Born in Karachi, Pakistan before moving to South Yorkshire in the UK aged ten, Azeem Rafiq is a British Asian cricketer who played professionally for Yorkshire County Cricket Club. A right arm off-spin bowler, Rafiq played for the County between 2008 and 2014 and 2016 and 2018, making his senior debut at the age of just 17. He captained the England under-15 and under-19 sides, and in 2012 became the youngest man to captain a Yorkshire side as well as the first person of Asian origin to do so.
In 2018, Azeem Rafiq’s world changed forever. He lost his baby son, and soon after he also lost the career that he had worked his entire life for. Rafiq blew the whistle on racism and bullying at Yorkshire County Cricket Club and he found himself in the middle of several investigations a long-running legal battle, which saw charges brought by the England and Wales Cricket board (ECB) proven against the club and a number of staff at the club bringing the 160 year old sporting institution into disrepute, commercially and legally.
Despite the decision of the cricket club and staying active throughout the Covid-19 pandemic via charitable initiatives with his family in the local area, during this time, Rafiq hit rock bottom, struggling with his mental health from grief, the loss of his career. At the end of 2022 Rafiq left the UK with his family after a backlash over his claims against the sport.
In 2023 we see Rafiq enter a new and exciting chapter. Now based in Dubai with his family, his book “It’s Not Banter, It’s Racism: What Cricket’s Dirty Secret Reveals About Our Society”, is due for publication in the summer, with a documentary to follow.
Azeem Rafiq now has a renewed purpose and mission, one that is committed to campaigning for meaningful change in global sport whilst driving mental health awareness and creating a legacy for his late son.
Operating in Birmingham, London, Manchester and Liverpool, the business recently received investment from Birmingham venture capital firm Midven and has its sights on national expansion.
Alongside this, Dan is the founder of Fourth Wall – a social enterprise that uses the arts to develop the skills of young people in disadvantages communities, a first class with honours graduate from the University of Birmingham and a Fellow of the Royal Commonwealth Society.
He is a recipient of the prestigious Point of Light Award (chosen by the Prime Minister) and a winner of the Future Faces of Entrepreneurship Award. Additionally, Dan has sat on the multiple boards including the Birmingham LEP’s business committee, UpRising, RSA Academies and was a chair of governors at a Birmingham primary school.
Since her retirement from Athletics, Denise has undertaken an array of television work including commentating on high profile athletics events and fronting shows such as BBC’s Secret Britain and Right on the Money. She is considered one of the BBCs most credible commentators, which has seen her cover many key athletics events both at home and abroad, from the Commonwealth Games to the London Olympics. Most recently, she made it to the Semi Finals of ITV’s The Masked Dancer. She is also a brand ambassador for Next, with new activewear range launching in 2022, and has worked with multiple other brands including L’Oréal, Haven and Purple Bricks.
Throughout her career, Denise has used her platform to highlight projects that discuss and promote diversity. In 2012, she anchored the Woman of the Year Awards for ITV1’s Lorraine. Then, in 2016, Denise presented Winners for BBC Two, BBC World and News, uncovering the incredible stories of female athletes. In addition to her broadcast commitments, Denise has taken on the role of ambassador and patron for several initiatives, events and charities.
Her recognition spans these varied genres, which is a testament to her talent.
» named as 1 of 7 female documentary photographers to be highlighted by the BBC during lockdown.
« Her art work has been exhibited at The Midlands Arts Centre, The Harris Museum and The Photography Show.
+ She has had work published in major publications such as OK Magazine, The Independent and Metro.
+ One of 15 female photographers chosen to be exhibited by F22 of The Association of Photographers
+ Was the award winning photographer behind the Starling Bank “Make Money Equal” Campaign
« She guest lectures at various International Universities and UK Colleges .
Tutor on the Southbank Centre Reframe Residency a telent accelerator programme funded by Apple.
In 2022 she had 8 features in mainstream photography magazines highlighting her as a leader in her field and has delivered Masterclasses on the Super-stage at The Photography Show. (Europes biggest photography expo)
Alongside continuing to create imagery for clients including Uber, Google,
Government Departments, Gumtree and the BBC; Denise continues to speak across the UK sharing her knowledge and experience with over 12 years in the field, specialising in teaching photographers how to set up multiple streams of income and creating educational experiences for emerging photographers on real life commissions.
With 7 top 10 singles, a Double Platinum album and 2 Gold in the UK alone,
Jamelia went on to enjoy international success topping the charts in Australia, Thailand, Spain and Italy.
Jamelia has toured the world with artists such as Usher, Destiny’s Child and Justin Timberlake to name a few.
After 10 years in the music industry, Jamelia decided to try her hand at Television, which saw her again achieving great success as a panellist, documentary author, presenter and talent show judge.
Jamelia’s modelling has seen her grace the covers of Elle, Cosmopolitan and Harpers Bazaar also fronting campaigns for Pretty Polly, Toni & Guy, Reebok and Boux Avenue.
As an actress, Jamelia has had starring roles in both TV and Cinema alongside accomplished talents such as Michael Madsen, Vinnie Jones and Daniel Mays.
Jamelia’s writing has been published in The Guardian, The Independent, and The Huffington Post, she enjoys using her expansive career & life experience to empower, ignite and inspire women and girls.
With all of these accolades, you’d think Jamelia would find it difficult to choose a favourite role, but these are the ones she describes as her most important, Being a wife to Her Husband of 4 Years, and “Mummy” to her 3 gorgeous Daughters Téja (20), Tiani (15), True (3) and adorable Son, Rio (11).
Keith is the CEO at 7E Youth Academy, and Chairman of The Legacy Centre of Excellence, Europe’s largest Black owned Arts and Business Centre. He is also a trustee and Chair of several professional organisations, a business advisor to aspiring entrepreneurs, and has over 20 years of experience in youth engagement.
His career started in the music industry at the age of 13 as a DJ and became a producer and professional artist at the age of 16. He went on to become a successful musician for 15 years, established an independent record label/distribution company and toured internationally. He is highly regarded as being an early pioneer of UK Rap and Hip-Hop music.
After his career in music, Keith went on to become a serial entrepreneur with businesses within property development, security, retail, and a commodities and procurement company.
He pivoted into the world of consultancy, stakeholder management and project management forming global client and partnerships list with a host of leading brands and organisations including Nike, BMG, Royal Bank of Scotland through to government and industry bodies such as the British Embassies of Gambia and Uganda, Home Office, London Metropolitan Police, Arts Council England and the Institute of Directors among many others.
He is a published author having written 3 books; “The Secret Money Manual” a very popular book which focused on financial literacy, “Know The Ledge”, a book about British Black History and modern British identity pre-Brexit, and “Youth Engagement 101” a strategic manual for contemporary youth organisations.
Prior to joining TheBusinessDesk.com, Lee-J was based in Dubai working for the $22bn turnover global recruitment company Manpower Inc. as the regional group sales manager for the Gulf. He covered six countries and nine offices and helped to launch two new business lines in the region. His experience before this was also working as a regional director for SAON where he assisted in the creation of the group’s Middle East business.
Returning back home to the UK in early 2010, Lee-J has headed up business development for TheBusinessDesk.com in the North West and West Midlands and now manages all commercial operations for the company.
Before joining The Prince’s Trust, Jonathan worked in the drinks and hospitality industry for 26 years, during which time he worked for companies including Bass, Scottish and Newcastle and Heineken in Senior Management positions for the last 14 of these. The work was mainly in the UK but for three years it involved the licensing of brands from across the World for sale in the UK.
She also can be heard standing in for Alexander Armstrong and Anne-Marie Minhall, as a presenter on Britain’s most popular classical music radio station, Classic FM.
Monica holds a MSc in Housing and previous to her employment with the Charity spent several years working in the social housing sector.
Monica also has a keen interest in football and holds a number of non-executive roles in the sector. She is a iNED at Birmingham County Football Association where she has lead responsibility for equality and mental health and chairs the Inclusion Advisory Group. She is also a member of the Premier League’s Equality and Diversity Panel and in February 2021, was appointed as one of the first women, and first woman of colour to the Professional Footballers Association Charity (now called the Players Foundation) She is also Vice Chair of the FA’s National Asian Inclusion Advisory Group. Monica became a honorary member of The Leaders Council of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in recognition of leading a multi-disciplinary charity on firm ethical values. She was named on the Top BAME 50 under 50 Entrepreneurs of 2020 list, won the ‘behind the scenes’ category in the Asian Sports List (2020) and was a finalist in the Sports and Public Service categories of the Asian Women of Achievement Awards 2021 and 2022 respectively.
In 2022, she won the ‘Corporate Achievement of the Year’ category at the British Muslim Awards.
Paul Thandi is the CEO of the NEC Group, the UK’s leading live events business, which has over forty-seven years of world-class expertise in venue and destination management.
The Group operates the National Exhibition Centre (NEC), Resorts World Arena, the Vox Conference Venue (Vox), International Convention Centre (ICC) and Utilita Arena Birmingham in the heart of the UK. It also manages a range of support services – a national ticketing agency, The Ticket Factory; hospitality brand, Amplify; award-winning caterer, Amadeus; and consultancy and venue management arm, NEC Group Venue Partnerships.
Paul sits on the Boards of Metrobank PLC, West Midlands Growth Company, Inspired Minds and the British Allied Trade Federation. He is also the Chair of the Solihull Skills and Employment Board, plus a patron of Marie Curie, Best Beginnings and Heads Together charities. Paul mentors a handful of CEOs and business leaders and is an advisor to the sports industry on the Diversity and Inclusion Agenda.
He was recognised for his dedication to the development of business and his contribution to the national economy by the Queen in the 2020 New Year’s Honours List, with the awarding of a CBE. This goes alongside his duties as a representative of the Queen in the region, under his role as a Deputy Lieutenant.
I have over 20 years of experience in the Higher Education sector gained from multiple roles – these have ranged from teaching in the classroom right through to senior management positions.
I currently hold a dual strategic leadership position as Dean of the Faculty of Business at Arden University and I’m very proud to have been appointed as Arden’s first ever Dean, giving me the exciting opportunity to build a Faculty from scratch. I am also the Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor (Academic) at Arden University.
Born in Nairobi, Kenya, and the youngest of seven children, I have enjoyed a successful career in industry prior to making the jump into academia. Realising this was where I could enact genuine change, I moved across as a result of my desire to help students from widening participation backgrounds achieve their goals and support their communities. I was featured in the publication “We are the City” named as an inspirational woman, have made an appearance on BBC Radio 4 discussing digital technology in Higher Education and have also been a finalist for two consecutive years in the grand prix category of the Education Investor Awards shortlisted as Business Woman of the year (2022) and Business Woman to Watch (2021). Similarly, I was named in the Business Women in Education’s inaugural Women to Watch list in 2022.
I was the winner of the most prestigious CMI Volunteer of the Year Award 2022 having been the former regional chair for the West Midlands and Northwest regions. I am an inspirational speaker and have a keen interest in the equity, diversity and inclusivity of organisations and have delivered several keynote presentations both locally and nationally as well as published several articles advocating the benefits of diverse and inclusive management and leadership teams. I continue to engage with audiences across a variety of sectors with the ambition to encourage and inspire more females, especially from ethnic minority backgrounds, attaining senior leadership roles.
Away from work Satnam does what she can to raise awareness of breast cancer following a diagnosis almost 5 years ago. She is vocal on social media about ‘self-checking’ and has done numerous talks about her experience. Crucially, she uses her recorded video diaries to campaign at a grass-roots level in South Asian communities where the subject of breast cancer still remains ‘hushed’.
With over a decade of experience in global executive search and leadership assessment analysis, Scarlett has a proven track record of success and expertise in various subjects, particularly within recruitment, STEM and equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).
As a female founder, Scarlett has secured significant investment and scaled her fully retained search business from a zero starting point to a seven figure enterprise. Scarlett’s dedication to her work has earned her multiple client quality, EDI, top consultant, and leadership awards from 2006-2022.
Her impressive achievements and expertise has led to Scarlett being featured in prominent media outlets such as The Times, Business Leader, BBC News, The Independent, and Daily Mail.
Scarlett’s commitment to diversity and inclusion is demonstrated by her role as an EDI ambassador and advisor to the Recruitment Employment Confederation UK and numerous voluntary initiatives. In addition, she serves as a board committee advisor to the UK Black Business Show and is a judge for the REC Awards and Black Talent Awards.
Scarlett is a sought-after keynote speaker, having delivered inspiring speeches at various events such as Karen Brady’s Women in Tech Expo, Radio 5Live, EON Leadership Series, NatWest Rose Review, UK Construction Week and Local Councils to name a few. She is also a dedicated business mentor with a focus on purpose, passion, and profit and has helped many aspiring entrepreneurs and business leaders achieve their goals.