Members

Jack Morris OBE
Chairman, Business Design Centre Group

Born in London in 1956, Jack Morris is Chairman of Business Design Centre Group, a private group of companies principally owned by him and his four brothers. His business interests are the Business Design Centre, exhibition and event organising and property. The Business Design Centre is one of London’s most unique venues. Its exhibition halls hold over 60 exhibitions and the conference facilities host around 200 events annually, collectively they attract over half a million visitors a year to the venue. The Business Design Centre is also the permanent home to over 150 companies with close to 1,000 residents working out of the building on a daily basis. The Business Design Centre Group has been based in London, since it was founded in 1954.

Jack was educated at Christ’s College, Finchley. After four years at Pridie Brewster Chartered Accountants, Jack joined the family business in 1979 and became Chairman in 1992.

From 1999 to 2004, Jack was a Director of Earls Court & Olympia Group, the owner and operator of London’s two famous events venues, following its acquisition by the Morris Family Trust in partnership with venture capital investors. He remained on the Board until the partnership sold its interest.

Jack’s life long passion for promoting education has led him to get involved in many voluntary and charitable activities.

In 1992 he became a governor of City & Islington College and Chair of Governors four years later. City & Islington College is one of London’s largest general further education colleges and offers an extensive range of academic and vocational courses to over 14,500 students of all ages. The College has award-winning education facilities, constructed under a £65m building programme – the largest capital project undertaken at the time in the further education sector. In 2008 City & Islington College became the first general further education college in London to be awarded “outstanding” grades across all inspection areas by Ofsted. It has national Learning and Skills Beacon status and is the first general FE college to have won the Queen’s Anniversary Prize twice.

Jack was Chairman of the Anne Frank Trust UK from 1999 to 2003. Inspired by the diary and life of Anne Frank, the trust educates people – particularly young people – to reject prejudice and social injustice. 2.5 million people throughout the UK have seen its travelling exhibition since the charity was founded.  He is currently Chair of the “Islington Giving” Appeal, a campaign which brings together the leading charities, private, public and voluntary sectors in this London borough in tackling social disadvantage.

He is also Chairman of the Morris Charitable Trust, a charity funded by the Business Design Centre Group. The trust supports local community projects and numerous other charities. Jack is an Honorary Freeperson of the London Borough of Islington and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2005, for services to further education. In 2007, he received an Honorary Degree, Doctor of Science, from City University London.