Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha - Honorary Degree - University of Leicester

The University of Leicester has conferred the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws upon the founder of King Power Group and Chairman of Leicester City Football Club, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.

Mr Srivaddhanaprabha said: “I would like to express my thanks to the University of Leicester for this great honour and to the people of Leicester for the warm welcome they have extended to me, my family and colleagues since King Power first arrived in the city.

“I feel very fortunate because I do what I love, so I put love into everything I do. I came to the football industry with Leicester City because of my love for football and the Club and its fans have already repaid me several times over with their passion and loyalty. It is a great privilege to be the Chairman of this great Club and an accepted member of this wonderful community.

“What has impressed me the most is the people of Leicester and their united will for us to succeed. My family and I cannot achieve our ambitions for the Club alone, so an honour such as this is as much for the people of Leicester as it is for me.”

Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha is founder of King Power Group, one of Asia’s leading duty free retailers, and is the Chairman of Leicester City Football Club. He was a pioneer in an establishment of the duty free business in Thailand and has become one of Thailand’s leading businessmen.

He began his travel retail career in Hong Kong, returning to his native Thailand to open the country’s first downtown duty free shop as a joint venture with the Tourism Authority of Thailand, before expanding the business to Cambodia, Macau and China, as well as Thailand’s international airports.

Today, King Power Group operates the duty and tax free businesses at both the country’s airports and in city centres, and is the master commercial concessionaire at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport. The group has complemented its highly successful core retail activities to include other tourism and travel related business – theatre, restaurant and hotel and in-flight duty free business, and employs over 10,000 people. It is also committed to raising funds and actively participating in projects for the less privileged in society through the King Power Foundation.

In addition to his business interests, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha has a passion for sport, especially polo and football. He established an outdoor polo field in Thailand, ranked as one of the top international facilities, and has served as the President of Thailand Polo Association (TPA). In 2010, he acquired Leicester City Football Club, and currently serves as the Club’s Chairman.

This film was produced by External Relations, University of Leicester.