Jonathan Browning
Pro-Chancellor, distinguished friends, colleagues, graduands and guests.With Coventry University’s strong links with industry and local business, it is only fitting that the chairman of Coventry and Warwickshire local enterprise partnership who has a history in manufacturing all over the world - Jonathan Browning is to be recognised an honorary doctor of business administration.
Jonathan has played a central role in promoting the economic and research development of our region, and of our university and will certainly be an ambassador for what Coventry can offer the world in the field of engineering and automation.
His own life has been as varied as his career. Jonathan was born in Taunton in Somerset where he lived with his family before moving north to Carslile as a child. The family later relocated again to Bedford where his father, a teacher, was appointed chief education officer on the council, and where Jonathan began study for his A levels.
He also embarked upon what would turn into a lifelong passion for sports –especially cycling. And cemented his early interest in the business world when he went on to study Industrial Economics at Nottingham University.
After graduating Jonathan completed an MBA at Duke University in America and soon began a long and successful career in the automotive industry began. Fascinated by the scale and complexity of the car making business, Jonathan’s work has spanned the breadth of the industry all over the world, from Turkey to Switzerland and from Germany to the US, as well as across numerous parts of the UK.
His career has spanned the breadth of the industry from manufacturing to sales and across multiple countries and regions, and major OEM’s including Jaguar Cars and Vauxhall Motors.
From 1999 to 2001, Jonathan worked with Ford, his positions including Managing Director of Jaguar Cars between 1999 and 2001 before moving back to General Motors where he was Chairman of Vauxhall Motors from 2005-2008.
Twice, in 2011 and 2012, Jonathan was recognised as an automotive ‘All-Star’ by the industry-leading title Automotive News and he has since become a globally-recognised figure in the automotive industry – spending three years as President and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America.
In 2014 Jonathan was appointed as chairman of the Coventry and Warwickshire LEP, and since that time has ensured the continuation of economic success; been central in establishing the West Midlands Combined Authority; and helped to produce the Super Strategic Economic Plan which will form the basis of how the WMCA can drive economic growth and prosperity throughout the region.
Now settled in the UK, Jonathan has lived in Warwickshire with his wife for the past 15 years. The pair met aged just 14 and spent much of their time together since travelling and living abroad – including relocating to Turkey when their two children Sam and Lucie were aged two years old, and 10 months old. The pair, now grown up, have followed in the family footsteps and now both work internationally.
In February 2017 Jonathan had his lifelong love for cycling cemented when he was elected as chairman of British Cycling - the governing body of cycling in the UK - after less than two years on its board.
In recognition of his outstanding contribution to the automotive industry here and globally, Coventry University, by decision of the Academic Board, has the privilege of conferring the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration, honoris causa, on Jonathan Browning.