Prof. Peter Virdee, born and raised in Birmingham, brings his Sikh faith to his commitment to business and philanthropy in Britain. “Blessed is the godly person and the riches they possess because they can be used for charitable purposes and to give happiness”
Guru Amar Das, one of Sikhism’s ten gurus, is reported to have said. Working hard to generate wealth is good, but only if the fruits of one’s labours are distributed well.
‘Sewa’ or service to the community is essential to a Sikh.
For Prof. Peter Virdee, it was the property sector on an international level which attracted a trained biochemist with an eye for an opportunity. A founding partner of B&S Property, they manage assets over £4 billion globally. Then he diversified his interests, and today holdings in renewable energy (www.pvenergyltd.com), minerals trading (www.winckleytraders.com) and insurance brokerage (www.bircroft.co.uk) all speak to his experience of the international business environment.
Following on from the teachings of Guru Granth Sahib Ji, a seminal Sikh thinker who said “A place in God’s court can only be attained if we do service to others in this world”, Prof. Peter Virdee has taken his passion into the charitable sector. The Virdee Foundation(www.thevirdeefoundation.com), set up in 2011, aims to relieve the needs of women and children who have or are in danger of suffering mental, physical or sexual abuse.
Sikhism stands out among world religions as one of the most gender-neutral. This much is clear in the aims of the charities supported by Prof. Peter, but the fundamental premise behind his thinking in this regard is to change all people’s lives for the better.
He is a patron of the NSPCC (www.nspcc.org.uk) and in support of this charity has played a substantial role as a donor in the building of Hargreaves Centre in Merseyside.
Prof. Peter Virdee is also on the board of the English National Opera, and proud to be its first Sikh Patron. He is also on the philanthropy advisory board of Coutts & Co. Just as charity in his chosen faith begins with caring for the family, and follows on from hard work, for Prof. Peter Virdee the attraction of successful business is all about engaging leadership around central human concerns.
As such, he continues to play a part in new business and philanthropic ventures, particularly ones that celebrate both his sense of being a Sikh, and being British.