Rolls-Royce chief executive and global pharmaceutical leader are among Surrey's honorary graduates

They are joined by Peter Venison CVO, an international hospitality pioneer who graduated from Surrey's predecessor institution in 1962 and Professor Raffaella Ocone OBE, a world-renowned chemical engineer. 

The business leader credited with one of the most striking corporate turnarounds in recent UK stock market history, Tufan Erginbilgic, has been Chief Executive of Rolls-Royce Holdings since January 2023. When he took over, the company was heavily in debt and dramatically underperforming following the collapse in air travel during the pandemic. By the start of this year, shares in Rolls-Royce were up more than 1200%, adding over £90bn to the company’s valuation. 

Before Rolls-Royce, Erginbilgic spent more than two decades at BP, rising to become Chief Executive of its downstream business, which included refining, lubricants, petrochemicals and a global network of fuel retail operations. 

The University will also be honouring Professor David Ebsworth, a pharmaceutical executive with more than four decades of experience. Professor Ebsworth has led companies through some of the most consequential chapters in recent drug development – from his time as Global Head of Pharmaceuticals at Bayer AG, where he spent nearly 20 years, to his tenure as Chief Executive of Vifor Pharma and Galenica between 2009 and 2014. 

Professor Ebsworth is a Surrey alumnus, graduating with a BSc in Chemistry and German in 1976, and a PhD in Linguistic and International Studies. He was appointed a Visiting Professor by Surrey Business School in 2016, teaching MBA students across marketing, diversity and ethics. He established the David Ebsworth Scholarship for students of German in 2013 and has since extended his support to Bioscience students. 

Most recently, he served as Non-Executive Chairman of Verona Pharma, guiding the respiratory disease biotech to a $10 billion acquisition by Merck – completed in October 2025 – one of the largest pharmaceutical deals of the year. 

Peter Venison began his career as the youngest manager of a deluxe London hotel before spending decades shaping some of the world's most ambitious resort developments. He played a central role in establishing Southern Sun Hotels in South Africa and later oversaw the international expansion of the Sun International hotel and casino chain. He went on to contribute to the development of Atlantis in the Bahamas and The One and Only resorts, operating across the USA and beyond. 

Venison graduated from Battersea College of Technology – the institution that became the University of Surrey on its move to Guildford in 1966 – with a BSc in Hotel and Catering Management in 1962, making him one of the longest-standing members of the Surrey family. In 2017, he was recognised with a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order by the late Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, for his charitable work in the international arena. 

Surrey is also set to honour Professor Raffaella Ocone OBE, a world-renowned chemical engineer who holds the Chair of Chemical Engineering at Heriot-Watt University, a post she has occupied since 1999. A Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, IChemE and the Royal Society of Chemistry, she was appointed an Officer of the British Empire in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to Engineering. She was also named among the top 100 Most Influential Women in the Engineering Sector that same year and, in recognition of her work in ethics, became the first Caroline Herschel Visiting Professor in Engineering at RUHR Universität, Germany.