Christopher Harborne | |
Other Names: | Chakrit Sakunkrit |
Nationality: | British |
Citizenship: | United Kingdom, Thailand |
Education: | Westminster School |
Alma Mater: | Downing College, Cambridge INSEAD |
Chief Executive Officer | |
Boards: | Sherriff Global Group |
Christopher Charles Sherriff Harborne (born December 1962) is a British businessman and technology investor based in Thailand. A University of Cambridge and INSEAD graduate, his donations have enabled the founding of INSEAD San Francisco and the creation of a blockchain research fund. He has also donated to Britain's Conservative Party and more recently has been a major donor to Britain's Brexit Party, donating more than £6 million in 2019.[1] As well as personal donations to Reform UK's Nigel Farage. [2]
Christopher Harborne was born in December 1962. He was educated at Westminster School and is a graduate of Downing College, University of Cambridge, from where he received the degrees of MA, MEng and MBA.[4] He also received an MBA from the Institut européen d'administration des affaires (INSEAD) in 1988.[5]
Harborne worked for five years as a management consultant at McKinsey and Co., before running a research company in Asia. He describes himself as an "investor in new tech, including open software blockchain platforms".[6] [7] He is the CEO of Sherriff Global Group which trades in private planes, and the owner of AML Global, a firm that sells aviation fuel. He has made a donation to enable the founding of INSEAD San Francisco and to create a Blockchain Research Fund.[5] He has set up a company, Singular AI Consulting Limited, with crypto-currency miner Marco Streng.[6] As of December 2019, he is based in Thailand.[6] [8]
Harborne donated more than £6m to the Brexit Party in 2019,[6] £3 million in the summer[9] and £3 million before the United Kingdom general election in 2019,[6] making him the largest donor that year.[8] His sister Katharine, a scientist and artist who was previously a councillor for the Conservative Party, has been a candidate for the Brexit Party.[10] Before switching his donations to the Brexit Party,[11] Harborne had donated smaller sums, averaging £15,000 per annum since 2001, to the Conservative Party. In November 2022, Harborne donated £1 million to The Office of Boris Johnson Ltd, one of the biggest donations ever made to an individual British politician.[12]
He also holds Thai citizenship under the name Chakrit Sakunkrit.[2]