Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Business Secretary Sajid Javid, has bestowed an honorary KBE (Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) on Dr Hermann Hauser in recognition of his valuable services to engineering and industry.
Hermann Hauser, who was born in Vienna, Austria, received the honour for his extraordinary contribution to entrepreneurship in the UK as a serial innovator and technology investor for over 30 years - playing a vital role in the growth of Cambridges cluster of high-tech companies.
Hermann Hauser has been a founding director of many companies, including Acord Computers and ARM Holdings which remains one of the UKs leading listed technology companies and has supported countless others too. In 1997 he launched Amadeus Capital Partners, one of the UKs first major venture capital funds, which over the past 19 years has funded and supported more than 100 young companies.
With this success, Dr Hauser has become highly influential in the development of innovation policy, contributing in many ways to government science and innovation policy. He was a highly valued member of the Prime Ministers Council for Science and Technology from 2004 until recently, and a member of the Advisory Board on the Higher Education Innovation Fund. His 2010 report led directly to the establishment of the Catapult Technology and Innovation Centres which are helping deliver a step change in the UKs ability to commercialise research.
Dr Hauser - a Fellow of the Royal Society, Royal Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Physics, and the Royal Society of Chemistry has also made charitable donations in excess of 10 million through his personal foundation to advance education and health.
Speaking at the event, Business Secretary Sajid Javid said:
Since Hermann was awarded an Honorary CBE in 2001, his contribution to the UK has continued to grow and he has been increasingly influential in national policy and in supporting technology entrepreneurship.
He has dedicated his career to engineering and furthering technological advances across industries and it gives me great pleasure to recognise his unprecedented achievements.
The awards ceremony was conducted on 29 June 2016 at the Royal Society.
Notes to editors:
Non-British citizens are not entitled to receive their honour from the Queen at Buckingham Palace and are instead presented with their awards by the relevant Secretary of State.