Sarah Khan-Bashir MBE is a proactive, adaptable and conscientious solicitor, highly committed to putting something back into the community. Sarah established Shire Solicitors in 2007. This civil practice specialises in family law, property law and immigration law. After qualifying as a solicitor, Sarah joined the Office of the Force Solicitor for West Yorkshire Police. Sarah led an initiative to create a protocol to be followed by the courts and partner authorities to case manage civil applications brought by the police to the magistrates’ courts. This model was adopted by several police forces. Sarah has also delivered training in respect of cultural awareness programmes to Police Officers and Local Councils and presented a paper on the evidence required to successfully apply for sexual offences prevention orders to the British Army. As Patron of the Minorities Police Liaison Committee in West Yorkshire, she acted as Chairwoman of a sub group of the committee looking specifically at the issue of Forced Marriages. Sarah was nominated for a Lloyds TSB Jewel award and was one of the finalists for the Professional Excellence Award. Sarah joined Mosaic in 2007. Princes’ Trust Mosaic was founded by HRH The Prince of Wales to connect young people from disadvantaged Muslim communities to relatable role models to help increase their confidence and improve their chances of fulfilling their potential. She is currently the Chair for the Yorkshire Regional Leadership Group and was awarded the MBE in 2014 for her services to charity. With the Baroness Warsi Foundation, a social mobility charity, Sarah has co-written and is currently delivering an employability workshop to students from local schools in Bradford. The two day workshop seeks to equip young people, aged 16-18 years old, with essential employability skills. Sarah is married to Leeds based lawyer Nadim Bashir and they have three daughters.

Director of UK Sales, Camira Fabrics

“I promised myself in 1983 that the day I didn’t enjoy coming to work I’d leave and move on. I stand by that promise and I am still here nearly 30 years on.”

Abdul is the ever youthful, ever challenging Director of UK Sales for Camira Fabrics, responsible for contract fabric sales in their largest market area covering all sectors and all channels: A&D, corporate end-user clients, furniture manufacturers and the dealer network. He was originally recruited to Camborne Fabrics as a very young YTS (remember Margaret Thatcher’s Youth Training Scheme!), then moved up through the ranks, gaining priceless knowledge and making countless friends within the industry, not just in the UK, but in overseas markets in the Middle East and Far East. He set up rival Glenside Fabrics, found his vocation in sales, then saw his career come full circle when Glenside was acquired by Interface Fabrics in the late 1990s.  Since the Camira MBO from Interface Abdul has headed up our UK sales team, never complacent, getting a total buzz from being part of making and keeping Camira market leader. After all these years one thing that still grates with Abdul is when high end furniture is downgraded with entry level fabrics: “It’s like putting re-moulds on a top of the range Mercedes!”  For someone who loves cars – and furniture – that’s utter sacrilege.

Solicitor, DLA Piper UK LLP

Qari Asim MBE is a real estate solicitor by profession, working at DLA Piper UK LLP, one of the largest legal firms in the world.  He deals with legal issues relating to commercial property and the construction of skyscrapers in Leeds, which are visible signs of the city’s booming economy. In the evening he deals with invisible improvements, assisting in spiritually uplifting the Muslim community. Qari Asim is also currently a senior Imam (prayer leader) at Leeds Makkah Mosque, which is UK’s Model Mosque. The mosque won the nationwide award due to its outreach work, and for planning initiatives that actively engage with youth, women and different community organisations.

Qari Asim is an Executive member of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board and provides guidance to mosques and Imams in the North of England. He has also advised local statutory bodies and law enforcement agencies in respect of Islamic and cultural issues. Qari is also Chair of Deen Foundation, an organisation dedicated to promoting education. He has translated a number of articles from Urdu to English and has authored a book Our Children: Our Future. Qari’s current focus is on youth engagement; he is co-founder of Young Minds, a voluntary community organisation committed to providing recreational and educational activities to the youth.

Senior Buying manager World Foods, Morrisons

Born and educated in Leeds, Noor Ali is married and has two children, Faisal 25, and Zainab 21.

Noor Ali is a multi-award winning senior buying manager for World Foods at Morrisons supermarket. Looking at her outstanding list of achievements, it’s hard to believe that she was once a checkout girl who left school without any qualifications. She has won accolades including a British Empire Medal in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for Services to Diversity in the Retail Industry; national awards for Asian Women of Achievement, and Everywoman in Retail to name a few.

Charity work and mentoring are a vital part of Noor’s work, which includes being Vice Chair for Mosaic Yorkshire. Recently Noor has developed a new initiative, ‘Noor’s Den’ to mentor prisoners at selected UK prisons. Here she provides business expertise to some of the most marginalised members of society, through a learning and development day and providing a support network for prisoners upon release.

 “Being Senior Buying Manager at Morrisons is all about delivering products and services for our customers. Getting the right products, in the right stores at the right price! This involves listening to our customers and store colleagues, working in partnership with our suppliers and with many categories, and also understanding the market trends both now and in the future. My personal aim is to drive development and help others to achieve their goals, and ultimately help them to drive development in others.”

Griselda is a multi-faceted entrepreneur, engineer and chartered accountant. She uses her vast experience with multi-national businesses to assist small and medium enterprises on ambitious growth targets. She trained as a chartered accountant with Deloitte LLP and holds an MPhil in Industrial Systems, Manufacture and Management from Wolfson College, Cambridge University.

She is a respected and impactful speaker and media commentator, with a passion for transforming businesses through the creation of innovative result driven programmes. As an expert on topics such as gender diversity, Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths (STEM) and entrepreneurship, Griselda offers a fresh approach to diversity in leadership development and writes a weekly column for the Business section of the Yorkshire Post.

Griselda is a Teaching Fellow at Lancaster University and sits on the Law & Business School Advisory Board at Leeds Beckett University. Griselda is passionate about supporting diversity through her business; Forward Ladies, a 18,500-strong (and growing) professional women’s network that supports progressive companies to maximise the potential of their female talent.

Bio will appear here shortly.

Founding director of Branksome Partners

Bernard Ginns is the founding director of Branksome Partners, which provides communications advisory services to individuals, businesses and organisations.

He is a respected journalist of national standing who has held senior roles at some of Britain’s most influential media brands.

As Business Editor of The Yorkshire Post (2008-16), Bernard earned a strong reputation as a leading spokesman for the business community in the North.

He has built a formidable network of contacts including entrepreneurs, investors, lenders, advisors, policymakers and regulators.

Bernard has extensive experience in the UK media industry, working as editor of the award-winning media start-up Kent on Sunday (2005-07), and as a reporter at The Mail on Sunday (2002-05), covering major stories from across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He started his career at the London Newspaper Group.

His proudest career achievement to date is his fundraising work with the Milton Margai School for the Blind in Freetown and the establishment of a school library in the village of Kent, both in Sierra Leone.

Bio will appear here shortly.