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Lord Digby Jones was born in Birmingham on 28th October 1955. He began his schooldays at Alvechurch Primary in Birmingham before winning a major scholarship to Bromsgrove School. Digby gained an Upper Second class Honours Degree in Law at University College London.
Digby Jones was awarded a University Cadetship in the Royal Navy (1974 1977). He then took articles with the Birmingham corporate law firm Edge and Ellison in 1978. Later, he was admitted as a Solicitor in 1980.
Digby Jones made Partner at Edge and Ellison in 1984 and it was in corporate finance and client development that he made his name. He was responsible for developing the firm’s London presence and establishing its representation. This was both in Europe and the US. Digby was involved in most of the major management buy-outs and merger and acquisition activity in the West Midlands in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was made Deputy Senior Partner in 1990, becoming the Firm’s Senior Partner in 1995.
In 1998 he joined KPMG as vice chairman of Corporate Finance, acting as close adviser to many public companies across the United Kingdom and in KPMG’s global markets.
Digby served as Director-General of the CBI, the Confederation of British Industry from 2000 to 2006.
He regularly visited businesses in the UK and worldwide taking their views back to those who make the rules. During his appointment he took the British business message to 70 different countries, internationalising the organisation and opening CBI offices in Washington DC and Beijing..
Following his departure from the CBI he held a number of senior corporate advisory positions Senior Advisor to the Executive of Deloitte Senior Advisor to Barclays Capital Corporate and Governmental Affairs Advisor to Ford of Europe and its Premier Automotive Group Senior Advisor to JCB Special Advisor to His Royal Highness the Duke of York in connection with his role as the UK Special Representative for International Trade & Investment Senior Advisor to Computer Science Corporation inc., Member of the Advisory Board of Monitise Ltd Member of the Advisory Board of Thales (UK) Ltd Advisor to Hugh James, Solicitors, Cardiff and London, Advisor to Wragge & Co., Solicitors, Birmingham and London, Non-Executive Director of Alba plc, i-Clean Systems Ltd. and Leicester Tigers Rugby plc.
In 2007 he served as the UK’s Skills Envoy, campaigning for both private and public sector employers to raise the level of skills of all of their employees to Level Two by 2010.
Presidency’s, VP’s, Chairman’s and Ambasadors:
Digby was a Fellow of University College London and an Honorary Fellow of Cardiff University. He is also an Honorary Doctor of the Universities of Central England, Birmingham, Manchester and the Institute of Science and Technology. In addition, there is the University of Hertfordshire, Middlesex University, Sheffield Hallam University and Aston University. The list goes on and includes the Universities of Hull, Queen’s in Belfast, Warwick, Bradford, Thames Valley, Wolverhampton, Loughborough and Nottingham. He is a visiting professor at the University of Hull Business School and Chairman of the Birmingham University Business School Advisory Board.
Digby Jones served as an Ambassador for Investors in People (2004 – 2007). He was also President of the Diversity Works Initiative between 2004 – 2007. This was a programme led by the disability organisation, Scope. He was a Director of Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre (2004 2007). President of Heads, Teachers and Industry (2004-07), Deputy President of the Institute of Export and VP of the Friends of the British Library. He was President of the Ambassadors for the West Midlands region and Honorary President of Birmingham Forward. This was a professional services lobby group.
In 2007 Digby Jones entered The House of Lords. He remained there until his retirement in 2020
Lord Digby Jones is a Corporate Ambassador for Cancer Research UK. He was Chairman of the Corporate Development Board of Sense, helping those born deaf and blind. Also a Fellow of UNICEF. He was a Diamond Ambassador for Mencap’s WorkRight initiative, designed to spread the message of equality for disabled people. A Vice-President of Birmingham Hospice and a Patron of Where Next? helping autistic young people become meaningfully employed. He is a Patron of Lifecycle UK, Chairman of the trustees of the Redrow Foundation and a Patron of the Campaign for Learning. Patron of Every Child a Reader, a Patron of London Excellence and a Corporate Ambassador and member of the Royal British Legion. He is also members of the Aston Reinvestment Trust and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Development Trust. Also a Patron of F1 in Schools and Honorary Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
He was VP of the Birmingham Civic Society, a member of the Bromsgrove School Foundation Board. Also, a member of the Yorkshire Society, a Freeman of the City of London, and a member of the Japan Society, VP of BEN, the Motor Industry charity.
In 1998, as Chairman of the Birmingham Hospice Appeal, which raised 1.5 million, he personally raised 218,000 towards their target. He did this by cycling from John O’Groats to Land’s End in 14 days. Digby also ran the 2005 London Marathon in under six hours raising 191,000 for both Cancer Research UK and UNICEF.
Digby still appears regularly on television, radio and also in the newspapers. He is known for his firm views on several aspects of life in a globalised economy. Now an active public speaker at events and engagements all over the world. He is a former Association of Speaker Clubs Speaker of the Year.
BOOKS:
Digby Jones has published two books. The first was published in 2011: Fixing Britain: The Business of Reshaping Our Nation and the second in 2017: Digby Jones Fixing Business: Making Profitable Business Work for The Good of All.
He was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2005 New Year Honours’ List.
Between July 2007 and October 2008 he served as the United Kingdom Minister of State for Trade & Investment accepting a lifetime peerage in the House of Lords, known as Digby, Lord Jones of Birmingham. During his 15 months in Ministerial office he made 45 overseas visits, travelling to 31 different countries. He met with the world’s top business leaders and politicians. He changed the way that UK Trade & Investment was perceived in delivering a record year for inward investment and expanding the UK’s presence in all of the major international markets. Following his departure from Ministerial office he was appointed as a Business Ambassador for UK Trade & Investment. He retired from The House of Lords in 2020.
Digby Jones is married to Pat. They live in Guernsey. He enjoys the theatre, football, rugby and cricket. Also, he has more than a passing interest in military history and Triumph motorbikes.
