Friday 26th August 2016, London, UK
The nominations for the 16th annual Asian Achievers Awards have been unveiled. They include stand-up comedian Romesh Ranganathan; Paralympian Ryan Raghoo; Captain Naveed Muhammad MBE British Army; the charity Khalsa Aid; Barrister Jo Sidhu QC; entrepreneur Samir Desai, Co-Founder of Funding Circle; Manjit Wolstenholme from Provident Financial PLC and international restaurateur Arjun Waney of Robata Restaurants ltd.
Mr. CB Patel, Publisher and Editor, ABPL Group says:
“The mission of the Asian Achievers Awards is twofold- to both recognise and reward genuine high achievers in the Asian community. It’s humbling how the community holds our Awards in such high esteem, and this is reflected in the overwhelming number and quality of nominations we once again received this year. I certainly don’t envy the daunting task our esteemed judges have in short-listing the nominees and selecting winners.”
This year, the Chair of Judges is Nishma Robb, Head of Marketing, Google UK & Ireland. She said:
“The Asian Achievers Awards are widely respected across the business, arts, and social communities because of the robust and very fair judging process and the calibre of the judging panel. I was very impressed with the quality of the nominations for the awards. It is an incredible accomplishment to be recognised as a finalist, and those shortlisted this year really are raising the bar of achievement again.”
Taking place on September 16th at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel, the Asian Achievers Awards celebrates the outstanding work of South Asian individuals from across a spectrum of backgrounds and professions. This year’s theme is Professional Of the Year, for the outstanding achievement in Professions.
Since launching, The Asian Achievers Awards has helped to raise millions of pounds for various charities and this year, the chosen charity partner is the Indian Ocean Disaster Relief (IODR), which supports education and victims of human trafficking in Nepal. The Asian Achievers Awards is also proud to have Sunrise Radio and Colors TV on board as Media Partners.
ASIAN ACHIEVERS AWARDS 2016 NOMINEES
Business Person Of The Year
Dr Nikesh Kotecha – Director at Morningside Pharmaceutical
Rakesh Sharma – Chief Executive, Ultra Electronics
Harish Sodha – Executive Chairman, Diversity Travel
Arjun Waney – Chairman, Robata Restaurants ltd
Entrepreneur Of The Year
Reshma Sohoni – Partner & Co-Founder, Seedcamp
Samir Desai CBE – Co-Founder and Director at Funding Circle
Harnoop Singh Atkar – CEO at Oakland Primecare
Selva Pankaj – CEO, Regent Group
Sports Personality Of The Year
Harleen Kaur – Martial Arts
Daanyal Spalding – Golfer
Ryan Raghoo – Paralympic long-jumper
Myra Nasim – National Karate Champion
Uniformed And Civil Services
Mabs Hussain – Chief Superintendent District Commander, West Yorkshire Police
PC Karmjit Rekhi MBE – Faith Officer, Metropolitan Police Service
Captain Naveed Muhammad MBE – Chair of Armed Forces Muslim Association (AFMA)
Lt Col Bilal Muhammad Siddique – Adjutant General’s Corps
Media, Arts And Culture
Janan Ganesh – Political Columnist, The Financial Times
Romesh Ranganathan – Stand-up Comedian
Irvine Iqbal – Actor
The Singh Twins – Rabindra & Amrit Kaur Singh
Woman Of The Year
Joysy John – Ada, National College for Digital Skills
Manjit K Gill – Binti International
Rupal Kantaria – Oliver Wyman
Manjit Wolstenholme – Provident Financial PLC
Achievement In Community Service
Professor Meena Upadhyaya OBE – Medical geneticist at Cardiff University
Khalsa Aid – An international relief work organisation to assist victims in disaster situations
Zlakha Ahmed MBE – Founder and Manager of Apna Haq
Prem Goyal OBE – CEO, Global Marketing Consultants
Professional Of The Year
Chitra Bharucha MBE – Director, Fit Biotech
Leena Nair – Chief HR Officer of Unilever
Nina Bhatia – Managing Director, British Gas Connected Homes
Jo Sidhu QC – Barrister, President Society of Asian Lawyers, Bencher of Lincolns Inn
#AAANominees
