News and Events

BU Honorary Doctorate for RNLI

7 November 2008

The Chief Executive of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), Andrew Freemantle CBE, is awarded an honorary degree by BU.

The Chief Executive of the Royal National Lifeboat Institustion (RNLI), Andrew Freemantle CBE, has received the honorary degree Doctor of Business Administration from Bournemouth University.

Dr Freemantle served in the British and Australian Armies for more than a quarter of a century, including a tour of South Vietnam, before reaching the rank of Brigadier. After leaving the Army, he became General Manager and later Chief Executive of the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Dr Freemantle joined the RNLI in 1998 where he has inspired and led major developments, including the founding of the world’s first Lifeboat College in Poole. The RNLI has 235 lifeboat stations around the coast of the UK and ROI and its volunteer lifeboat crew members provide, on-call, a 24-hour lifeboat search and rescue service. In 2007, Mr Freemantle was appointed CBE for services to maritime safety.

Responding to his award Dr Freemantle said: “Thank you for the honour you do me by granting me this Honorary Doctorate. Leadership is a theme. To me, leadership is not about getting people to do what they want to do – that is easy.

“Successful leadership is about getting people to do what they don’t want to do and like it. This requires determination, humour and above all example.

“To the new graduates here today, I would strongly recommend that they keep these characteristics in mind as they face the challenges of the future.”