Tej Lalvani (born 13 July 1974) is a British businessman and the CEO of the UK's largest vitamin company Vitabiotics, founded by his father Kartar Lalvani. He is best known for being one of the "Dragons" on the

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television series '' Dragons' Den'' from 2017 to 2021.

Early life and business career

Lalvani grew up in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

, Southern India, and spent his childhood between India and the United Kingdom before settling in London when he was 16. He graduated with a bachelor's degree from Westminster Business School at the

University of Westminster The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Po ...

in 1996, and started his career working in the warehouse of his father's company Vitabiotics, before succeeding him as CEO. Along with his wife, Lalvani runs a property investment business in London. In 2012, Lalvani was named Young Entrepreneur at the Asian Business Awards as well as Young Entrepreneur of the Year by TiE in 2013. In October 2017, he ranked at number 48 on the GG2 Power List of the most influential Asian people in Britain. In November 2020, Lalvani was included on The Grocer's NPD Power List. He was awarded this based on his contribution to and innovation in the UK grocery industry during the pandemic. Lalvani shares his business insight and experience across various social platforms - most notably, LinkedIn. In 2020, he was named one of LinkedIn’s ‘Top UK Voices’. In November 2021, the University of Westminster awarded him with an honorary doctorate. In May 2022, the University of Westminster appointed Lalvani as a visiting professor at Westminster Business School.

''Dragons' Den''

Lalvani succeeded Nick Jenkins as the next "dragon" on ''Dragons' Den'' in 2017. In January 2021, Lalvani announced his departure from the show to focus on the expansion of his business. Series 18, which was his final series, started in spring 2021.

Personal life

Lalvani is of Indian descent. The Lalvani family is of Hindu and Sikh Sindhi heritage. In 2011, Lalvani married Tara Ruby in London. His mother is a former Miss India and a

Miss World Miss World is the oldest existing international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. Since his death in 2000, Morley's widow, Julia Morley, has co-chaired the pageant. Along with Miss Universe, Mi ...

runner-up. Lalvani lives in London and aside from his business interests, he composes music and plays drums, keyboard and guitar. According to the '' Sunday Times Rich List'' in May 2019, he has a net worth of £390 million.

References

External links

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Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lalvani, Tej Alumni of the University of Westminster English businesspeople English television personalities English people of Sindhi descent BBC people Living people 1974 births Tej English people of Indian descent British businesspeople of Indian descent Businesspeople from Bengaluru Dragons' Den