Leaders in business
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House of Lords
House of Lords
Jump to the next group of BAME Leaders in Business 2016: Summary | Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4
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Sophie Chandauka, Morgan Stanley
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Shanika Amarasekara
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Bashir Ahmad
Chief Executive Officer, Halkin Investment
Finance professional Bashir Ahmad is a Founder and CEO of Halkin Investments LLP. He previously held senior management positions with ABN AMRO bank and ING, and was Managing Director and Head of Private Banking at Bank of Singapore in the UK. Ahmad’s area of expertise is Wealth Management and Private Investment Banking.
Azeem Akhtar
Chief Technical Officer and Head of Design Team, Major Contracts (Credit Suisse), BT
Azeem Akhtar has been Chief Technical Officer and Head of Design Team, Major Outsource Contracts since 2014. He has worked with BT since 2006, joining the company as a Principal Commercial Manager and occupying numerous roles. Akhtar previously worked at Cable & Wireless, Amoco and Kuwait Petroleum (G.B) Limited.
Sonita Alleyne
Media Exec, BBC Trustee
Sonita Alleyne has held various roles in the public and private sectors. She is a BBC Trustee, a Board Member for London Legacy Development Corporation, a Board Member at Archant and a Board Member at the British Board of Film Classification. She was awarded an OBE in 2004 for services to broadcasting.
Lord Waheed Alli
Chairman, Koovs
Lord Waheed Alli is the current Chairman at Koovs and Chairman of Silergate Media Ltd. He founded Planet 24 and was the Managing Director for Carlton Communications, advising the government on PR. He was Chairman of Chorion and ASOS.com, and was appointed to the House of Lords in 1998.
Shanika Amarasekara
General Counsel, British Business Bank
Shanika Amarasekara is General Counsel to the British Business Bank. She joined the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills in June 2014 as part of the senior management team which launched the bank. Prior to this she was the General Counsel at an institution established by central banks and a Director at RBS.
Nick Amin
Chief Operations and Transformation Officer, Aviva Plc
Nick Amin joined Aviva as Group Transformation Director in 2013, having held a number of senior management roles within AIA Group. With a background in international consumer banking and insurance, his previous roles have included: President and CEO at CIGNsia Pacific and SVP and CEO of CIGNA Latin America. He also held a number of management roles at Citibank within Europe.
Sandip Amlani
Head of Online Optimisation & User Experience, Experian
Sandip Amlani is Head of Online Optimisation and Customer Experience and has accountability for all onsite acquisition pages at creditexpert.co.uk and experian.com. Before joining Experian, he held senior positions at Buyapowa Limited and Electronic Arts.
Baroness Valerie Amos
Director - SOAS, University of London, SOAS, University of London
Baroness Valerie Amos joined SOAS as Director in 2015. She previously served as Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs at the UN and was Chief Executive of the Equal Opportunites Commission. She was the first black woman to sit in the British Cabinet as Secretary of State for International Development and was made a Labour Life Peer in 1997.
Nancy Armand
Global Head of Customer Strategy & Insights, HSBC
Experienced finance professional Nancy Armand has previously held roles including: SVP, Customer Propositions Marketing, North America, and Director and VP of Premier banking, both at HSBC. Prior to that, she held the role of Consultant at MasterCard for 4 years and Marketing Manager at American Express for 8 years.
Samir Assaf
Chief Executive Officer - Global Banking & Markets, HSBC Bank Plc
Lebanese-born Samir Assaf was appointed CEO, Global Banking and Markets at HSBC Holdings Plc in 2011. He is a Group MD and a member of the Group Management Board, as well as Chairman of HSBC France; a director of HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt AG; a Director of HSBC Bank Plc; and Chairman of the Global Financial Markets Association. He was educated at the Sorbonne in France.
Vinita Bali
Independent Non-Executive Director, Smith & Nephew Plc
International senior executive Vinita Bali was appointed to the Board of Smith & Nephew in 2015. She is currently a non-Executive Director of Syngenta AG, Titan Company Ltd., and CRISIL
(Credit Rating Information Services of India) and a Director of GAIN (Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition). Bali was CEO of Britannia Industries Ltd., and has previously worked for Coca-Cola in the US.
Vindi Banga
non-Executive Director, Marks & Spencer Group Plc
A non-Executive Director of Marks & Spencer Group Plc since 2011, Vindi Banga was appointed Senior Independent Director in 2015. He is a Partner at Clayton Dubilier & Rice; non-Executive Director of Thomson Reuters; Chairman of the Mauser Group; Chairman of the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) Economic Growth Board; non-Executive Director of GSK; and sits on the Governing Board of the Indian School of Business.
Sacha Berendji
Director of Retail, Marks & Spencer Group Plc
Now Director of Retail at Marks & Spencer Group Plc, Sacha Berendji has previously been executive assistant to both Sir Stuart Rose and Marc Bolland, and will soon report directly to new CEO Steve Rowe. When Director of Store Development, he was integral to the strategy of creating branded areas within the stores designed to differentiate the retailer’s fashion brands, which enhanced profitability.
Jaspal Bindra
non-Executive Director, Reckitt Benckiser Plc
A non-Executive Director of Reckitt Benckiser Plc since 2014, Jaspal Bindra previously served as Group Executive Director to the Board of Standard Chartered Plc and worked at UBS Investment Banking and Bank of America. He currently sits on the Board of Governors of XLRI Business School, is a member of the City of London Advisory Council for India, and a Board Director of the US-India Business Council.
Karen Blackett OBE
Chief Executive Officer, MediaCom
Karen Blackett OBE is Chief Executive UK of MediaCom. She began her career at CIA Media Network, joining Zenith Media as a senior planner/buyer, but was headhunted by The Media Business Group. After company mergers and several promotions, Karen became MediaCom’s Chief Operations Director for EMEA and was then promoted to her current position.
Margaret Casely-Hayford
Chair, ActionAid UK
Margaret Casely-Hayford was appointed Chair of the charity ActionAid UK in 2014. She was Director of Legal Services and Company Secretary for John Lewis Partnership, and Partner at city solicitors Dentons. Government appointments include: NED of NHS England, special trustee of Great Ormond St Children’s Hospital Charity, and she is on the Metropolitan Police Panel.
Laura Cha
non-Executive Director, Unilever Plc
Award-winning Laura Cha is a non-Executive Director of Unilever Plc and member of their Corporate Responsibility Committee and Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee. Among her many non-Executive directorships, she also holds the post of senior international adviser for Foundation Asset Management AB and is a Hong Kong delegate to the 12th National People’s Congress of China.
Julie Chakraverty
non-Executive Director, Chairman of Innovation Committee, Aberdeen Asset Management Plc
Previously at investment bank J.P. Morgan, Julie Chakraverty now serves as a non-Executive Director on the Boards of Aberdeen Asset Management, Spirit Pub Company, and Amlin. Her flagship CreditDelta portfolio product has won industry awards every year since 2001. She also supports younger women to realise their full business potential and is a trustee of the Girls’ Day School Trust.
Sophie Chandauka
Executive Director and Chief Administrative Officer, Morgan Stanley
Executive Director and CAO of Morgan Stanley’s Legal & Compliance Division in EMEA, Sophie Chandauka was previously Head of Group Treasury (Legal) at Virgin Money, a Senior Associate at Baker & McKenzie, and served on the Board of Trustees of Sentebale: a Lesotho charity founded by Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso for children with or affected by HIV/AIDS.
Tony Chanmugam
Group Finance Director, BT Group Plc
As Group Finance Director, BT Group Plc, Tony Chanmugam has just overseen what is described by the company as a ‘stand out quarter’ where profits were up by 9%. He will be leaving the company on a high, sealing his reputation as a world-class senior executive. Previous roles have included: CFO, BT Retail; MD of BT Enterprises and CFO and COO for BT Gobal solutions.
Haider Choudrey
Head of Group Finance, Bestway (Holdings) Limited
Haider Choudrey is Head of Group Finance at Bestway Holdings Ltd, the seventh largest family-owned business in the UK with an annual turnover of £3.06 billion. Choudrey was previously a Director at United Bank Limited and worked for KPMG as an Associate.
Zameer Mohammed Choudrey
Chief Executive, Bestway (Holdings) Limited
Zameer Mohammed Choudrey is Chief Executive of Bestway, the seventh largest family owned business in the UK. Choudrey is a Fellow of The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and a member of the Institute of Directors in London. In November 2014, he received an honorary Doctorate of Civil Law for his contribution to services to public life and business from the University of Kent. The company has donated in excess of £13.0 million to the charitable trust in the UK and provided over US$9.0 million to health, education and humanitarian causes in Pakistan. In August 2013, he was appointed the Co-Chairman of the Conservative Friends of Pakistan
Ajay Chowdhury
non-Executive Director, Department of Culture, Media and Sport
Ajay Chowdhury is Partner and MD at BCG Digital Ventures. He has held various Chief Executive positions at Seatwave; ComQi, LineOne and co-founded IDG Ventures Europe, where he was Chairman of Shazam, a $1bn mobile audio recognition company.
Patrick Clarke
Director of Network Operations, UK Power Networks
Patrick Clarke joined the LEB as an apprentice, quickly rising to a general manager position. Currently, he is Director of Network Operations at UK Power Networks. A published author, he has been a special constable, chaired the MERLIN mentoring project, been a Board member of Race for Opportunity and Urban Synergy and a member of Business in the Community’s London Leadership Tea.
Sat Dhaiwal
Chief Executive Officer, Ashtead Group Plc
Sat Dhaiwal has been CEO at Ashtead Plant Hire Company Ltd since 2002. He served as Trading Director in 1995 and MD of A-Plant East, one of A-Plant’s four operational regions, in 1998. He has been an Executive Director of Ashtead Group Plc since March 2002 and was voted Cheshire Young Director of the Year in 2006.
Chief Executive Officer, Halkin Investment
Finance professional Bashir Ahmad is a Founder and CEO of Halkin Investments LLP. He previously held senior management positions with ABN AMRO bank and ING, and was Managing Director and Head of Private Banking at Bank of Singapore in the UK. Ahmad’s area of expertise is Wealth Management and Private Investment Banking.
Azeem Akhtar
Chief Technical Officer and Head of Design Team, Major Contracts (Credit Suisse), BT
Azeem Akhtar has been Chief Technical Officer and Head of Design Team, Major Outsource Contracts since 2014. He has worked with BT since 2006, joining the company as a Principal Commercial Manager and occupying numerous roles. Akhtar previously worked at Cable & Wireless, Amoco and Kuwait Petroleum (G.B) Limited.
Sonita Alleyne
Media Exec, BBC Trustee
Sonita Alleyne has held various roles in the public and private sectors. She is a BBC Trustee, a Board Member for London Legacy Development Corporation, a Board Member at Archant and a Board Member at the British Board of Film Classification. She was awarded an OBE in 2004 for services to broadcasting.
Lord Waheed Alli
Chairman, Koovs
Lord Waheed Alli is the current Chairman at Koovs and Chairman of Silergate Media Ltd. He founded Planet 24 and was the Managing Director for Carlton Communications, advising the government on PR. He was Chairman of Chorion and ASOS.com, and was appointed to the House of Lords in 1998.
Shanika Amarasekara
General Counsel, British Business Bank
Shanika Amarasekara is General Counsel to the British Business Bank. She joined the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills in June 2014 as part of the senior management team which launched the bank. Prior to this she was the General Counsel at an institution established by central banks and a Director at RBS.
Nick Amin
Chief Operations and Transformation Officer, Aviva Plc
Nick Amin joined Aviva as Group Transformation Director in 2013, having held a number of senior management roles within AIA Group. With a background in international consumer banking and insurance, his previous roles have included: President and CEO at CIGNsia Pacific and SVP and CEO of CIGNA Latin America. He also held a number of management roles at Citibank within Europe.
Sandip Amlani
Head of Online Optimisation & User Experience, Experian
Sandip Amlani is Head of Online Optimisation and Customer Experience and has accountability for all onsite acquisition pages at creditexpert.co.uk and experian.com. Before joining Experian, he held senior positions at Buyapowa Limited and Electronic Arts.
Baroness Valerie Amos
Director - SOAS, University of London, SOAS, University of London
Baroness Valerie Amos joined SOAS as Director in 2015. She previously served as Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs at the UN and was Chief Executive of the Equal Opportunites Commission. She was the first black woman to sit in the British Cabinet as Secretary of State for International Development and was made a Labour Life Peer in 1997.
Nancy Armand
Global Head of Customer Strategy & Insights, HSBC
Experienced finance professional Nancy Armand has previously held roles including: SVP, Customer Propositions Marketing, North America, and Director and VP of Premier banking, both at HSBC. Prior to that, she held the role of Consultant at MasterCard for 4 years and Marketing Manager at American Express for 8 years.
Samir Assaf
Chief Executive Officer - Global Banking & Markets, HSBC Bank Plc
Lebanese-born Samir Assaf was appointed CEO, Global Banking and Markets at HSBC Holdings Plc in 2011. He is a Group MD and a member of the Group Management Board, as well as Chairman of HSBC France; a director of HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt AG; a Director of HSBC Bank Plc; and Chairman of the Global Financial Markets Association. He was educated at the Sorbonne in France.
Vinita Bali
Independent Non-Executive Director, Smith & Nephew Plc
International senior executive Vinita Bali was appointed to the Board of Smith & Nephew in 2015. She is currently a non-Executive Director of Syngenta AG, Titan Company Ltd., and CRISIL
(Credit Rating Information Services of India) and a Director of GAIN (Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition). Bali was CEO of Britannia Industries Ltd., and has previously worked for Coca-Cola in the US.
Vindi Banga
non-Executive Director, Marks & Spencer Group Plc
A non-Executive Director of Marks & Spencer Group Plc since 2011, Vindi Banga was appointed Senior Independent Director in 2015. He is a Partner at Clayton Dubilier & Rice; non-Executive Director of Thomson Reuters; Chairman of the Mauser Group; Chairman of the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) Economic Growth Board; non-Executive Director of GSK; and sits on the Governing Board of the Indian School of Business.
Sacha Berendji
Director of Retail, Marks & Spencer Group Plc
Now Director of Retail at Marks & Spencer Group Plc, Sacha Berendji has previously been executive assistant to both Sir Stuart Rose and Marc Bolland, and will soon report directly to new CEO Steve Rowe. When Director of Store Development, he was integral to the strategy of creating branded areas within the stores designed to differentiate the retailer’s fashion brands, which enhanced profitability.
Jaspal Bindra
non-Executive Director, Reckitt Benckiser Plc
A non-Executive Director of Reckitt Benckiser Plc since 2014, Jaspal Bindra previously served as Group Executive Director to the Board of Standard Chartered Plc and worked at UBS Investment Banking and Bank of America. He currently sits on the Board of Governors of XLRI Business School, is a member of the City of London Advisory Council for India, and a Board Director of the US-India Business Council.
Karen Blackett OBE
Chief Executive Officer, MediaCom
Karen Blackett OBE is Chief Executive UK of MediaCom. She began her career at CIA Media Network, joining Zenith Media as a senior planner/buyer, but was headhunted by The Media Business Group. After company mergers and several promotions, Karen became MediaCom’s Chief Operations Director for EMEA and was then promoted to her current position.
Margaret Casely-Hayford
Chair, ActionAid UK
Margaret Casely-Hayford was appointed Chair of the charity ActionAid UK in 2014. She was Director of Legal Services and Company Secretary for John Lewis Partnership, and Partner at city solicitors Dentons. Government appointments include: NED of NHS England, special trustee of Great Ormond St Children’s Hospital Charity, and she is on the Metropolitan Police Panel.
Laura Cha
non-Executive Director, Unilever Plc
Award-winning Laura Cha is a non-Executive Director of Unilever Plc and member of their Corporate Responsibility Committee and Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee. Among her many non-Executive directorships, she also holds the post of senior international adviser for Foundation Asset Management AB and is a Hong Kong delegate to the 12th National People’s Congress of China.
Julie Chakraverty
non-Executive Director, Chairman of Innovation Committee, Aberdeen Asset Management Plc
Previously at investment bank J.P. Morgan, Julie Chakraverty now serves as a non-Executive Director on the Boards of Aberdeen Asset Management, Spirit Pub Company, and Amlin. Her flagship CreditDelta portfolio product has won industry awards every year since 2001. She also supports younger women to realise their full business potential and is a trustee of the Girls’ Day School Trust.
Sophie Chandauka
Executive Director and Chief Administrative Officer, Morgan Stanley
Executive Director and CAO of Morgan Stanley’s Legal & Compliance Division in EMEA, Sophie Chandauka was previously Head of Group Treasury (Legal) at Virgin Money, a Senior Associate at Baker & McKenzie, and served on the Board of Trustees of Sentebale: a Lesotho charity founded by Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso for children with or affected by HIV/AIDS.
Tony Chanmugam
Group Finance Director, BT Group Plc
As Group Finance Director, BT Group Plc, Tony Chanmugam has just overseen what is described by the company as a ‘stand out quarter’ where profits were up by 9%. He will be leaving the company on a high, sealing his reputation as a world-class senior executive. Previous roles have included: CFO, BT Retail; MD of BT Enterprises and CFO and COO for BT Gobal solutions.
Haider Choudrey
Head of Group Finance, Bestway (Holdings) Limited
Haider Choudrey is Head of Group Finance at Bestway Holdings Ltd, the seventh largest family-owned business in the UK with an annual turnover of £3.06 billion. Choudrey was previously a Director at United Bank Limited and worked for KPMG as an Associate.
Zameer Mohammed Choudrey
Chief Executive, Bestway (Holdings) Limited
Zameer Mohammed Choudrey is Chief Executive of Bestway, the seventh largest family owned business in the UK. Choudrey is a Fellow of The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and a member of the Institute of Directors in London. In November 2014, he received an honorary Doctorate of Civil Law for his contribution to services to public life and business from the University of Kent. The company has donated in excess of £13.0 million to the charitable trust in the UK and provided over US$9.0 million to health, education and humanitarian causes in Pakistan. In August 2013, he was appointed the Co-Chairman of the Conservative Friends of Pakistan
Ajay Chowdhury
non-Executive Director, Department of Culture, Media and Sport
Ajay Chowdhury is Partner and MD at BCG Digital Ventures. He has held various Chief Executive positions at Seatwave; ComQi, LineOne and co-founded IDG Ventures Europe, where he was Chairman of Shazam, a $1bn mobile audio recognition company.
Patrick Clarke
Director of Network Operations, UK Power Networks
Patrick Clarke joined the LEB as an apprentice, quickly rising to a general manager position. Currently, he is Director of Network Operations at UK Power Networks. A published author, he has been a special constable, chaired the MERLIN mentoring project, been a Board member of Race for Opportunity and Urban Synergy and a member of Business in the Community’s London Leadership Tea.
Sat Dhaiwal
Chief Executive Officer, Ashtead Group Plc
Sat Dhaiwal has been CEO at Ashtead Plant Hire Company Ltd since 2002. He served as Trading Director in 1995 and MD of A-Plant East, one of A-Plant’s four operational regions, in 1998. He has been an Executive Director of Ashtead Group Plc since March 2002 and was voted Cheshire Young Director of the Year in 2006.
