Sir John is Honorary President of The British Land Company PLC and Chairman of Delancey’s Real Estate Advisory Board. He is a philanthropist with a keen interest in education, young people and the arts. His experience as a school governor includes the Deputy Chairmanship of The Hall School in Hampstead and as a governor of Dulwich College where he remains as a Special Advisor to the Governors and a founding member of the College’s Development Strategy Committee.
Sir John stood down as Chairman of the Board of Governors of London Business School in April 2014 after 25 years on the Board and 10 years in the Chair. He remains as a member of their Estates Committee and is an Honorary Fellow. He is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Wallace Collection Foundation and an Honorary Fellow and Honorary Trustee of the Royal Academy of Music. He is Vice President of International Students’ House, and an Honorary Fellow and Vice President of the Council of The Royal Institution.
Sir John sat on the Board of the British Library 1995 – 2003 and was reappointed in 2015. He is the sponsor of The Sir John Ritblat Gallery, Treasures of The British Library.
Sir John is also the President of British Ski & Snowboard and has been the principal sponsor of The British Alpine National Ski Championships for the last 36 years and, with Delancey, the main sponsor of all four Ski and Snowboard disciplines until 2018. He is also Vice President of the Tennis & Racquets Association,
He holds Honorary Doctorate of Literature at both London Metropolitan University and the University of Buckingham and an Honorary Doctorate of Science (Economics) from London Business School.