Meet the Judges for AAA25
ANNOUNCEMENT

Shortlist announced for Asian Achievers Awards 2025, Raghav and Eshaan Akbar performing on the night

Author: AAA team

To find out more about the AAA and to attend, call us on 020 7993 6851.

LONDON, 08 AUGUST 2025: The shortlist for the 23rd Asian Achievers Awards, the UK’s most prominent and longstanding celebration of British Asian achievement across multiple fields, is out. This year’s Awards will take place on Friday 19th September 2025 at the prestigious London Hilton on Park Lane. Nearly 600 guests include celebrities, business leaders and global stars. Over the last few editions, the net worth of the room has consistently been over £25 billion.

More than 500 nominations were received across all the categories, which the judges spent the last month narrowing down to a deserving shortlist. The categories include: Arts And Culture, Business Person of the Year, Community ServiceEntrepreneur of the Year, Lifetime Achievement AwardMedia, Professional of the Year, Sports Personality of the Year and Woman of the Year.

Judges were chosen to represent a wide cross-section of society across public service, business, entrepreneurship and the media. They include Dr Poonam Gupta OBE (CEO, PG Paper), Alison Eddy (Former Regional Managing Partner, Irwin Mitchell LLP), Sunil Mohindra (President, TiE North), Mina Tailor (Senior Manager, UK Customer, Propositions and Marketing, HSBC), Remona Aly (journalist) and Cary Sawhney MBE (film festival director and programmer).

This year’s shortlist reflects the wide range of talent right across the South Asian community in the UK, including Neerja Birla (billionaire founder and chairperson for the Aditya Birla Education Trust), Frank Khalid OBE (owner of West London Film Studios, Elbrook Cash and Carry and Chak89), Indhu Rubasingham MBE (artistic director of the National Theatre), Sunny Gill Singh (first British South Asian referee in the Premier League) and Amrit Dhaliwal (CEO, Wallfinch Franchising).

Speaking about this year’s programme, Pratik Dattani, Managing Director of EPG, says: “While Britain faces global economic and political headwinds from multiple sides, South Asians have again showed their resilience and ability to contribute to building the nation. They have created jobs, innovated, broken down barriers and enriched the cultural fabric of our country. Congratulations to all the shortlist and best of luck for the Awards.”

The Asian Achievers Awards continue to recognise the outstanding work of individuals within the South Asian community. The event is organised by advisory firm EPG, supported by State Bank of India (UK), charity partner Parkinson’s UK, low- and no-alcohol drinks pioneer Khoki United, think tank Bridge India, home of extraordinary food Fortnum & Mason, award-winning single malt Indri, media partners Asian Voice, Gujarat Samachar and LycaRadio as well as catering partners Madhus.

The evening will be hosted by actor Nitin Ganatra OBE and Sky News presenter Anila Dhami, with presenter and choreographer Nileeka Bose hosting the red carpet. Performers include Indian-Canadian singer Raghav, stand-up comedian Eshaan Akbar, as well as a special table performance.

Raghav is one of the most recognisable global Indian singers and sold over 1.4 million copies of his debut album ‘Storyteller’ which led to a MOBO Award, two UK Asian Music Awards, one Urban Music Award and four UK national top 10 singles.

Thomas Forrester from BBC’s Bargain Hunt and Antiques Road Trip will be hosting the charity auction for Parkinson’s UK.

Arts and Culture:

  • Bhavin Bhatt
  • Indhu Rubasingham MBE
  • Tani Gill
  • Tanika Gupta MBE FRSL

Business Person of the Year:

  • Amrit Dhaliwal
  • Bilal Farooq
  • Frank Khalid OBE
  • Rishi Patel
  • Prof Selva Pankaj

Community Service Person of the Year:

  • Juhie Radia
  • Lemona Chanda
  • Dr Manpreet Dhuffar-Pottiwal
  • Syed Muhammad Faisal Sami

Entrepreneur of the Year:

  • Anisha Joshi
  • Jimal, Nishal and Devik Solanki
  • Namita Khade
  • Parul Ganatra
  • Sharan Pasricha MBE

Media Person of the Year:

  • Emb Hashmi
  • Jessica Memon
  • Shamim Chowdhury
  • Vaishali Bhardwaj

Professional of the Year:

  • Prof Aisha K. Gill CBE
  • Maulik Darji
  • Sangita Talati Bodalia
  • Shalini Gupta

Sports Personality of the Year:

  • Asmita Ale
  • Kyle Kothari
  • Harmanpreet Sandhu
  • Sunny Gill Singh

Woman of the Year:

  • Fatima Zaman
  • Nadia Paneandee
  • Neerja Birla
  • Srabani Sen OBE
  • Tania Arslan

To find out more about the AAA and to book your ticket, visit asianachieversawards.com or call 020 7993 6851.