Recognition & Media

A career, recognised.

A knighthood. The Légion d'honneur. Honorary degrees from five British universities. A quiet record of how Sir Peter's work in business, technology and philanthropy has been recognised over five decades, here and abroad.

Honours

  • 2002

    Knight Bachelor

    For services to information technology and to business in the Midlands.

  • 2021

    Légion d'honneur

    For his contribution to Franco-British business and cultural ties.

Degrees, fellowships & appointments

Honorary degrees

  • 1998Hon. Doctor of the University - Birmingham City University
  • 2003Hon. Doctor of Science - Aston University
  • 2024Hon. Doctor of Law - University of Liverpool
  • 2025Hon. Industrial Professor, Engineering & Science - University of Birmingham
  • 2026Hon. Doctor of Science - Cranfield University

Fellowships & freedoms

  • 2010Liveryman, Honourable Company of Air Pilots
  • 2010Freeman of the City of London
  • 2014Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society
  • -Companion, Chartered Management Institute (ACMI)

Military

  • 2017Hon. Group Captain, 601 Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force

Appointments

  • 2024Hon. Chair, Digital Futures Institute - Aston University
  • 2024Hon. President, Centre for Enterprise - University of Liverpool
  • -Trustee - The Rigby Foundation
  • -Trustee - The Sir Peter Rigby Charitable Trust
  • -Trustee - Fly Harrier
  • -Founder & Chairman - Rigby Group plc and c.50 subsidiary companies

Previously

  • -Patron, The Shakespeare Hospice
  • -Chair, Coventry & Warwickshire LEP
  • -Chair, Millennium Point, Birmingham
  • 2000–2020Deputy Lieutenant (DL), West Midlands

Interviews on the record

Interview

Archives of IT - Oral history interview

Recorded with Richard Sharpe in March 2019 at the Rigby Group head office: an hour-long conversation tracing the move from NCR programmer to founding SCC in 1975 with £2,000, the seventy-five acquisitions that followed, and the philosophy of staying private. Held in the British national archive of the UK information-technology sector.

Listen to the interview

Interview

The Policy Fix - Why great entrepreneurs are built in hard times

Sir Peter joins his son, Steve Rigby, on The Policy Fix podcast for a wide-ranging conversation - from selling mainframes at seventeen to building a business through downturns, and what resilience, calculated risk and artificial intelligence mean for the entrepreneurs coming next. Released June 2026.

Listen to the episode

Speech

University of Liverpool - Opening of the Centre for Enterprise

Sir Peter's address at the launch of the Sir Peter Rigby Centre for Enterprise, October 2024.

Read the address

Source · Archives of IT; public-domain interviews