But these are unsettled times, and now, more than ever we need your support as a LUMS Investor in Excellence to provide the chance to grow and develop in new, otherwise impossible, ways. As alumni, we will never underestimate how much your valued support helps us safeguard our School now and for future generations. Your assistance provides new opportunities to help keep LUMS at the forefront of management education, ensures your successors can benefit from the same internationally renowned education as yourselves, and allows us to build upon our achievements of the past 50 years. Our aim is to provide significant philanthropic support for our students, researchers and the LUMS estate by inspiring 10% of our alumni to become LUMS Investors in Excellence. This will be a major achievement by our alumni community and will mean increasing support levels from less than 0.5% to an amazing 10% participation rate.

Through your regular giving as a LUMS Investor in Excellence, you will be allowing the School to pursue new strategic initiatives and achieve our highest priorities, enabling us to provide the best opportunities for thought leaders, support for those students most in need, and the best facilities for all of our stakeholders.

Your support is a catalyst for continued success and progress. It enables us to continue shaping the next generation of our alumni community and to be the go-to Management School for cutting edge knowledge of which everyone wants to be a part.

Thank you for being a LUMS Investor in Excellence.

Professor Claire Leitch

Executive Dean, Lancaster University Management School

"LUMS Investors in Excellence is a great idea. It’s a way to give back and to help improve the University; I spent the best three years of my life at Lancaster – I love Lancaster and I had such a great time when I was studying there.

"All students deserve a chance to flourish in their education and beyond, no matter their background. I work in investment banking, where many workers have been recruited from a narrow list of ‘target’ universities and where they are almost groomed for the roles. There is so much untapped potential at Lancaster and other similar universities, and investing in this programme is a way to help that talent shine through.

"It ties in with the work I do as part of my role at Jefferies International Limited (a diversified financial services company engaged in investment banking and capital markets, asset management and direct investing) with the Management School and LUIFS. I work as an Investment Banker in Equity Capital Markets at Jefferies. As part of my role, I participate in Jefferies’ graduate recruitment programme. I head up a team recruiting from non-target universities across the UK and Europe and, as a proud Lancaster graduate, have piloted a scheme with the University to attract more high-quality Lancaster graduates to apply for jobs in investment banking (at Jefferies, obviously!) and financial services.

"It’s important to retain a relationship with the university and to help out in any small way I can to open doors for people, and that is what both my professional involvement and the LUMS Investors in Excellence programme do.

"There is so much we can do to support the University in helping people from different backgrounds, people who might be like I was 20 years ago, not knowing exactly what they want to do or the routes open to them, and to provide them with access to new opportunities. The LUMS Investors in Excellence programme means we as alumni can give something back and provide these opportunities to those who are following in our footsteps as members of the Lancaster community."

Having taken a lead with tech start-up Critical Sense, Aman worked for JPMorgan Chase and Expedia in the USA. He has been CEO of global internet domain registrar and small business technology provider GoDaddy since September 2019, leading their mission to empower entrepreneurs everywhere to make opportunities more inclusive for all.

He hopes his involvement with the Investors in Excellence programme can help give back for the benefits he gained from his studies.

“I have the best memories of Lancaster, and when I talk to my old classmates, I think most of us look back at our experiences with good thoughts and a sense of belonging, a sense that they like the version of themselves who went to that school.

“There are things that I am passionate about, and I know the University is passionate about as well. To have something you are connected to in a very personal way and to have others who have shared that experience, being involved as an Investor in Excellence and as an alumnus is a great way to recall and recreate those moments a little bit.

“I’m learning karate, and my Sensei teaches half karate and the other half, life philosophy. One of the things he has taught me is to divide your life into three phases: the first 20 to 25 years are about learning; the next 25 are about accumulating; and the last 25 years should be about giving back.

“In many ways, I’m at the end of the second phase and the start of the third, and one of my ways is to give back to the School and the community who helped me become who I am. I spent one year at Lancaster, out of 45 years, and that might not seem like much, but it was pivotal for me, and to have the opportunity to help others who are following me at Lancaster is a big thing for me.”

Read more about Aman’s time at Lancaster and its effects on his career.

"I have such good memories of my time as a student at Lancaster – it felt then, and still does, like a community and an excellent place to immerse myself in learning, where I felt really connected to the teachers and my fellow students, many of whom have become lifelong friends.

"A lot of the things I learned in my time at Lancaster have helped me greatly in my career, and I felt that the Investors in Excellence programme was a great way to give something back.

"I received a bursary for my studies, which was a huge help with the fees and the other costs you have as a student. Studying is an investment, but if you are a young person who hasn’t worked before, or who doesn’t have a lot of money, then getting that kind of help is very important. The idea that through this programme I can invest in helping young people complete their studies is very important.

"Creating the opportunity for young people to continue their studies, to progress in their careers and do the things they want to do, providing them with the resources and opportunities to widen their horizons is where we should want to be as a society. We can help develop ways to attract students who otherwise might not have applied, to open up opportunities to students from more diverse backgrounds.

"It’s important for those of us who have been students at Lancaster in the past to give back where we can, for us as alumni to support our own university and future students, helping them carry on the good work of producing good graduates and bringing people from diverse backgrounds into higher education."

"I chose to support this initiative primarily because I believe very strongly in education, and in particular assisting students who otherwise would not have a chance to pursue a university education. The fact that the Investors in Excellence Campaign is directed toward a world-class management school is another reason for my support. I am want to see Lancaster continue to excel.

"As Lancaster alumni, we have a responsibility to support the University to foster excellence. My wife and I have successful careers due, in large part, to the quality and calibre of education we received from Lancaster and to its reputation as a world-class university.

"I believe Lancaster’s reputation for top-quality education will continue to grow. But I also believe that, as alumni, we have a responsibility to foster this growth through continued financial support. Every one of Lancaster’s students and faculty is responsible for its top-notch reputation and for helping the University to excel in its role in developing the best researchers and talent to make the world a better place."

The BBA gave Cathie skills in finance, economics, management and – crucially – critical thinking and analysis that have been essential in a successful career. She hopes that through Investors in Excellence, others from family backgrounds where university is not seen as an obvious choice will be able to explore previously unexpected avenues.

“I’m really passionate about education,” says Cathie, who is hopeful her two children will follow in her higher education footsteps. “Having a degree really changed the course of my life. If I can help other people through university, enabling social mobility and allowing people from backgrounds where you don’t usually set your sights on university to achieve what they are capable of, then that’s something I prioritise.

“Being part of this is about saying that people from different backgrounds do go to university. It’s important to let people know there is a way, and that’s why I wanted to be involved.”

“The area which really hit home was around scholarships and hardship,” said Thomas. “I was privileged to be able to go to higher education, but I understand that personal financial situations can sometimes limit access. I think everybody should have the same opportunity to study and achieve their full potential; I hope the modest contribution I am making can help give someone that opportunity.

“I’ve seen people who would have benefited from this sort of support; have seen the impact it can have on careers. Without support, they might take out massive loans and then have to choose a job that might not be the one they wanted but rather the one that allowed them to pay off their debts, so Investors in Excellence gives me the potential to support students in that situation.”

He has felt an affinity with Lancaster ever since and wants to see the University continue to succeed.

“I have watched Lancaster University grow in stature over the years and I want the Management School to continue to grow,” says Ray, who completed two more Master's degrees after the age of 50. “I hope that my modest contribution as an Investor in Excellence will enable more young and old students to play a key role in the future prosperity of Britain. They deserve all the support and encouragement we can give them, and I fully recommend that other business leaders become Investors in Excellence.

“I’m nearly 85 now, and for a long time, I have been giving back and contributing to those organisations, charities and people who are important to me. In my heart, I have a great deal to thank Lancaster for, and I want to give back, to help the young people there.

“I have been a student myself. I won a scholarship from the Institute of Marketing, which supported me through my studies, and I want to support and encourage young people who are coming into their studies today. We have to support the younger generation because they are the drivers for the future and for prosperity.”

“I learnt many valuable things at Lancaster, academically and personally, and it is an experience which gave me the opportunity to completely change the trajectory of my life. I received a partial bursary which allowed me to reduce the student debt I left with, and I am happy to now be in a position to repay that to someone else, who I am sure will go on to do great things with their life and career. I hope more alumni join us and support students as well as great quality research.”