Lloyd Dorfman

Education

Saint Paul"s School.

Career

Having founded Travelex, today known as Travelex Group, the world"s largest retailer of foreign exchange. Dorfman was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2008 in the Queen"s Birthday Honours for the services provided to business and charity. Dorfman was raised in a Jewish family and educated at Street Paul"son

He did not attend university.

In 1976, Dorfman started his own currency exchange business from one small shop based in Southampton Row in central London. The company spread to ports overseas, initially in the Netherlands and Belgium.

The company expanded into airports worldwide, opening in the United States of America in 1989 shortly followed by Australia in 1990. The £440m acquisition of Thomas Cook"s Global & Financial Services business in March 2001 made the Travelex Group the world"s largest non-bank foreign exchange business.

Dorfman began to develop the presence of the company in Asia, starting with Japan and spreading to India in 2003 and China in 2004.

Travelex sold its card programme management business to Mastercard for £290 million in 2011, and then its Global Business Payments to Western Union for £606 million. In 2014, an agreement was reached to sell Travelex to shareholders in Abu Dhabi, Dorfman however, still retains a 5% shareholding. Travelex pioneered sponsorship deals including Travelex Cheap Ticket Season at the National Theatre, as well as sponsoring the winning World Cup teams for Australian Cricket in 2003 and England Rugby the same year.

Dorfman is Chairman and majority shareholder of The Office Group, the British pioneers of co-working spaces.

The Group has over 30 buildings spanning across central London. Its clients include thousands of small businesses and start-ups as well as larger companies.

In 2014, he co-founded and became Chairman of Doddle, a retail business enabling people to collect, return and send their online shopping from train stations and elsewhere. Dorfman has a number of other business interests, including shareholder and Board Director of Ben Ainslie Racing’s America’s Cup Challenge.

Dorfman is a leading philanthropist.

He is Chairman of youth and enterprise charity the Prince’s Trust, having joined the charity’s Council in 2007. He is also the Chairman of Prince’s Trust International, which aims to help unemployed young people around the globe into education, training and work. In addition, he is a Trustee of the Royal Opera House, of the Royal Academy Trust and of JW3.

Deputy Chairman of the Community Security Trust, and a Governor of Street Paul’s School.

He was also on the board of the Royal National Theatre from 2007 to 2015, and the National Theatre"s Cottesloe was renamed the Dorfman Theatre in 2013 following a gift of £10 million towards the National Theatre Future redevelopment project

Achievements

• In 2001 Dorfman was the winner of the Consumer Business Category in the United Kingdom "Entrepreneur of the Year" awards sponsored by Ernst & Young, Citibank and The Times. In 2002 he received the British American Chamber of Commerce"s United Kingdom Entrepreneurial Award, and the Institute of Economic Affairs" Free Enterprise Award. In 2007 he received the Honorary Australian of the Year in the United Kingdom award. In 2008 Dorfman was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen"s Birthday Honours list for services to business and charity. In 2011, he was awarded The Prince of Wales Medal for Arts He is an Honorary Fellow of Street Peter’s College, Oxford and an Honorary Bencher of Lincoln’s Inn.