50th Anniversary

The Faithettes

Celebrations Day: Evening Gala dinner

The final phase of our anniversary Celebrations Day will be an evening of fine dining and entertainment with the day’s key speakers rejoining us to reflect on the past, present and future.

We invite our community of faculty, staff, alumni and corporate friends to rejoin us for an evening to remember as we draw our Celebrations Day to a close. The evening will commence with a champagne reception, before proceeding with a black tie gala dinner hosted by British comedy icon Sir Lenny Henry, OBE. As Co-Founder of the British Comic Relief charity organisation, Lenny understands the importance of investing in future generations, an ethos at the very heart of our plans for the next 50 years. Lenny will be introducing our guest speakers before the night breaks into music and dance with The Faithettes; acclaimed singer songwriter Paloma Faith’s backing group. The internationally known 11-piece band will be entertaining guests with a ‘through the decades’ performance, celebrating the greatest hits of the last 50 years.

With guest speakers from Cranfield’s key faculty and a host of entertainment extras, the night will certainly be one to remember as we celebrate 50 years of Cranfield School of Management with our valued community. • Champagne reception • Welcome speech by Sir Peter Gregson • Evening Host Sir Lenny Henry, OBE • Reflections by Professor Maury Peiperl • 11-piece live band The Faithettes • Entertainment extras To purchase tickets to our Celebrations Day, please visit http://tinyurl.com/ CranfieldSoM50-ticket . Please contact Michelle Mabbett, Head of Projects at som50@cranfield.ac.uk if you wish to discuss any of our anniversary activities further.

Sir Peter Gregson

Professor Maury Peiperl

Sir Lenny Henry OBE

Sir Peter Gregson was appointed Chief Executive and Vice-Chancellor of Cranfield University in August 2013 and has been an integral part of the university’s development. We are delighted to welcome him to the stage to kick-start our anniversary gala dinner with some valued insight into the role of Cranfield School of Management within the University, the impact made by the staff, faculty and alumni, and where he hopes the next 50 years will take us.

As Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Director of Cranfield School of Management since February 2015, Maury is at the epicentre of the School’s current energy and enthusiasm. We are excited to hear his reflections at the gala dinner on why we should be proud and why we should be celebrating. He will be unveiling some of the great work taking place along with a celebratory film that details our journey from our origins as a Work-Study Group to a world-leading business school.

Lenny is the Co-Founder of Comic Relief and a British comedy icon, significantly contributing to Red Nose Day and the Comic Relief educational programme. Accoladed as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy and a household name since 1975, he received a Knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II in 2015 for his services to drama and charity. We are delighted to welcome Lenny to host the School of Management’s 50th anniversary gala dinner.

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