Karan Bilimoria DL, founder and Chief executive of Cobra Beer has been named Asian of the Year 2002. The award coincides with the 15th edition of the Asian Who's Who, a book that symbolises the success and contributions of British Asians. At a glittering function held at the Grosvenor Hotel in London, Home Secretary, The Rt. Hon. David Blunkett, MP and Gurdip Singh Gurjal CBE, the outgoing Asian of the year (2001), presented the award to Karan.

Karan in his acceptance speech stated: "When I first came to Britain I was told that as an Asian, if you wanted to succeed there was only so far you could go before you hit a glass ceiling. What I have come to learn from creating Cobra Beer from scratch and against all odds in the most competitive beer market in the world, is that if you have the passion, drive and aspiration to succeed, there is no greater or more meritocratic country in which to achieve this than Great Britain."

Karan commended the Indian Restaurant industry and credited those in the trade as an outstanding example of entrepreneurial spirit and admired their contribution to the economy. Restaurant owners and employees have integrated with and enriched their local communities, where many establishments support charitable organisations of all types. Karan added that the support of the Indian restaurant industry has been pivotal in shaping the success of Cobra Beer and he will always be grateful for this.

Karan also expressed words of gratitude to his wonderful team at Cobra along with all suppliers, distributors, customers and well wishers for all their support.

He went on to say: "I believe that in Britain, there is the opportunity for anyone to succeed regardless of race, religion or background. The Asian community is doing well in the UK in every field including business, politics, sports, medicine and the arts. I am fortunate to feel equally at home in both the UK and India, and I am proud of my Zoroastrian, Parsi roots, my Indian heritage, being Asian and being British.

To receive this award is extraordinarily important to me and I will treasure it. I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to those past winners who have truly inspired me. Their own passion and commitment to achieve all odds has been of great importance to me. Our vision a Cobra is to aspire and achieve against all the odds, and I sincerely hope that my winning this award will be an inspiration to a new generation of young Asians to follow their dreams and achieve to the very highest level."

Past recipients of the Asian of the year Award include: Lord Swraj Paul. Imran Khan, Baroness Flather JP, DL, Lord Dholakia OBE, DL, Lord Bhikhu Parekh, Raj Loomba, Liza Aziz, Nazmu Virani, Keith Vaz MP, Gurdip Singh Gurjal CBE, Sir Gulam Noon MBE and Sir Anwar Pervez OBE.

Karan was also presented the Executive Association of Great Britain's Outstanding Achievement Award in 2002, and in 2001 was the recipient of the India - NRI Millennium Honour, awarded to him by the Non-Resident Indian Institute, UK.

After having qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Ernst and Young, London, and graduated in Law from Cambridge University, in 1990 Karan Bilimoria develop a less gassy Indian lager designed to perfectly complement Indian cuisine and appeal to ale drinkers. Twelve years later, Cobra Beer is one of the fastest growing beer brands in the UK and was ranked in the 1999 Sunday times Virgin Atlantic Fast Track 100. The brand has a current retail value turnover approaching £50 million and is sold in over 5000 Indian restaurants and leading multiples throughout the UK, and has been exported to over 30 countries.

In 1999 Karan launched the General Bilmoria Wine brand, which is now the house wine of hundreds of Indian restaurants, including the two Indian restaurants awarded Michelin Stars this year and many other top London establishments.

Karan is a member of the Government's National Employment Panel and is the Chairman of the Panel's Small and Medium Sized Enterprise (SME) Board. He is a Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London and has recently been appointed a Mentor in the Joint Police Mentoring Initiative. He is a Governor of Thames Valley University and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. In addition, Karan is a committee member of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Asian Business Association and a charter and board member of TiE UK. He is a member of the Young Presidents' Organisation. Karan is also a member of the Bank of England - LCCI / Asian Business Association Panel; the President's Committee of London First and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office - UK India Consultative Group.

Karan is a guest a lecturer at Cranfield University School of Management, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, the Cambridge University Business School (The Judge Institute of Management) and the London Business School.

Karan directly supports a number of charities and is patron of the Thare Mache Starfish Initiative, vice patron of the Memorial Gates Trust and chairman of the advisory board of the Shrimati Pushpa Wati Loomba Memorial Trust for the education of children of poor widows in India.

This year's banquet was dedicated to the late Mrs Kanwaljit Sachar, who passed away earlier this year. At the awards, Mr Sachar, founder and publisher of Asian Who's Who launched a charity, The Kanwaljit Sachar Foundation in memory of his wife. The foundation aims to have an annual lecture in Mrs Sachar's memory and will provide support for education and charitable causes with the emphasis on children.

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