Peter Geoffrey Cullum

CBE 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 ...

(born 1950) is a British businessman and philanthropist. He previously served as the executive chairman of Towergate Partnership until April 2015.

Early life

Peter Geoffrey Cullum was born in September 1950 in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, England. In his youth, Cullum played for the Norwich City boys team and was a regular spectator at

Carrow Road Carrow Road is a association football, football stadium in Norwich, Norfolk, England, and is the home of EFL Championship club Norwich City F.C., Norwich City. The stadium is east of the city, near Norwich railway station and the River Wensum. ...

from the 1950s.

Career

Cullum began his insurance career in 1969 with the Royal Insurance Group and progressed to sales and marketing positions within Commercial Union and ITT London and Edinburgh where he became marketing director in 1988. At the age of 21, he became the youngest person to pass the Chartered Insurance Institute fellowship examinations. In 1991, Cullum joined Economic Insurance and led their return to profitability in 1993. In December 1993, he led the management buyout of Economic Insurance that was sold in 1995 to

Hiscox Hiscox Ltd. is an Anglo-Bermudan insurance provider, listed on the London Stock Exchange. An underwriter at Lloyd's of London, the company largely specialises in niche areas of the market, offering property and casualty insurance aimed at com ...

plc. He joined Hiscox as group marketing director, a role he held until he left in 1997 to create Towergate Underwriting Group. By 2010, his personal fortune was reportedly worth £1.7bn.

Norwich City F.C.

In 2008, Cullum offered

Norwich City F.C. Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

£20m, in return for becoming the majority shareholder. In November 2008, Cullum stated his determination not to ""just stand by as a spectator" if Norwich City was on the financial brink."
He also expressed his admiration for what

Delia Smith Delia Ann Smith (born 18 June 1941) is an English cook and television presenter, known for teaching basic cookery skills in a direct style. One of the best-known celebrity chefs in British popular culture, Smith has influenced viewers to bec ...

and

Michael Wynn-Jones Michael Wynn Jones (born September 1941) is a Welsh writer, editor and publisher. He is an honorary life president of Norwich City with his wife, the former television cook Delia Smith, and was previously the Joint Majority Shareholder of the cl ...

have achieved at the club:

"the two of them have been brilliant for Norwich City - and I've always said that. Every home and away game they are there. They've put a lot of their own personal wealth into this. If you happen to be Abramovich and you have stuck £10m into Norwich City, it's an accounting entry that barely covers the cost of a holiday. But here are two people who have put in a considerable amount of their total wealth. So I feel it's disappointing if they are now being seen by some as the devil incarnate. It's unkind and it's unfair."

Philanthropy

He has established the Cullum Family Trust Scholarships at the

Cass Business School Bayes Business School, formerly known as Cass Business School, is the business school of City St George's, University of London, located in St Luke's, just to the north of the City of London. It was established in 1966. Bayes Business School ...

in London, which gives scholarships of £10,000 to two MBA or MSc students every year. As a result, he was awarded an honorary doctorate of Science in Entrepreneurship by the school in 2007. He was appointed

Commander 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 ...

(CBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to business and charity.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cullum, Peter Living people 1950 births English business executives English philanthropists People associated with Bayes Business School Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Businesspeople from Norwich