NAZIR AFZAL SECTOR DIRECTOR, CROWN PROSECUTION SERVICE The most senior Muslim officer in government took part in the awards as he truly believes in the cause: “It is wonderful that the Asian Woman Awards For Excellence exists. We all work in our little silos, we’re all doing great work and sometimes we don’t know who else is inspiring; who else is making a difference. Award ceremonies like this one are in a position to say, ‘Look at this person. Look at what they’ve achieved’. There are young people up and down this country who will think, ‘I can do that given the right support’. I think it’s important to celebrate achievement to ensure we have future achievement.”

PRITI GUDKA DIRECTOR OF PR AND MARKETING AT THE BHARTI VYAS HOLISTIC CENTRE AND BEAUTY JOURNALIST Priti Gudka has written extensively on a variety of beauty issues. An authority on what makes a person beautiful on the inside as well as the outside, Priti's input to the judging process was invaluable.

SUNNY HUNDAL EDITOR OF ONLINE MAGAZINE, ASIANS IN MEDIA Sunny Hundal is the founder and editor of Asians in Media magazine, as well as thinktank New Generation Network. He also runs the progressive Pickled Politics weblog which deals with issues concerning the British Asian community. He is a regular contributor to Comment is Free on The Guardian website, and was named their blogger of the year.

SAYEDA RAFIQ DIRECTOR OF INTERMEDIARY FINANCE BUSINESS AND MID CORPORATE BANKING, BANK OF IRELAND Who better to recognise success in others than hugely successful Director at Bank of Ireland, Sayeda Rafiq? Sayeda was able to identify successful traits in our nominees and provided useful insight and valuable input to the judging process.

RANI SINGH BROADCASTER, JOURNALIST AND ACTRESS No stranger to success, Rani Singh is an accomplished broadcaster and journalist. She was the first South Asian to gain a BA degree in Performance Arts in Britain, as well as the first Asian to appear on soap, Eastenders. Rani was extremely sure in her decisions and was particularly impressed with the winner of our Lifetime Achievement Award.

ABHIJIT SEN
HEAD OF SALES, ZEE TV
As a senior member of personnel at one of the largest media conglomerates in the world, Abhijit Sen added another level of expertise to the proceedings. We were impressed with his pragmatic approach to the judging process, as he pored over facts and figures to ensure that the judges’ decisions were informed and reflective of the candidates’ abilities and achievements.

HARB SANGHA
HEAD OF CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT AND COMPLIANCE, THE ACCESSORY PEOPLE GROUP PLC
A representative of our sponsor The Accessory People, Harb Sangha was wholly impressed with our selection of nominees. With candidates of such high calibre to choose from, Harb commented that the only way he was going to get the job done was by taking a practical, matter-of-fact approach.

BRIANNA RAGEL
EDITOR,ASIAN WOMAN MAGAZINE
Our very own Brianna Ragel was on the judging panel: “In our field we are fortunate to meet those inspiring and highly successful men and women and observe them diligently paving the way for the future generations of British Asians. The Asian Woman Awards For Excellence is our unique and sincere way of acknowledging their achievements and encouraging future Award winners.”