Inspirational Panel Discussion and Networking

“Recipes for Success” at Parliament June 2018

City Sikhs were delighted to organise “Recipes for Success” an evening of inspirational talks featuring leading professionals from the Sikh community from a range of disciplines and backgrounds.

Our speakers included:

• Narita Bahra – (Panel Chair) Leading defence barrister from 2 Hare Court, with over 20 years experience. Advisory Board member for City Sikhs.
• Jo Sidhu QC – Leading criminal lawyer. Bencher of Lincoln’s Inn. President of the Society of Asian Lawyers (2013-2016) and listed in the GG2 Magazine as one of the top 101 most influential Asians in the UK.
• Professor Paul Bhangal – Chairman of the Oxford Entrepreneurs Group at the University of Oxford. Paul divides his time between academia and running his own companies.
• Chayya Syal – Award-winning Broadcast Journalist. Listed in Forbes 30 under 30 Europe 2017. Associate Fellow at The Royal Commonwealth Society.
• Sukhdeep Dhillon – Senior Economist, Associate Director at BNP Paribas Real Estate. Rated top 100 powerful women working in London’s financial hub on social media.

Speakers at “Recipes for Success” at Parliament

Sukhdeep Dhillon

Senior Economist, Associate Director at BNP Paribas Real Estate.

Celebrating Votes for Women 1918-2018 at Parliament March 2018

City Sikhs in partnership with the Women’s Vote Centenary Grant Scheme were delighted to organise a special event to celebrate 100 years of women receiving the rights to vote in the UK and in particular to celebrate the hidden histories of BAME women during the suffragette movement.

The main woman of BAME heritage who was part of the Suffragette movement was Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, the goddaughter of Queen Victoria and the granddaughter of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Royal Mail also issued a stamp featuring her in mid-February, and making the Princess the first person of Sikh heritage to ever feature on a British stamp.

Our speakers included:

• Narita Bahra – (Panel Chair) Leading defence barrister from 2 Hare Court, with over 20 years experience. Advisory Board member for City Sikhs.
• Dawn Butler MP – Government Minister and Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities and the first elected black woman to serve as a government minister.
• Baroness Sandip Verma – Former Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for International Development) and first Sikh female in Parliament.
• Dr Kamel Hothi OBE – 38 years’ experience across banking and a trailblazer on diversity issues. Advisor to numerous organisations including The Queens Commonwealth Trust.
• Natasha Mudhar – CEO of Sterling Media a leading PR & campaign led agency with offices around the world. Has helped major brands improve their market share.
• Aya Bdaiwi – Leading interfaith community activist. Currently a project manager at Faiths Forum for London.

Speakers at Celebrating Votes for Women 1918-2018

Natasha Mudhar

CEO of Sterling Media

“Recipes for Success” at Council House, Birmingham July 2017

The City Sikhs Network were delighted to organise “Recipes for Success” – an evening of inspirational talks in the Midlands.

Our speakers included:
Sukhi Ghuman – CEO of Octavian and International Entrepreneur
Sukhi Kaur – Presenter at Sikh Channel
Sahdaish Pall – Director at Sikh Women’s Action Network
Kash The Flash Gill – British professional kickboxer who is a former four-times world champion

Speakers at Recipes for Success Council House – Birmingham

Kash The Flash Gill

British professional kickboxer who is a former four-times world champion

“Recipes for Success” at BDO May 2017

The City Sikhs Network and BDO were delighted organise “Recipes for Success” and evening of inspirational talks from our guest speakers.

Our speakers included:
Sat Plaha – Partner, National Head of Regional Forensic Services, BDO
Ayub Khan – President and CEO of OPTIMA group of companies
Angad Kaur – International Kundalini Yoga Teacher and Sikh Chaplin
Mamta Saha – International Occupational and Media Psychologist

Speakers at Recipes for Success at BDO

Angad Kaur

International Kundalini Yoga Teacher

“Recipes for Success” at Lloyds Bank Sep 2016

Recipes for Success 2016 took place at the Lloyds offices in London. A short summary of the learnings were as follows:

Success is different at different times in our lives and it comes in stages. What we see as necessary for success now is unlikely to be the same in 10 years from now so it’s important to keep that in mind. Success not just about our work but why we work and what our contribution to the world is. Also, as well as our work, the communities and groups that surround us are a integral part of our personal success so we should spend time on nurturing those relationships too.

Speakers at Recipes for Success at Lloyds Bank

Sam Uppal

Senior Manager, Lloyds Banking Group

“Recipes for Success” at UBS Bank Nov 2014

The second Recipes for Success event of 2014 took place at the UBS offices in London in collaboration with Cultural Awareness Network. Thomas, the Keynote Speaker for the evening provided an excellent opening to the night in which he explored the complexities of success as well as, the need for diversity both in life and at an organisational level. He spoke of the need to “harness the power of difference” and that by doing so, many benefits can be realised. You can read a full description of the event here:

Speakers at Recipes for Success at UBS

Justine Huxley

Programme Director at St Ethelburga’s Centre for Reconciliation and Peace

“Recipes for Success” at Holloway Circus Tower Birmingham May 2014

On Thursday 15th May the glorious setting of the iconic Holloway Circus Tower in Birmingham City Centre saw the City Sikhs Network Midlands launch in style with the Recipes for Success event.

Over 120 people attended the inaugural event and they were captivated by the guest speakers on the evening who were Paul Uppal MP, Cllr Preet Kaur Gill, broadcaster DJ Dipps Bhamrah and business mentor Sukhi Wahiwala. You can read a full description of the event here:

Speakers at Recipes for Success at Holloway Circus Tower in Birmingham

DJ Dipps Bhamrah

BBC Asian Network

 “Recipes for Success” at Norton Rose Fulbright May 2014

The first Recipes for Success event of 2014 took place at the stunning Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) offices in London. The evening began with an opening speech from Wasim Khan, a Partner at NRF, who imparted a few words of wisdom to the audience on what success means to him: “Success is about trying to fulfil your potential.”   Each member of the panel was introduced and asked to provide their views on success in their opening statements. The evening then continued on to an audience question and answer session followed by networking. You can read a full description of the event here:

Speakers at Recipes for Success at Norton Rose Fullbright

Simon Dodds

Deputy General Counsel, Deutsche Bank AG

The Flagship “Women in Interfaith” Event at St Paul’s Cathedral Feb 2014

The City Sikhs Network in partnership with the prestigious St Paul’s Cathedral were proud to deliver their flagship interfaith event for 2014 with a panel discussion from leading women from 4 different faith traditions. You can see photos from the events here.

Speakers at Women in Interfaith at St Paul’s Cathedral

Amrit Kaur

Musician and Sikh activist 

“Recipes for Success” at UBS Bank Oct 2013

Jai Bhakar, one of the co-planners for the event said:

“The Recipes for Success discussions are a platform for a diverse range of speakers in a plethora of fields to come together and exchange their views and experiences on what it takes to be successful. Therefore, the panel selection process is of crucial importance and it is why we strived to select a diverse range of speakers. We felt the speakers each complemented one another in their very different journeys to achieving success. For me it was interesting to hear that there is no single route to success, but whichever route one may follow it is essential for the individual to be committed and motivated to achieve their ambitions.” 

You can read the full details of the event here

Speakers at Recipes for Success at UBS Bank

“Recipes for Success” at State Street Apr 2013

City Sikhs Network supported by State Street Bank were delighted to welcome an audience of over 100 people to a panel discussion with Onkar Sahota – Labour GLA member, Kamel Hothi – Director at Lloyds Banking Group, Julie Siddiqi – Vice-President of the Islamic Society of Britain and Shabir Randeree CBE – chairman and director of numerous companies in Britain.

Highlights of the evening included how it is possible to balance the commitments of a family life whilst building a successful career, the importance of humility, and the fine line between ego and confidence.

You can read the full press release here. Photos from the event can be seen here: Link to Pictures

Speakers at Recipes for Success at State Street Bank

Julie Siddique

Vice President of the Islamic Society of Britain

“Celebrating British Asian Sporting Success” at Herbert Smith Oct 2012

Herbert Smith Freehills in collaboration with the City Sikhs Network were proud to present “Celebrating British Asian Sporting Success” in October 2012.

This was our tribute to the London Olympics featuring an evening of short inspirational talks given by Mandip Sehmi – Paralympian at the London Olympics and member of the Great Britain wheelchair rugby team; Isa Guha – Female England cricketer who played in the 2005 women’s cricket world cup in South Africa; Mihir Bose – The first sports editor of the BBC with a brief to cover sports for television, radio and online and Baljit Rihal – Founder of the Asian football awards, FA licensed football agent and director at Inventive Sports.

Photos from the event can be seen here: Link to Pictures and a video recording with wise words from the 101 year old marathon runner Fauja Singh can be seen here: Link to Video

Speakers at British Asian Sporting Success

Mandip Sehmi

Paralympian at the London Olympics and member of the Great Britain wheelchair rugby team

“Recipes for Success” at Barclays Wealth Aug 2011

Barclays Wealth in collaboration with the City Sikhs Network were proud to present “Sikhs, the City and Success” in August 2011. This was our first major corporate event featuring an evening of short inspirational talks given by Richard Barnes – Deputy Mayor of London, Sukhi Wahiwala – CEO of the Wahiwala Group of Companies, Krish Ravel – Director of Faith in Leadership, Dr Surinder Hundal – Director at Principles for Responsible Investment and Dr Japjeet Kaur Khalsa

The evening provided an opportunity for questions followed by networking over drinks and canapés. Photos from the event can be seen here: Link to Pictures

Speakers at Recipes for Success at Barclays Wealth

Richard Barnes

Deputy Mayor of London