David Lovell Burbidge, (born 15 October 1943) was Chairman of the

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) is a British orchestra based in Birmingham, England. It is the resident orchestra at Symphony Hall, Birmingham in Birmingham, which has been its principal performance venue since 1991. Its adminis ...

(CBSO) & chaired the successful Sounds of the Future Campaign to raise £12.5m, former chairman of the Coventry City of Culture Trust having led the successful campaign to win the 2021

UK City of Culture UK City of Culture is a designation given to a local area (specifically a city before 2025) in the United Kingdom for a period of one calendar year, during which the successful bidder hosts cultural festivities through culture-led regeneratio ...

title, Chairman of Burbidge & Son Ltd and also a deputy lieutenant of the West Midlands, former board member of the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

(RSC), founding chairman of Furniture Makers Hall and

Freeman of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

(1979).

Early life

Burbidge was born on 15 October 1943, and educated at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by royal charter, to replace the town's Saxon collegiate foundations which were disestablished in the sixteenth century, Shrewsb ...

and then

Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, University Museum a ...

where he achieved a Master of Arts in Law. Now a businessman and philanthropist noted mainly for his work in arts and culture. His roles have included High Sheriff of the West Midlands County, Councillor on the

Warwick District Warwick is a local government district in Warwickshire, England. It is named after the historic county town of Warwick, which is the district's second largest town; the largest town is Royal Leamington Spa, where the council is based. The district ...

Council, Chairman of the

Belgrade Theatre The Belgrade Theatre is a live performance venue in Coventry, England. It was the first civic theatre to be built in Britain after the Second World War and is now a Grade II listed building. Background Coventry was the fastest growing city in ...

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

and Chairman of the Central Campaign for the transformation project of the Royal Shakespeare theatres. He also enjoys painting,

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...

and

real tennis Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original racquet sport from which the modern game of tennis (also called "lawn tennis") is derived. It is also known as court tennis in the United Sta ...

in his leisure time .

Current roles

Burbidge was chair of the

. Chairman of Burbidge & Son Ltd, a Coventry manufacturer of bespoke high-quality kitchen and bathroom furniture. He is a Deputy Lieutenant of the West Midlands. Owner of Cedar House Gardens & Arboretum (www.cedarhousegardens.co.uk) and is a member of the National Garden Scheme charity.

Previous roles

Burbidge's previous roles have included former chairman of the Coventry City of Culture Trust between 2015 and 2022, having successfully secured victory for Coventry in the

title; non-executive chairman of Burbidge Capital Limited in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

between 2010 and 2016, also a main board member of the

(RSC) between 2008 and 2014 and Honorary Governor until 2024. He was chairman of the Central Campaign for the £112 million transformation project of the

Royal Shakespeare Theatre The Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RST) (originally called the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre) is a Grade II* listed 1,040+ seat thrust stage theatre owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company dedicated to the English playwright and poet William Shakespea ...

s at

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon (district), Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of Engl ...

which achieved successful completion in 2010. He was also a chairman of the

RSC RSC may refer to: Arts * Royal Shakespeare Company, a British theatre company * Reduced Shakespeare Company, a touring American acting troupe * Richmondshire Subscription Concerts, a music society in Richmond, North Yorkshire, England * Rock Ste ...

Pension Fund Trustees, plus a member of the RSC Audit and Investment Committees. He was a director of the Albany Piccadilly Trustee Companies. He was a governor and founding chairman of the development board of

Compton Verney Art Gallery Compton Verney Art Gallery is an art gallery at Compton Verney, Warwickshire, England. It is housed in Compton Verney House, a restored Grade I listed 18th-century mansion surrounded by of parkland which was landscaped by Lancelot 'Capabili ...

between 2009 and 2011, and a member of the development board of

Garsington Opera Garsington Opera is an annual summer opera festival founded in 1989 by Leonard Ingrams. The Philharmonia Orchestra and The English Concert are its two resident orchestras. For 21 years it was held in the gardens of Ingrams's home at Garsingto ...

for the move to Wormsley Estate,

Stokenchurch Stokenchurch is a village and civil parish in south-west Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the Chiltern Hills, about south of Chinnor in Oxfordshire and west of High Wycombe. Stokenchurch is a commuter village, served by junction 5 o ...

from 2010 to 2012. He was the Master of the Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers from 2004 to 2005 and was the founding chairman of Furniture Makers Hall between 2005 and 2012, He was instrumental in the acquisition and establishment of Furniture Makers Hall, where the Court Room is named after him. He was also chairman of the

, Coventry from 2001 to 2008, where he led a £14m campaign to build a new auditorium B2, new foyer and reception areas. The Burbidge room is named after him. His roles have also included being founding chairman of the

Coventry Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael, commonly known as Coventry Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry within the Church of England. The cathedral is located in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midla ...

Development Trust, responsible for raising more than £5 million in funds for the Cathedral ministry and for endowment 1992 to 2005. He was director of the

Coventry Building Society The Coventry Building Society is a building society based in Coventry, England. It is the second largest in the United Kingdom with total assets of more than £62 billion at 31 December 2023. It is a member of the Building Societies Assoc ...

for two decades also chairman of the associated £50m pension fund between 1981 and 2005 He was a councillor on the

Council, between 1972 and 1975 and President of the City of Coventry Scout County from 1996 to 2008. He became High Sheriff of the

West Midlands County West Midlands is a Metropolitan county, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the larger West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of England. A landlocked county, it is bordered by Staffordshire to the north ...

, in 1990/1991. Under Burbidge's leadership in 1995/6, Burbidge & Son pioneered the introduction of Japanese World Class Manufacturing techniques into the furniture manufacturing sector. His company became an exemplar hosting visits for the West Midlands Manufacturing Challenge and nationally for UK First. He was a keynote speaker at conferences around the UK. He was also a guest lecturer for MSc courses in Manufacturing Strategy at the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...

Honours

Burbidge was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the 1998 Queen's Birthday Honours in recognition of his services to

. He was promoted to Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the

2016 Queen's Birthday Honours The 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as p ...

in recognition of his services to cultural philanthropy in the West Midlands.

Awards

Honorary Doctor of Letters (Hon DLitt) in recognition of significant contribution to arts & culture in the West Midlands, was awarded by the

in July 2017. Honorary Doctor of Laws (Hon LLD) in recognition of significant charitable and fundraising work by

Coventry University Coventry University is a Public university, public research university in Coventry, England. The origins of Coventry University can be linked to the Coventry School of Art and Design, Coventry School of Design in 1843. It was known as Lancheste ...

– November 2015 Awarded The Coventry Award of Merit in 2015 which was established by

Coventry City Council Coventry City Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the city of Coventry in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Coventry has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasi ...

as a means to acknowledge and honour a model citizen for outstanding performance in a field which enhances the good name of the City of Coventry. Arts & Business West Midlands Culture Champion 2012 in recognition of leadership for the regional fundraising campaign of the transformation of the Royal Shakespeare & Swan Theatres, Stratford-upon-Avon. Coventry Evening Telegraph Special Honour awarded for outstanding contribution to business & industry – 2002.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burbidge, David Lovell Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Deputy lieutenants of the West Midlands (county) High sheriffs of the West Midlands Alumni of Keble College, Oxford English theatre directors People educated at Shrewsbury School Living people 1943 births