Entrepreneur of the Year Nominees

Gita Patel
Co-Founder & Director, Stargate Capital Investment Group

Gita Patel has been named as one of the most influential Asians in Great Britain and when you speak to her you understand why. She co-founded an investment company, called Stargate Capital Investment Group and through this the pioneering initiative Trapezia (London) was born. This fund invests in women entrepreneurs and offers their businesses practical, hands-on support with mentoring and nurturing and helps with influential networks.

Gita is herself well versed in the sphere of finance and was among the first group of ethnic minority women in the UK to qualify as a chartered accountant. Her early career was spent training at renowned firm Arthur Andersen, before she was head hunted by oil giant Gulf Oil. But the pull of a career in finance was all too strong and Gita found herself back in the City and embarking on a banking career at NatWest Group. "I joined at managerial level", she says. "This was itself quite unusual, as the bank usually recruited managers from within the organisation and there were hardly any women."

She says that her proudest achievement has been with Stargate Capital, which deals in fund management and corporate finance, and through which she believes she has been able to identify "the next big growth sector", the women's market. "I created Trapezia, which is Europe's first venture capital fund where women play an influential role", she explains. This dedicated initiative raised £4.5m and has been invested in women focused businesses and has been the inspiration for other countries to set up similar models.

With an established career in place, Gita is now sharing her expertise with other budding female entrepreneurs and has the vision of wanting to take the women's business market mainstream. "By offering quality advice and improving access to capital, to markets and to business networks we can help create sustainable businesses, she says.

Kal Kaur Rai
Director

For ex-advertising executive Kal Kaur Rai, deciding to pursue a career in fashion designing has been one of the most fulfilling and rewarding decisions of her life - not bad for someone who was afraid to tell her parents that she wanted to diverge from safer career options to follow her dream of designing clothes.

What began as a childhood hobby and then became a necessity - "I was so skint when I came to London that I started making clothes for other people" she says - has turned into a very lucrative and creative enterprise for the budding entrepreneur. Her innovative and stylish designs - described as "funky and feminine with an edge", has caught the eye of industry big-wigs and fashionistas alike. Kal's clothes can be seen in such fashion bibles as Elle and Marie-Claire and her famous clientele includes Beyonce, Victoria Beckham and Cat Deeley.

She says of the celebrities who wear her clothes, "It's an honour to see them pictured in something you've designed, particularly because they have such a choice and have clothes thrown at them almost everyday."

Today, the Kal Kaur Rai label, which began life in 1997 and is aimed at the 18-30 year-old professional and fashion-conscious woman, is stocked at more than 100 retailers in the UK and internationally, including such mainstream outlets as Topshop in London. With demand high for her clothes, Kal decided to open a wholesale boutique in London's trendy Great Titchfield Street and has seen this venture go from strength to strength.

Pally Pagliuca
Director of Benito Brow Bar

Pally's innovative idea to start up a business for threading - which is a quick and easy way of removing facial hair - came to her at the age of 13.

When she first started working at a salon, 12 years ago, she introduced threading to the customers and it became a massive hit. Then after she got married her and her husband decided to set up a brow bar.

Today the company has grown tenfold. Her 'Brow Bars' can now be found in Selfridges. Starting out with just two threading specialists, Pally now hires 56 specialists. Her only regret is that she didn't do it earlier.

When asked what the key to her success was, Pally confidently replies that she was able to spot something that is old in terms of tradition, yet new in the mainstream. She wanted to introduce people from different backgrounds to threading. Now you can go into Selfridges in Birmingham, and find them doing threading. Pally claims that she is extremely proud that the vision that she had since she was a little girl can now be shared with others.

She is currently planning to go nationwide by the end of next year, and with 28 other projects on the go, Pally is one very busy lady!

Businessman of the Year Nominees

Mo Chaudry
Chairman and Chief Executive of Water World

Mo Chaudry is undoubtedly a self made man. After a string of jobs in finance and insurance he set up his own company in 1985 and became a millionaire by the age of 30.

In 1999 he took over Stoke-on-Trent's loss-making Water World theme park for £1.5m. Today it is the UK's No 1 water-based leisure attraction and Stoke-on-Trent's biggest tourist attraction.

You might also recognise him as a contestant on the Channel 4 reality show, The Secret Millionaire, in which he lives undercover in an inner city.

Mo argues that one of the biggest problems in society is the lack of positive role models and so he set up a partnership with the local high school for a mentoring scheme. He has also worked with a number of charities including the National Deaf Children's Society, the NSPCC and he set up the Al Amir Foundation School in Pakistan, which teaches 200 children.

He is also no stranger to physical endurance and has taken part in pursuits such as climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and cycling through the desert in Jordan to raise money for charity.

Mo is also a board member of the North Staffordshire Regeneration Partnership and of Staffordshire Tourism.

He is also vice chairman for the Ethnic Businesses Association, which represent all ethnic businesses and he joined the Board of the West Midland Business Link of which he is the only Asian to join. He is also currently working with the vice chancellor of Staffordshire University to encourage community cohesion.

Ramesh Sachdev
Chief Executive, Life Style Care Plc

For husband and wife team Ramesh and Pratibha Sachdev, the concept of 'giving' has been the guiding light for everything they have done. Mr Sachdev and his wife conceptualised and established Life Style Care, a portfolio of care homes across the UK.

Ramesh and Pratibha believe that how we care for older people is a measure of how as a society we value them. To this end they have insisted their care homes offer the best professional care in top quality purpose built accommodation with all single ensuite rooms. Over the years Ramesh and Pratibha have created over 5,000 new jobs and approximately 4,000 nursing beds.

Having come to the UK from Kenya in 1965, Ramesh qualified as a chartered accountant, a profession he successfully pursued for several years. Then in 1987, from the seeds of an idea from his wife and with her guidance and support, he decided to conceptualise this vision into an operational company and hence was born Life Style Care.

Today, the company is said to be worth millions of pounds and is one of the UK's leading care home operators, but for Ramesh wealth is only a temporary facet of life. More so than any financial success, he highlights the meeting of his Guru, Morari Bapu, as the most important turning point in his life. He says, "With my Guru's knowledge and blessings, I have learned to understand that everything ultimately belongs to God and we are simply instruments of His will. I feel very blessed and privileged to have wealth on this earth and I believe that it is my duty to give this back".

For Ramesh, the central ethos for him and his family is to give back to those in need. He has formalised the family's donations by setting up a charitable foundation, which supports both practically and financially, many projects around the world. He and his family take time to visit the projects they are supporting and offer hands on assistance to empower disadvantaged people.

Away from his hectic work and philanthropic schedule, Ramesh visits his Guru often attending his Kathas (discourses) regularly. He also enjoys spending time with his family and his new grandchild.

Sir Gulam Noon
Chairman of Noon Products Ltd

Sir Gulam Noon has been described as the 'monarch of the masala' for his extremely successful range of Indian ready meals.

Starting out in the food industry in India, Bombay, at a very young age, Sir Gulam worked at his grandfather's shop. In 1966 he came to London and started up a confectionery business which proved to be a success in the Asian community.

Then in 1989 Sir Gulam discovered a niche in the UK for Indian ready meals. At the time, he believed that "the available Indian food in the shelves of the supermarket were insipid, badly packaged and a million miles away from authenticity", so he set up Noon Products. He started by distributing through, frozen food company, Birds Eye, who gave him a very large contract. His ready meals can now be food in the shelves of top supermarkets such as Sainsbury's, Waitrose, Marks and Spencer and Morrison's.

Today, Noon Products is part of Kerry Foods, which is a large conglomerate company and holds the same ethos as Noon products. Sir GK also set up the Noon Foundation in 1996, from which he donated £4m from his personal wealth. It has worked closely with Tower Hamlets College and more recently, given grants to students at Oxford University and Birbeck University.

In 1996 Sir Gulam received an MBE for his contribution to the food industry. Then in 2002 he received a knighthood.

Young Achiever of the Year Nominees

Adam Khan is set to make motor racing history when he becomes the first British-Asian driver in Formula One later this year having recently signed with a top F1 manufacturer team. But despite the pressure to perform and succeed where others have failed, Adam takes everything in his stride, "I don't get stressed. I have learnt how to stay calm in most situations", he says.

Indeed he has a lot to be confident about, as he comes with a well proven record in motor racing. Formula One supremo Eddie Jordan endorsed Adam's career when he was just 17 years-old and he went on to compete in various races in the British F3 championship, winning the majority of these with podium finishes. In 2005, he was selected as the driver for the Pakistani A1 Team for the A1 Grand Prix, and in September 2008 he became a seat holder of A1 Team Pakistan.

Adam has been officially appointed as the Ambassador for motor sports in Pakistan by the Government of Pakistan.

In June 2008, he joined the F3000 Euroseries, with impressive performances to earn himself top podium finishes and numerous race victories.

This achievement puts Adam into an elite clique of racing drivers who's similar success in the same category have led onto careers in Formula one, names such as Mika Hakkinen, Juan Pablo Montoya, Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa, to name a few. It was also the first time that Pakistan's national anthem was heard at a European championship event.

Away from the track, Adam has managed to concentrate on his education and graduated from King's College (University of London) with a Business degree, in 2008.

With such a level-headed, modest and professional approach, this young achiever is sure to achieve even greater things in the future.

Best known for his role as Anwar in E4's teen drama, Skins, Dev is a star in the making. At only 18 he has shot to stardom. His popularity on the show has certainly worked in his favour and he is now starring alongside Anil Kapoor in Slumdog Millionaire., in which he plays a boy from the streets of India.

Dev nearly missed his calling as an actor when he decided not to go the audition for Skins. But it was his mum who convinced him to give it a try and he has not looked back since then.

A boy of many talents, Dev also has a black belt in Taekwon-do and has won a number of gold medals.

Tasmin Lucia Khan is an Oxford University graduate who majored in Economics and Politics. A keen debater, Tasmin has always defended vehemently what she believes in. She is proud of her Bengali roots and says that it is possible for Islam and the West to be compatible.

She started her TV presenting career as a youngster on Asian channel Zee TV. Discovering a passion for news and current affairs, she soon got the opportunity to produce and present a sports programme on Channel Five.

A stint with her own production company followed, before she took a job with PTV as a correspondent covering UK news stories to an Asian audience. It was at the end of 2007, that Tasmin got her break in mainstream TV and joined the BBC as a news and entertainment presenter and journalist. She currently presents regular bulletins on the BBC News Channel and BBC3.

Not just a pretty face, Tasmin plays a key role in researching and writing the scripts for her regular bulletins on the BBC. Away from the camera, she is actively involved in charity work and educational projects which help children in developing countries to better their lives. Tasmin exudes warmth, strength of character and confidence, a winning combination.

Born in Bristol, of Pakistani origin, Adeela Shafi became the first Muslim Asian woman to stand for Parliamentary candidate for the Conservative Party.

A strong believer in charity and voluntary work, Adeela managed to raise £117, 000 in 12 days for victims of the Pakistan earthquake in 2005. It was ultimately this that made here get into politics.

Adeela claims that she wanted to create a better place for her children to grow up in and felt that rather than complain about it, she should do something. Adeela feels that being a parliamentary candidate means that she has a huge responsibility to portray herself well. She also feels that politicians are up for criticism when it's unnecessary.

As well being a Parliamentary candidate, Adeela is a lecturer and mother. She hopes to encourage more women and young people to get involved in politics.

She believes that politics and contribution to your community is something that we're all responsible for.

Nazir Afzal OBE is Director of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) London West, a role he took in August 2003. He is one of the highest ranking minority staff in the CPS and was honoured with an OBE in 2005 for his work with the CPS and the local community.

Nazir has successfully prosecuted many high-profile cases since joining the CPS in 1991, and is well-known for his campaign work against honour-based violence. He was pivotal in organising the first CPS conference on 'honour crimes' in 2004, something which brought him to the attention of the international community.

Away from his hectic work schedule, Nazir is actively involved in community and charity projects, having raised money for children's charities in the UK and for schools in Northern Pakistan. He also sits on various committees and associations, including the National Muslim Safety Forum and is a Governor of Thames Valley University. Nazir is a strong campaigner for equal opportunities within the CPS and also promotes the highest standards in advocacy within the organisation.

He has won various awards and accolades and was named as one of the 'Muslim Power 100' and 'Asian Power 100'. In 2007, he was named CPS Public Servant of the Year and was also awarded the Daily Mirror 'People's Award', voted for by Mirror readers.

Raj Kholi has been in the police service for 16 years. His parents sent him to a private school in the hope that he would become an engineer. Today he works for the London Metropolitan Police. He has strong interests in diversifying the police force and would recommend anyone looking for a challenging career to join the police service.

Raj receives phone calls and emails on a regular basis from young Asians who are unsure about joining. He believes that they don't trust the police and that this is something that needs addressing.

Raj's journey into the police force has not exactly been an easy one. He has experienced racism - more so from the public. And although he has always challenged such behaviour, it has not always been easy - especially when he first began and was still trying to fashion his career.

Raj claims that one of his greatest achievements was when he mentored a 52 year old Somalian man and helped him through the process of joining the police. He gets an email from him every week thanking him for his help.

Excellence in Entertainment Nominees

Music mogul, Rishi Rich, has been around for along time now. Today he is an internationally recognised producer who's responsible for breaking artists Jay Sean and Juggy D and turning them into two of the biggest names this generation of music has seen. In addition, Rishi has produced for some of the biggest names including; Madonna, Britney Spears, Mary J Blige and UK artists Craig David, Nathan and Mis-teeq.

Rishi's been making music since the age of 14 and is credited as one of the most respected and talented producers to date. Rishi was recently nominated as the Best Producer for the 2008 UK Asian Music Awards. 

The only child to a single Mother who moved to the UK from Kenya, Rishi attributes a lot of his musical upbringing to the tastes of his Mum: "I heard a lot of diverse music in my childhood, before I fell in love with R&B, I heard a lot of Motown, Elvis and of course Bollywood. Having lived in Croydon and then moving to Harrow, my cousin Amit (AKA Mentor) was into Percussion and I was into Keyboards - we were encouraged to pursue music as an extra-curricular activity."

He recently set up his own record label, Rishi Rich Productions. The label's biggest success has been the signing of H Dhami who has conquered the British Asian music scene. Rishi is also working on debut albums for Mumzy and Natasha.

Singer, songwriter and actress Karen David has impressed the music and acting worlds with her talent, style and sheer passion for her art.

With her exotic good looks and charismatic personality, Karen came to the attention of UK and international audiences with major projects like films The Colour Of Magic- a screen adaptation of the popular Terry Pratchett novel - and The Scorpion King: Rise of the Akkadian. She has also had roles in Provoked with Aishwarya Rai and Naveen Andrews and in the 2005 blockbuster Batman Begins.

Karen combines her passion for acting with that of her other love, music. In 2007, she released two EPs, her debut offering the Alive EP (featuring a song from the soundtrack of Provoked which she wrote with A.R. Rahman) and also the critically acclaimed, Live Sessions EP, with a live band in session.

Stating the best advice she's received, Karen emphatically says: "In life you can't give up. It's as simple as that. This [music and acting] is a childhood dream I've had my whole life, and I have to see it through. You only get one life, and I want to live it truthfully and to the fullest."

Recently, Karen has been in LA writing and recording new music and has also signed for a cameo role in new film, Couples Retreat, where she will act with Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, and Jason Bateman.

Manjinder Virk started her acting career with minor parts in various TV dramas and films but it was the Channel 4 film, Britz that took her acting to another level. In Britz Manjinder played troubled Muslim girl, Nasima, who plots a terrorist attack on Canary Wharf. Her powerful portrayal of a young Muslim trying to cope post 9/11 catapulted her into stardom. Britz is due to hit television screens in America this month.

A woman of many talents, Manjinder is also a writer and is directing a short film. When asked if breaking into acting was difficult Manjinder says that it is difficult but it simply means that she works much harder. She also claims that working in such a tough industry has made her more resilient.

She advises budding actors and actresses to get an education and go to university. She also encourages them to go to a drama school to get good, solid training.

With a string of projects in development, Manjinder is definitely one to watch.

Any Asian fashionista worth her salt will be familiar with the name Imani. Drawing together inspiration from several different sources, Imani is a well-known and respected name in the world of Asian fashion. As a designer studio, Imani stocks designs from several different designers under one roof, giving customers access to some of the finest fashion in the UK.

As a major authority in Asian fashion, Farrah Asi of Imani says, "Asian fashion is definitely here to stay." She has a deep-felt belief in the power of Asian fashion to make women of all shapes and sizes look good and feel good about themselves.

Being of Pakistani origin, Imtaz Khaliq went against the norms of Asian women and became a tailor. In an area which is difficult to break through for anyone, let alone someone who's Asian and female, Imtaz has broken through the barrier. Her clothes attract world press and have been seen on high profile celebrities such as Michelle Pfieffer. Cosmopolitan magazine also named her as one of the top tailors in London. She has also been in Italian Marie Claire.

When asked what the key was to her success, Imtaz claimed that it is because she is a woman and she understands clothing in a different way to what a man would do if he was tailoring for a woman. Imtaz also claims that her ability to find cuts that flatter both men and women have made her highly sought after. Clients now come to her for tailoring and consultations on what would suit them.

Imtaz began her career studying fashion at the London College of Fashion before starting her own company in 1991. As well as catering to city workers, Imtaz has attracted the wedding market. One of her wedding dresses was worn by Sian Lloyd, the weather presenter and was on the cover of Hello! Magazine, which catapulted her work Today she is based in north-east London.

Jeminee Solanki is the CEO and principal designer of her newly established company Jeminee Solanki LLP. She takes her inspiration from South Asia's rich tapestry of colour, textures and fabrics and interweaves these traits into her luxurious and high-end designs.

She explains the Asian subcontinent's appeal to a Western fashion market as being the vast talent pool and rich heritage that exists in countries like India and the Far East: "There's a reason why most of Europe and the haute couture fashion brands go to the East, they have a great culture and heritage which inspires people."

She says of her debut collection, entitled Opulent Tahiti: "My desire with this collection would be that my garments make women feel beautiful and glamourous. I created each garment almost like a piece of jewellery, hence 'Opulent Tahiti'. I wanted to make my clients feel 'precious'".

With sound retail and fashion industry experience gained through her senior role at 'Johnny Loves Rosie', Jeminee has catered for a niche in the market. Her clothes are said to offer the wearer versatility with style and luxury, from embroidered and embellished kaftans teamed with jeans for a party, to more understated pieces for a day at the beach.

Jeminee's designs have been pictured in such high-brow titles as Company magazine, with her eye-catching 'Canary Sunshine Bubble Dress' getting column inches when American actress Lindsay Lohan was spotted wearing it. With more collections planned, the sky's the limit for Jeminee .

Businesswoman of the Year Nominees

The journey from cashier to bank manager was not easy for Kamel, who was brought up in a strict, traditional household where the women didn't work. After leaving school she planned to go on to further education and become a paediatrician but her father put his foot down after realising that it meant living away from home. So she applied for a job in banking and beat 300 people for the position. Kamel claims that balancing her home life with working in a very western environment was the most difficult part of her job. She recalls times when she had to turn down training courses as it meant staying away from work. By declining it she was declining her opportunity to progress up the career ladder. At this time she had also had an arranged marriage and was living with her extended family. She promised her mother that they would be her number one priority.

Despite these setbacks, Kamel persevered and is now the Asian Markets Director for Lloyds TSB. She argues that as an Asian woman you have to work that much harder then everyone else. After 15 years at Lloyds, Kamel set up the first ethnic minority networking. She is also a strong believer of mentoring and says "there's nothing stronger then having someone who's trodden that path".

She is constantly challenging the company on ways to reach out to the Asian community.

Arriving to the UK when she was just six months old, Punita had a tough upbringing. Her parents came to the country with just a suitcase and set up home in Northolt, which at the time was a run-down, predominantly white area. Despite this Punita says that "we had a pretty basic lifestyle in terms of comfort but we had a lot of love and support from my parents". Her father is a retired Medical Officer and her mother has a Masters in Sanskrit.

Punita claims that the key to her success is "hard work, good mentoring and support from my family".

Punita went to a private all-girls school in Ealing, where she became interested in science and her teacher encouraged her to study engineering at University. She then went to Bristol University and did an engineering degree.

After graduating, Punita got a job at Accenture and ten years later she became the first Asian female to be made partner in the UK.

She was also the youngest partner. There she was responsible for the development and implementation of Accenture UK Inclusion and Diversity Strategy. She now works for LOCOG as the Head of Programme Solutions.

Ritu Sethi has been running her own law practice now for 15 years. She first started her career as partner in a medium sized law firm. Then, when one of the partners suddenly died, Ritu was left to pay off the firm's mounting debts. That's when she started up Sethi Partnerships. For the first three years all she did was pay off debts.

As well as working as a criminal defence lawyer, Ritu is a public speaker and is often called for as a speaker to a lot of the London Mayor's conferences on Asian businesses and Asian women issues. The last one she did was for the Women's International day in which there were about 2000 women there who had been out of work.

She was also the host for a chat show called Chai with Ritu, which tackled issues such as domestic violence, youth culture and the music industry. In addition to this Ritu is also a qualified beauty therapist and fitness instructor.

Ritu claims her ethos is "that when the dream is big enough the odds don't matter. It's all perseverance. I've always believed that you should never give up."

People's Choice Lifetime Achievement Award

The Lifetime Achievement Award was designed to reward a single Asian man or woman that has made an extraordinary contribution to their field of work and the wider Asian community.

This award attracted votes from a wide variety of readers, with nominees ranging from celebrities and entertainers such as Sir Ben Kingsley to dignitaries and politicians such as Baroness Shriti Vadera.

The arduous but also enjoyable task of collating and analysing the votes was performed by a special panel of judges who decided on a winner we're sure you will find to be inspirational and truly worthy of such an accolade.

The winner is someone who may not be a household name like many of the celebrities that were nominated but their work speaks for itself. This person has spearheaded the progression of Asian people in one of the country's most established organisations, and has spoken out against the discrimination faced by Asian communities. The winner has worked at grassroots level with young Asian people, encouraging them to aim higher and has acted as a role model for Asians of the first and second (and third!) generation.

Our winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award maintains a humility and modesty, despite reaching one of the most senior positions within the organisation they work in. It is this humility that allows the Asian community to directly relate to our winner and is the reason why our winner is such a fantastic role model.

We would like to extend a thank you to all those who voted in this category, and say a special congratulations to our winner who we are very pleased to announce this evening.