcroft International Business School, we hope that he will now agree, it has, actually, not one but, two great universities.

We are delighted to be honouring Walter Herriot today for his pioneering spirit, exceptional business acumen, and for being the person that every business student in Cambridge would absolutely love to work with.

Walter Herriot, I hereby invite the Vice Chancellor to confer upon you the award of Honorary Doctor of Business Administration."

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