James Alexandroff OBE

Doctor of Laws

Monday 13 July 2026 - Orator: Professor Michele Acuto

Chancellor,

James Alexandroff is a pioneering investor, philanthropist and changemaker. He is also an alumnus of the University and a friend. His story is a masterclass in combining great talent with social conscience to transform hundreds of thousands of lives. His contribution goes beyond philanthropy. He is a champion for Bristol, an advisor and a keen ear to many of us in leadership, and he has left a unique mark on this University.

Though if you had given him a peek into his future upon his graduation from this very university, he may not quite have believed it would turn out this way.

When James completed his Law degree from the University of Bristol, he seemingly did not have a clear plan. He fell into an initial career in shipping, first as a management trainee, then a litigation solicitor. By his own frank admission, he was not especially good at either. James has always been too modest. Uncertain about what lay ahead and confused about the best next step, he spent a year unemployed.

The turning point arrived on a beach at Arisaig in Scotland and a chance encounter with an old friend. He learned of a vacancy on the Far East desk at the fund management firm where his friend worked, and James followed that lead. He became an investment analyst in Edinburgh and – at age 28 – finally found a career he enjoyed. Three years later, he moved to Hong Kong to invest in smaller listed businesses across emerging markets of India, China and South Korea.

For anyone in this room who has ever stared at a blank horizon and wondered what comes next, take heart: you are in exceptional company. I surely count myself lucky to have had the chance to be in the company of James.

In just a few years, James co-founded a boutique investment management firm in Singapore. Arisaig Partners was named after that very beach in Scotland where his fortune changed. It quickly became widely recognised for its ultra-long-term investment horizon and adherence to strong environmental, social and governance principles. By 2020, the firm managed $4.5 billion in assets and a pioneering stance for responsible investment.

Yet perhaps the most extraordinary dimension of James’ career came next. He transferred his one-third stake in the firm to a family trust called the Perivoli Trust and, twenty years later, handed over ownership of the firm to the next generation of employees, on the condition that they did the same to those who followed.

James began to consider what best to do with the wealth accumulated into the Perivoli Trust. Having grown up in Uganda, he felt great affinity for philanthropic investment in Africa. Direction was provided, once again, by circumstances of a loved one. In 2012, James’ daughter set up a nursery in Namibia and spoke to her father of the challenges faced by teachers, children and families due to the lack of available resources. He began to understand the importance of early years education and its impact on future poverty and early pregnancy in girls. The Perivoli Schools Trust was established.

Since 2012, it has trained over 15,000 nursery schoolteachers across four countries reaching over 600,000 children, with an ambition to reach 200,000 nursery schoolteachers across nine countries by 2035. In the 2023 New Year Honours, he was deservedly awarded an OBE for his services to education in Africa. We hope to top that now with this degree.

An especially striking testament to James' vision is the elegant architecture of giving he has built around the Perivoli name. Perivoli Innovations, an impact venture capital trust investing in early-stage life sciences, medical technology, climate technology and digital businesses channels its profits directly into the Perivoli Foundation. From there, support flows to the Perivoli Africa Research Centre at the University of Bristol, which champions genuinely equal research partnerships between UK and African universities on challenges ranging from water usage to gender rights. The Perivoli Climate Trust, meanwhile, funds Africa-focused climate research led by African institutions and the Perivoli Rangeland Institute works to restore degraded land in Namibia.

James has remained a partner of progress with this university for many years, supporting spin-out companies and serving on the Enterprise Fund Investment Committee, the Development Board and the Centenary Campaign Board. In my early days as Pro-Vice-Chancellor, he kindly listened, asked pointed questions, and offered a friendly and helpful voice as I learned about the University (even if I awkwardly took him for our first date to eat by the pool at the Lido). I’m grateful he gave me a chance, as he has so many others, offering inquisitive advice along the way in a truly collegial and Bristolian fashion.

James left the University of Bristol without a five-year plan or a clear set of career goals, but he has built something extraordinary: a philanthropic model that is genuinely sustainable, designed to grow and give in perpetuity. It is an entire ecosystem of giving, rooted in the belief that wealth, properly directed, can transform lives on a global scale.

I present to you James Michael Alexandroff as eminently worthy of the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.