Lord Waheed Alli

"Millionaire Waheed Alli, given a life peerage at the age of 34 in 1998, became the youngest and first openly gay peer in Parliament, and a man that Prime Minister Tony Blair believed could help him reach out to a younger generation...

"Lord Alli was seen as the antithesis of the stereotypical "establishment" peer - young, Asian and from the world of media and entertainment...

"In the mid-1980s Alli, living in fashionable Islington, got a job in the City and began earning big money.

"But he got bored of investment banking and formed a television production company with Charlie Parsons, a rising star of television.

"They teamed up with Bob Geldof in 1992 to form Planet 24 Productions, and through a series of shrewd deals - including their audacious win of Channel Four's breakfast slot - made a lot of money."

"He is a co-director of Castaway Television Productions, which controls all aspects of the "Survivor" format sales worldwide, and all its ancillary businesses...

"He is also a director of Shine Limited an independent production company formed with Elizabeth Murdoch, and Chairman of Chorion PLC an intellectual rights owner, and a non-exec director of other businesses.

"In 1998 he was appointed as a working Labour peer, and is active in The House of Lords.

"He is also a trustee of The Elton John Aids Foundation, and vice president of UNICEF."

"He is currently Chairman of Silvergate which was founded 2011. Silvergate is a media company that specialises in children's TV, publishing and merchandising. Lord Alli is currently a non-executive director of Olga Productions, a patron of The Elton John Aids Foundation, Chancellor of De Montfort University, President of the National Youth Theatre and a Trustee of WNET Channel 13 in New York."

Affiliations

 * Former Chair, Asos (replaced on November 1, 2012, by former Amazon director Brian McBride)
 * Founder, Venture Fund
 * Patron, FPA
 * Board of Governors, De Montfort University (since 2006)
 * Patron, Skillset
 * Patron, Albert Kennedy Trust
 * Trustee, Crimestoppers

Related Sourcewatch

 * David Miliband