The Asian Women of Achievement Awards, founded by Pinky Lilani CBE DL in 1999, celebrate multicultural Britain and the contribution of diverse cultures and talents to UK society. We put on a platform, the phenomenal Asian women across the UK and across industries, who are making a valuable and important contribution to British life. The awards play a key role in redefining the contribution of Asian women; and informing a new, positive, pro-diversity debate.
ASIAN WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT- Shortlist 2019
The Asian Women of Achievement Awards, in association with NatWest, is proud to announce the full shortlist for 2019. From a composer, comedian and cardiologist to CEOs of big businesses, a GB wheelchair basketball player and a professor whose groundbreaking work has uncovered a new universal influenza vaccine, the nominees are a shining example of the trailblazing work of Asian women in Britain today.
This year’s Asian Women of Achievement Awards will take place on Monday April 29, 2019, at the London Hilton on Park Lane.
ARTS & CULTURE
Nainita Desai, Film & TV Composer
Shobna Gulati, Actor, Dancer, Choreographer
Chetna Makan, Author, Food Writer
Sara Shamma, Artist
Sindhu Vee, Comedian
BUSINESS
Rajinder Bassi, Partner, Kirkland & Ellis International LLP
June Felix, CEO, IG Group
Ava Lau, Group Pensions Manager, London Stock Exchange Group
Manju Malhotra, Co-Chief Operating Officer, Harvey Nichols
Hemlata Narasimhan, Senior Vice President, Merchant Sales and Acquiring, Europe, Visa inc
Anna Sofat, CEO, Addidi
Wincie Wong, Head of Innovation for Supply Chain Services, Royal Bank of Scotland
ENTREPRENEUR
Harri Dhokia, Director, Black Interiors
Yang Liu, Founder & CEO, JustWears
Shazia Mustafa, Co-founder and Managing Director, Third Door (Co-working & Nursery)
Dr Yoge Patel, CEO, Blue Bear Group
Shermeena Rabbi, Founder, Consultant Speech & Language Therapist, Unlocking Language
Sania Shah, Director, Care Avenues
MEDIA
Anu Anand, Presenter, Marketplace Morning Report, BBC World Service
Leyla Boulton, Special Reports Editor and Executive Editor, Financial Times
Layla Haidrani, Journalist
Ruby Lovell, Children’s Author, TV & Film Producer
Bidisha, Broadcaster, journalist, filmmaker
Manjinder Virk, Actor, Film maker
PROFESSIONS
Pragya Agarwal, Director, KPMG
Shruti Ajitsaria, Head of Fuse, Allen & Overy
Professor King Kuok (Mimi) Hii, Professor of Catalysis, Imperial College London
Ranjani Kearsley, Global Head of HR, Fidelity International
Dr Nitha Naqvi, Consultant Paediatric Cardiologist, Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust
Prini Pithouse, Company Secretary and Deputy General Counsel, Legal Regulatory & Compliance, Visa Europe
Stella Vig, Consultant Vascular and General Surgeon, Croydon University Hospital
PUBLIC SERVICE
Aditi Banerjee, Co-founder, SkilIndiGlo
Parpinder K. Dhatt, CEO, Sandwell Asian Family Support (SAFS)
Nadia Khan, Co-founder, The Delicate Mind
Dr Duleeka Knipe, Vice Chancellor’s Research Fellow, University of Bristol
Dr Mimi Zou, Fangda Fellow in Chinese Commercial Law, University of Oxford
REAL ESTATE, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CONSTRUCTION
Sherin Aminossehe FRICS, Head of Offices, Lendlease
Vidhya Issac-Langford, Senior Project Manager, Arcadis
Doris Lam, Senior Project Manager, Far East Consortium
Hana Sicander, Cost Manager, Turner & Townsend
Judy Zhu, Associate Director, CBRE
SCIENCE
Yasmin Ali, Technical Energy Specialist, BEIS
Professor Sunetra Gupta, Professor of Theoretical Epidemiology, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford
Manisha Nair, Senior Epidemiologist and Research Fellow, University of Oxford
Professor Sonia Saxena, Professor of Child Health, Imperial College London
Dr Tara Swart, Neuroscientist and Author
SOCIAL AND HUMANITARIAN
Leesa Gazi, Co-Artistic Director, Komola Collective
Geethika Jayatilaka, CEO, Chance UK
Bhavna Keane-Rao, Founder and Managing Director, BKR Care Consultancy
Deeyah Khan, Documentary Filmmaker/Founder, Fuuse
Salma Zulfiqar, Artist, Activist
SPORT
Naomi Dattani, Women’s One Day Middlesex Cricket Captain
Joy Haizelden, Wheelchair Basketball Player, BWB
Archie Kalyana, Producer & Director, Sport Production
Rashida Salloo, Founder and Director, Ready Steady Active
Nabila Tejpar, Rally Driver
TECHNOLOGY AND DIGITAL
Agnes Hoffmann, Manager, Programme Management, Publicis Sapient
Payal Jain, Managing Director, JCURV and Chair of Women in Data
Minal Mehta, Digital Strategy Consultant,
IBM iX
Jacqueline de Rojas CBE, President, techUK
Sarika Soni, Senior Manager, HSBC
YOUNG ACHIEVER
Sonia Adesara, Medical Doctor, NHS
Monika Plaha, Broadcast Journalist, BBC
Geetha Sathi, Electrical Engineer, Arcadis
Shruthi Vijayakumar, Associate, Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship
Anika Walia, Founder, Anika Food Charity
