INDIAN origin businessman Dhruv Patel elected as the chairman of the City Bridge Trust Committee last week.
The founder of the City Hindus Network is the first ever black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) to reach the helm of London’s biggest independent grant provider.
Patel, 35, is also an elected member of the City of London Corporation since 2013.
He replaces Alison Gowman, who served her full three-year term.
City Bridge Trust is the funding arm of the City of London Corporation’s charity, Bridge House Estates, making charity grants of £20 million a year to tackle disadvantaged communities across the British capital.
Dhruv Patel, chairman of the City of London Corporation’s City Bridge Trust Committee, said: “…it is a great privilege to be in the leadership role of one of the UK’s most important supporters of civil society. Together we will continue to help give all London’s communities the opportunity to thrive, and give young people, in particular, the best possible start in life.”
Patel was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours for voluntary service to the British Hindu community.
The British Indian has business interests in property, retail pharmacy, and the London insurance market.
City Bridge Trust has awarded around 8,000 grants totalling over £400m since it started its operations in 1995.
