
Cambridge changed my life. Three years as a student taught me how to make life-long friends and to disagree without rancour. I studied physics but learnt much more by living alongside musicians and historians, economists and lawyers. I even learnt how to cox a boat.
Cambridge also helped me to accept myself. I was in the closet because homosexuality had only recently become legal, but that did not stop me from learning to appreciate and celebrate Cambridge’s diversity of background, behaviour and opinion.
All this explains why it is such a great honour to be considered for the post of Chancellor of this great University. The role does not carry power but rather responsibility – to represent and strongly promote the University on the world stage, to advise and counsel on strategic matters, and to sustain our long-held values particularly of free speech, intellectual freedom, and fact-based analysis.
Cambridge has always been at the forefront of human progress. An important current objective for the University is to cement its role as a pioneer in some of the most important areas for the future, such as energy technology, climate science, AI and biotechnology – including our understanding of their impact on the economy and society. From my experience as Co-Chairman of the UK’s Council on Science and Technology, I understand the importance of secure funding for scholarship and research. I have seen at first hand the value of translating discoveries into commercial enterprises, ensuring that great advances in knowledge are deployed effectively and for the benefit of society. And having spent my life in the global energy business – currently as Founder of BeyondNetZero, a fund which invests in accelerating the energy transition – I know what it takes to balance seemingly irreconcilable points of view.
To some it will seem unusual that a former CEO of BP has spent 18 years implementing solutions which integrate both climate and energy needs. But I believe that holistic solutions are essential. Cambridge’s ability to bring the humanities and social sciences together with fundamental science and engineering means that it has a unique opportunity to play a crucial role in securing humanity’s future.
To achieve the breakthroughs which are needed, Cambridge must maintain access for all based on ability. Life as a student or a young academic can be lonely, stressful and financially demanding. The University’s ability to attract and support the world’s brightest minds, wherever they come from, is a crucial measure of its continuing success.
My own Cambridge education has guided me, not only in business, but also in chairing and fundraising for the likes of the Crick Institute, the Tate, the Courtauld, and the British Museum. To help pass on the benefits of Cambridge to the next generation would be a privilege. Assisting Cambridge to remain one of the world’s greatest universities would be an honour.
Supporters
- Richard Aikens
- Peter Bazalgette
- Peter Bennett-Jones
- Jacqueline Blandford
- Leszek Borysiewicz
- Matt Brittin
- A N Broers
- Nicholas Butler
- D Byrne
- Christopher Caulkin
- R A Chatterjee
- P F Chinnery
- Nicholas Coleridge
- Nigel Crisp
- S C Davies
- A P Dowling
- A C Ferguson-Smith
- R H Friend
- L F Gladden
- Anne Margaret Glover
- Antony Gormley
- Paul Greatbatch
- John Gummer
- Mark Hallett
- H J Hancock
- Philippa J O Harris
- Edith Heard
- Peter Hennessy
- Simon Henry
- David Isaac
- Greg Jackson
- Fraser Johnston-Donne
- David Anthony King
- Mervyn A King
- Jay Kojima
- Harpal Kumar
- Oliver Letwin
- H M O Leyser
- Peter B Littlewood
- Anne Lonsdale
- J M Lonsdale
- Michael Lynas
- John Makinson
- George Malloch-Brown
- D P McKenzie
- R J Mair
- Francis A A Maude
- Natasha Maxsted
- P H Maxwell
- Mark Moody-Stuart
- Judith Moody-Stuart
- Charles A Myers
- Archibald Norman
- Kenneth Olisa
- Kate Pakenham
- Michael Pakenham
- Stephen G Parkinson
- Gavin Patterson
- David Keith Peters
- Richard C J Phillips
- Carlo Ratti
- Peter Riddell
- Andrew Roberts
- Charles Saumarez Smith
- Nicholas Serota
- Barbara Stocking
- Andrew Stockley
- Edward Stourton
- Kevin Tebbit
- G Tett
- Jean O Thomas
- S P Tomaselli
- Andrew Turnbull
- Mark Walport
- M E Welland