Vahid Alaghband

Vahid Alaghband is a British-Iranian international commodities trader and entrepreneur based in London. He is founder and chairman of Mayfair-based Balli Group PLC. In 2008the Sunday Times Rich List estimated his personal fortune at £130 million.

He was educated in Switzerland and the USA, where he received his BS and MS degrees in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at Cornell University, He is a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, a trustee of Asia House London and an International Council Member of Asia Society New York.

Vahid Alaghband was formerly Chair of The Iran Heritage Foundation is a non-political UK registered charity with the mission to promote and preserve the history, languages and cultures of Iran and the Persian world. The objectives of the Foundation are pursued by organising, on a worldwide basis, diverse activities of cultural or scholarly merit. IHF programmes include academic research, publishing and fellowships at top universities such as Oxford, Cambridge, St Andrews, and Exeter and at museums in the United Kingdom and abroad. Most recently, the IHF launched its Institutional Partnership Programme with posts supported at the Universities of Cambridge, Edinburgh, and St Andrews and at the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Freer and Sackler Galleries, Smithsonian Institution.

In 2009, Iran Heritage Foundation in association with the British Museum opened the 'Shah 'Abbas: the remaking of Iran' exhibition, Vahid Alaghband, Chairman of the Iranian Heritage Foundation and Group Chairman of Balli Group (http://www.balli.co.uk/ ), commented: "Shah 'Abbas was the most eminent ruler of the Safavid dynasty in Persia who, with his military successes and efficient administrative system, raised Iran to the status of a great power. When he died his dominions extended from the Tigris to the Indus. Through trade and diplomacy he fostered good relations with Europe and welcomed European diplomats in Iran, whilst ushering in a golden period for Persian art. He commissioned many beautiful works of art, grand architecture and restored major monuments across the country. Today, his legacy lives on, in the magnificent buildings of Isfahan and through his opulent gifts found in many Iranian holy shrines.