Seven new Deputy Lieutenants have been commissioned in honour of their service to the local community.
The Lord-Lieutenant of Leicestershire Mike Kapur OBE, made the appointments at a special virtual ceremony on Friday 18th February.
The new Deputy Lieutenants are:
- Professor Robert Allison CBE
- Mr Ian Borley
- Professor Ivan Browne
- Ms Penny Coates
- Dr Nik Kotecha
- Ms Eileen Perry (Richards) MBE
- Mr Mike Sandys
The Lord-Lieutenant is the official representative of Her Majesty The Queen in Leicester and Leicestershire.
Deputy Lieutenants undertake a wide range of duties and engagements including representing the Lord-Lieutenant and participating in citizenship ceremonies, attending remembrance services and parades, and helping to assess local organisations nominated for awards and honours.
The lieutenancy has enjoyed longstanding links with the uniformed services and with local community and voluntary organisations of Leicester and Leicestershire.
“These links are further enhanced following the appointments of these very deserving candidates.
Person:Mike Kapur OBE, Lord Lieutenant of LeicestershireAbout the new Deputy Lieutenants:
Professor Robert Allison CBE is the recently retired vice-chancellor of Loughborough University.
As the university’s senior ambassador, he fostered engagement, reflected through partnerships brokered with the likes of the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi, the University of Queensland and the Michigan Institute of Technology.
He also helped bring two national centres of medicine and engineering to the university.
Mr Ian Borley has been a chartered accountant for 32 years. After leaving Leicester Polytechnic in 1985, Ian joined Peat Marwick Mitchell & Co (now KPMG), where he qualified in 1989 and was made a partner in 1997.
In 2007, he was appointed senior partner of KPMG’s Leicester office and, in 2014, and senior partner of the entire East Midlands practice.
Having retired from KPMG in 2020, Ian now runs his own consultancy practice, Borley Consulting Limited, advising local businesses.
For most of his professional career, Ian has served clients in and around Leicestershire and he has also been an active and leading member of the local business community.
Professor Ivan Browne is the director of public health for Leicester City Council and has been in the public service for over 30 years, within both local authorities and the NHS.
Ivan is also an honorary professor of public health practice at De Montfort University and pro-chancellor of the university.
He has been awarded the President’s Medal for services to public health.
Following his own challenges within the state education system, he is a keen advocate for the development of supportive and equitable learning environments for young people from black and underserved communities.
Ivan is also passionate about exploring and implementing innovative ways to tackle the significant levels of health inequality that are prevalent within multi-cultural urban environments like Leicester.
Ms Penny Coates has worked on various schemes with royal backing, becoming a Queens Guide and gold Duke of Edinburgh award holder, before later leading Princes’ Trust visits for the region whilst in the role of managing director at East Midlands Airport subsequently managing all four airports in the Manchester Airports Group.
Penny has developed her career to non-executive, advisory and trustee positions, allowing her to give back into the community that had supported her.
She is currently involved with many voluntary roles, including as chair of the East Midlands Freeport Bid’, deputy chair of Chester Zoo, trustee of the National Space Centre and trustee of the Heart of the National Forest.
Dr Nik Kotecha is the director and chairman of Morningside Pharmaceuticals based in Loughborough.
Nik Is also on the Loughborough Town Deal Board as co-chair, the LLEP as a board director, the Midlands Engine Council as a health board member, the Chair of the CBI Regional Council and a BGMA board member.
Nik is the founder and chair of the Randal Charitable Foundation, Randalsun Capital and Blue Skies Investments. Up until December 2021, Nik was also a LOROS Board Trustee.
Mrs Eileen Perry (Richards) MBE is the managing director for ER Recruitment, which is based in Leicester.
Eileen was formerly president for the East Midlands Chamber of Commerce, and also co-chair of Enterprising Woman and a board director for the chamber.
In November 2018 Eileen was awarded an MBE for female entrepreneurship and is also vice-chair for Hope Against Cancer and pro-chancellor for De Montfort University.
Mr Mike Sandys is the director of public health for Leicestershire County Council and has been in that role since 2014. He is also director of public health at Rutland County Council.
Mike has 30 years’ experience of public health, serving communities in the East Midlands and the North West of England with six years-experience as a national council member on the Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH) for the East Midlands.
Mike is an honorary associate professor in public health at the University of Leicester and an ad-hoc member of the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence Committees.
Mike is also a Trustee of Active Partnerships, which is a national physical activity charitable company, based in Leicestershire and Rutland. He is also vice-chair of the local active partnership (known as Active Together) for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.