Ilyas Khan

Ilyas Tariq Khan was raised in Lancashire (North West England).[1] His grandparents emigrated to Britain in the 1930s. His early schooling was in the old Lancashire Pennine mill towns of Haslingden and then Accrington.[2]

When Khan was at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, he stayed at Netherhall House,[3] an Opus Dei student hall of residence. Although he was born a Muslim whilst at Netherhall House he became interested in Catholicism and especially the work of 20th century theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar [4] and of John Henry Newman.

Khan is a merchant banker by training and started his career at the London firm of J. Henry Schroder Wagg & Co. Ltd. He was also the owner of the English football team Accrington Stanley[5] and the founder and publisher of the Asia Literary Review.[6]

Khan is the non executive senior partner of Stanhill Capital Partners,[7] a merchant banking business with a focus on natural resources which he founded in 1998, during the 20 years (1989–2009) he spent living and working in Hong Kong. He was also one of the founding directors of Australia-based White Energy Company.

In 2015 Khan founded Cambridge Quantum Computing,[8] and he has also published on the subject of Quantum Information Processing.[9]

He is a Fellow of St Edmund's College, Cambridge[10] and is also a fellow of the Judge Business School, where he is the "Leader in Residence".[11] His special interests include philanthropy and Wittgenstein, and he is a member of the British Wittgenstein Society.

Khan has lectured and published papers on Ludwig Wittgenstein, among other subjects.[12][13]

Between 2015-2018 Khan served as chairman of the Stephen Hawking Foundation, which was established on the initiative of Professor Stephen Hawking to further the study of Cosmology, Astrophysics and Fundamental Particle Physics and to facilitate research into Motor Neuron Disease / Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (MND/ALS).[14]

Khan served two terms as the chairman of the prominent British charity Leonard Cheshire Disability (LCD) [15]— the largest organization of its kind in the world, with a presence in over 50 countries.[16]

Khan is the chairman of Topos Institute,[17] a non-profit research institute devoted to shaping technology for public benefit by advancing sciences of connection and integration.

Khan is a patron of the Christian Heritage Centre at Stonyhurst,[18] which aims to make the collections and resources at Stonyhurst College more widely accessible. The project has the support of Lord and Lady Nicholas Windsor, Lord Guthrie, and Lord David Alton.[18]

In September 2015 Pope Francis elevated Khan to a Knight of the Order of St Gregory the Great for his contribution to the Church and community.[19]

In 2015 Khan ranked 21st in The Tablet's list of Britain's most influential lay Catholics.[20][21]

Khan was listed in the Catholic Herald 'Catholics of Today' supplement in November 2019, profiling leading Catholics in a wide range of spheres and industries.[22]

Khan is married to Mara Hotung, daughter of Eric Hotung and great-granddaughter of Sir Robert Hotung.

• Leonard Cheshire Disability
• University of Cambridge Judge Business School
• Accrington Stanley Football Club
• British Wittgenstein Society
• Asia Literary Review
• Stanhill Capital Partners
• White Energy Company
• Touchstone Gold
• National Catholic Register
• Catholic News profile
• Ramsgate Treasures
• Stephen Hawking Foundation