Rami Ranger thanked the University of West London for the honor on his twitter account.
Mr. Rami Ranger, a leading London-based NRI entrepreneur, has been conferred with an honorary doctorate for his services to business, philanthropy and promotion of social cohesion in Britain.
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) and Chairman of Sun Mark Ltd and Sea, Air and Land Forwarding, Mr. Ranger received the Honorary Doctor of Letters (Hon DLitt) from the University of West London at their annual graduation ceremony held at the Wembley stadium on Thursday.
The doctorate was conferred upon him by the chancellor Laurence Geller CBE and Vice Chancellor, Professor Peter John.
The citation was read by the Director of Development and Alumni relations, Ms Luna Sidhu and it read:
"Mr Raminder Ranger CBE, known to all as Rami, is a man who has defied great odds to achieve outstanding success in business and beyond. Mr. Rami's life began in a refugee camp in newly partitioned India," the citation read.
Born in July 1947 in Gujranwala, Pakistan, Mr. Rami came to the UK in search of a "better life". He found work as a chef in KFC but soon his work ethic and commitment got noticed and he began to rise quickly through the ranks to become District Manager for the chain. His entrepreneurial spirit led him to start his own freight forwarding business from a shed in Hayes with just 2 pounds of capital, it said.
Expressing his gratitude to the university for recognising him and his efforts, Mr. Ranger said he succeeded in life primarily because of the role his mother played in his upbringing and the five principles around which all of his activities revolved: self-respect, good work ethics, commitment, vision and empathy for others. He urged his audience to implement these principles in their daily lives.
Mr. Ranger, whose companies have revenues in excess of 200 million pounds, has been conferred with numerous awards such as the Institute of Export (IOE) Award 2013, Institute of Directors Award in 2014 and a Lifetime Achievement award by the Family Business Place among others.
"Alongside building a very successful business, Mr. Rami has never shied from giving back to his community and his adopted country. Following the 7/7 bombings he set up an inter-faith forum to build bridges between the different communities," the citation said.
Mr. Rami is active in the world of politics, encouraging major political parties to engage with the various ethnic communities that make-up modern day Britain in order to build a more cohesive society.
He supports a number of charities from the Princes' Trust to Cancer Research UK and various educational institutions including the University of West London.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)