Tributes paid to a business champion who helped save Jaguar Land Rover

Tributes have been paid to a business champion who died today (Friday 1 March) due to illness.

Professor Lord Bhattacharyya, Chairman of WMG at the University of Warwick, passed away after a short illness.

He was responsible for helping to bring Tata to the city and brokered the deal which led to the revitalisation of Jaguar Land Rover.

Coventry City Council says he helped make a difference to the city.

In a joint statement the Leader of Coventry City Council, Cllr George Duggins, and Deputy Leader, Cllr Abdul Salam Khan, said the impact of Lord Bhattacharyya’s work could never truly be measured, and he had been fundamental in leading Coventry towards a bright future.

Lord Bhattacharyya was behind the Warwick Manufacturing Group, based in Coventry. It is one of the world’s top applied research centres, with a reputation for academic excellence and business results.

His work resulted in the creation of the new National Automotive Innovation Centre, bringing in international research leaders to the city and giving them the equipment and facilities to develop ground-breaking designs and technological breakthroughs.

He also won the right to build an £80m Battery Industrialisation Centre to serve the entire UK automotive industry and in cutting-edge research for autonomous and electric vehicles.

Lord Bhattacharyya also had a road named after him.