About
Entrepreneurship. Board leadership. A wider view.
More than 25 years building businesses. Multiple exits. Board responsibilities across business, government and regulation. And a continuing exploration of the people and ideas shaping our world.

Vikas Shah MBE DL is a British entrepreneur, investor and board director with more than 25 years' experience building and leading businesses. His own companies have been acquired by trade, private-equity and listed groups, and his investment portfolio has produced multiple eight-figure exits. Today, he works across government, regulation and high-growth technology, bringing an operator's judgement to complex organisations and ambitious founders.
Vikas serves on the Board of the Institute of Directors and as a Non-Executive Director of the Solicitors Regulation Authority and Certo Aerospace. He sits on the Departmental Board of the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero, where he chairs the Audit, Risk & Assurance Committee, and chairs the Advisory Board of Innovate UK ICURe.
Alongside his board portfolio, Vikas is Partner at venture lab Endgame, Chairman of AI company Rdentify, and a Board Advisor to Enspec Power, Smart-IR and Red Flag Alert. He is also Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Manchester Innovation Factory.
Since 2007, Vikas has interviewed more than 600 of the world's most influential figures through Thought Economics, his journal of ideas and leadership read in more than 120 countries. Thought Economics was named an Official Honoree for Best Writing (Editorial) at the Webby Awards in five consecutive years, 2012 to 2016, and his interview archive is held by the University of Salford. His book, Thought Economics, was published by Michael O'Mara Books in 2021.
Vikas was awarded an MBE for services to business and the economy and serves as a Deputy Lieutenant of Greater Manchester. He is a Trustee of Chester Zoo, an Honorary Professor at the University of Salford and at Alliance Manchester Business School, holds an honorary appointment at Lancaster University Management School, and was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Business Administration by the University of Salford.
Honours & appointments
- MBE
- Services to Business and the Economy, 2018
- Deputy Lieutenant
- Greater Manchester Lieutenancy, 2021
- Freedom of the City of London
- 2013
- Honorary Doctorate (DBA)
- University of Salford, 2022
- Honorary Professor
- Alliance Manchester Business School & University of Salford
- Honorary appointment
- Lancaster University Management School
- Webby Awards Official Honoree
- Best Writing (Editorial), five consecutive years, 2012–2016
- The Vikas Shah Archive
- Held by the University of Salford Library
In the press
Selected interviews, profiles and appointments.
Original headlines, as published.
Interviews & profiles
- Harvard Business Review2021Why Therapy Can Make You Better at Your JobOn mental health, therapy and their influence on his leadership, for HBR’s The Anxious Achiever.
- BBC Radio Manchester2022In conversation with Asma YounusOn donating his archive of interviews with world leaders, celebrities and sportspeople to the University of Salford.
- gunnercookeInterview with Vikas Shah MBE DL – the importance of conversationMental health recovery, leadership, work-life boundaries and the responsibilities of business leaders to their communities.
- NuroleHow Practical Frameworks Create High-Impact BoardsPractical ways to make boards more effective: recruiting for relevant skills, defining board culture and purpose, and assessing the value directors contribute.
- Lancashire LifeHigh flyer Dr Vikas Shah on his life-long love of flyingA personal profile of a lifelong enthusiasm for aviation, from childhood plane-spotting to aircraft design and flight simulation.
- Business Live2020Serial entrepreneur Vikas Shah delivers his top tips to survive the pandemicAdapting to change, communicating transparently, protecting staff and maintaining wellbeing through the pandemic.
Appointments & news
- Innovate UK Business ConnectVikas Shah to chair new Innovate UK ICURe Advisory BoardAppointed to lead the independent advisory board supporting ICURe’s research commercialisation programmes.
- BusinessCloud2025Dr. Vikas Shah named as chairman of RdentifyChairing the AI-powered customer engagement platform as it expands.
- Alliance Manchester Business SchoolInspirational entrepreneur Vikas Shah accepts Honorary Professorship from Alliance Manchester Business SchoolSupporting teaching, entrepreneurship programmes and student mentoring at the school.
- University of Salford2022Entrepreneur Vikas Shah donates £1m archive to University of SalfordThe donation of his interview archive, providing material for teaching and research across business, politics, culture and sport.
- Lancaster University Management SchoolRenowned entrepreneur shares candid insights at Lancaster MBA eventWith Lancaster MBA students and alumni on the realities of entrepreneurship: emotional intelligence, purpose, wellbeing and responsibility to employees.
- University of Manchester Innovation FactoryEntrepreneurial Mentor: Vikas Shah MBE joins The Innovation FactoryHelping emerging entrepreneurs develop business ideas through growth and potential exits.
- BusinessCloud2018Prof. Vikas Shah ‘floored’ by New Year’s HonourThe MBE for services to business and the economy, recognising his entrepreneurial career, mentoring and community work.
Beyond business
Philanthropy, conservation and public service.
Vikas's work extends beyond business into charitable governance, conservation, culture and enterprise. He is a Trustee of Chester Zoo and a Deputy Lieutenant of Greater Manchester.
He co-founded and chaired In Place of War, supporting its development as an organisation working with artists and communities affected by conflict in more than forty countries. His wider contribution has included entrepreneurship mentoring through TiE, digital advisory work for the British Council, and work to engage businesses in the North West with the Armed Forces Covenant.
In Greater Manchester, he has supported causes including Mustard Tree, Street Soccer Academy and cancer research through Cancer Research UK's More Tomorrows campaign for the Manchester Cancer Research Centre. In 2022, he donated his Thought Economics interview archive to the University of Salford for teaching and research.
Organisations supported
Chester Zoo · In Place of War · Mustard Tree · Street Soccer Academy · Cancer Research UK · Manchester Cancer Research Centre · The British Council · HM Armed Forces · TiE · University of Salfordand more.