The former mayor of the West Midlands and the man who brought John Lewis to Birmingham has been given a knighthood.
Andy Street served seven years as the first directly elected mayor of the region following the formation of the West Midlands Combined Authority until he was defeated in May's election by Richard Parker.
He has been given a knighthood in the New Year Honours list for public service.
Sir Andy said he had only been "the front man" and the honour was "an accolade for the people in the West Midlands who made a success of the combined authority and the mayoralty".
He added: "Behind it lies a huge endeavour to set this up from scratch and make it the success that it is. It was a huge honour to be able to do that on behalf of citizens across the West Midlands."
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Mr Street, 61, was born in Oxfordshire and attended King Edward's School in Birmingham.
He joined department store chain John Lewis in 1985 after graduating from University of Oxford and worked his way up the corporate ladder to become managing director in 2007.
He spent nine years in the post during which time he oversaw a £35 million investment into a huge new store as part of the redevelopment of Birmingham's New Street station which opened in autumn 2015.
Sadly, that fell victim to the covid lockdowns and changing consumer buying habits and closed down for good in 2020.
Sir Andy was also the first chairman of the newly formed Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership in 2011, a role he performed for five years.
The bodies were set up nationwide by the coalition government to drive regional investment and foster better working between the public and private sectors.
In 2016, he announced he was making his first foray into politics and was selected by the Conservative Party to be its candidate in the inaugural election for a West Midlands mayor.
He beat Labour's Siôn Simon the following May and repeated that victory over Liam Byrne in 2021.
Other West Midlands business figures to receive honours include an MBE for Professor Vladlena Benson, from Aston Business School and its Cyber Security Innovation Research Centre, for services to cyber security.
Also receiving an MBE is Gareth Hopkins, apprenticeship programme manager for the Forestry Commission in Coventry, and Michael Oakes, chairman of the national dairy board at the Warwickshire-based National Farmers' Union, for services to dairy farming.
Patricia White, chief executive of Suited for Success, has also received an MBE for services to unemployed people in Birmingham.
She ran the Ladywood-based charity which helped unemployed people in their quest to find work with free interview coaching, employment preparation and the provision of interview clothing prior to its recent closure.
