The AWA shortlist

BUSINESS - CORPORATE

• Marina Kapoor, Senior Manager of Investment Services at Standard Chartered Grindlays Bank
• Naznina Bhatia, the first Asian female partner at management consultancy McKinsey & Co.
• Tahira Shamim, Business Manager at Marsden Building Society
• Yasmin Jetha, Executive Director at Abbey National plc

BUSINESS - ENTREPRENEURIAL

• Bubs Mahil of Chiffons in Green Street, who has dressed the likes of Cherie Booth QC amongst others, who features in the Business - Entrepreneurial category
• Madi Sharma, managing director of Original Eastern Foods, one of the UK's largest providers of Indian snack foods
• Uma Wadhwani who has propelled her business from a small fruit and vegetable wholesaler and in now one of the UK's largest importers and exporters of Caribbean and Jamaican foods in the UK.
• Zaynab Mirza, a leading make-up artist who has started her own training school and transformed the likes of John Major and a host of Bollywood artists

ARTS & CULTURE

• Amrit & Rabindra Singh, twin sisters who have taken the traditional skill of Indian miniatures and added their own British Asian experience to create a new art form
• Geetha Upadhyaya, the current artistic director of the leading South Asian Arts organisation, Kala Sangam.
• Meera Syal, whose credits include Goodness Gracious Me, Bhaji on the Beach and of course her two best selling books to name but a few.
• Mira Kaushik is currently Artistic Director of Akademi, an organisation which promotes the practice, appreciation and understanding of South Asian dance.
• Dr Vayu Naidu, former artistic director of NATAK at Leicester Haymarket Theatre
• Venu Dhupa, current executive director at Nottingham Playhouse

THE PROFESSIONS

• Adeeba Malik, from Allerton who is Deputy Chief Executive for QED (Quest for Economic Development)
• Asama Javed an assistant solicitor from Girlington
• Professor Marjan Sarshar, the first Asian female professor of Construction and Property Management
• Dr Shahina Pardhan, the first female and Asian Professor of Optometry
• Dr Vinay Sharma, one of the first female consultants in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at St James University Hospital in Leeds

SOCIAL & HUMANITARIAN

• Ajneet Jassey, a young city solicitor has dedicated much of her precious time to working amongst the community, with the charity 'Refuge' that supports women and children experiencing domestic violence.
• Ansuya Sodha, who is Deputy Mayor for the London Borough of Barnet
• Hasumati Gangadia, fiounder of the Language and Cultural Gujarati School in Harrow
• Poppy Tanna, who despite being disabled in her teens has devoted her life to improving the lives of other disabled Asians
• Dr Shobha Srivastava, founder of the Hindu Nari Sangh, a women's organisation that devotes its time and efforts to increasing cultural and religious awareness amongst the younger generations
• Zerbanoo Gifford, the honorary director of the ASHA Foundation and a woman who over the years has worked tirelessly for a host of charitable organisations across the world

MEDIA AWARD

• Jasmin Buttar, Senior Producer on BBC TV's Newsnight
• Navdip Dhariwal, a News Correspondent for the BBC
• Parminder Vir, Producer and Adviser of Cultural Diversity at Carlton Television
• Samira Ahmed, currently a news anchor for Channel 4 News
• Sheila Dadria, producer and presenter for Carlton TV's flagship Asian programme Asian Eye
• Kavita Shewaram, currently a Senior Producer on BBC TV's Newsnight

YOUNG ACHIEVER

• Kavita Maharaj is currently a co-anchor for Bloomberg Television breakfast news programme and features.
• Mussarat Hussain, owner of Memsahib boutique in Birmingham, which she set up with a grant from the Princes Trust
• Nita Bhalla, a correspondent for the BBC based in Ethiopia
• Preethi Nair, the budding author of 'Gypsy Masala'
• Sakina Zafar, who is an inspiring and dedicated law teacher from Leicester
• Sunita Singh-Dalal who is one of the youngest Asian women to have achieved partnership in a law firm and is also the chair of the British Indian Law association

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