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The
Entrepreneur Excellence Jewel Award:
Sayeed
Ahmed, Founder of Portland Group,
is a man with an irrepressible appetite for commercial and
residential opportunities. Raised in Newcastle's West End, the 52
year-old has been instrumental in transforming a modest family
residential property business into a multi million pound portfolio,
comprising residential and commercial developments. Today, Portland
Residential is a parent company to the Rashid Group, including seven
other firms and specialising in student accommodation, with more than
150 residential units close to Newcastle City Centre. A budding
restaurant division in Mallorca has grown rapidly and there are plans
afoot for more restaurant openings closer to Sayeed's West End roots.
Oman
Rana of Industrial Medical Agency
graduated from university in 2000 and went on to work for a
multi-national company in London in the Strategic Planning and Global
Marketing department. However, in 2002 Oman set up a company in
Yorkshire providing specialist medical reports in the field of head
and neck surgery. Initially, a small panel of solicitors was formed
for whom such specialist reports were prepared. Following the Woolf
Report, legal reforms and the contraction of Legal Aid, solicitors
increasingly turned to having such cases funded and insured.
The company is now in the
enviable position of being a market leader in providing Otolaryngol
Medical Reports with direct contractual relationships with funders,
insurers and solicitors. Now aged 30, Oman's company is one of a
select few from within, as well as outside the Asian community to
share this accolade and achievement. In addition, Oman has a
burgeoning property portfolio in excess of £15 million.
Zulfiqar
Ali, Chairman of Reach BCS, was former CEO of Celltek and
is one of a new breed of social entrepreneurs. Now spending the
majority of his time at Reach BCS - an award-winning web development,
branding and communications agency - Zulf aspires to lead Reach BCS
to become one of the premier agencies in its field. His corporate
background has translated in to success in business and developing
sustainable long term community ventures like KYP and overseeing the
development of Unique Mill enterprise centre - demonstrating the
positive impact entrepreneurs play in revitalising their local
community. Amongst his many accomplishments, Zulf reached the finals
of the National Business Awards, was awarded the Queens Award for
Enterprise Promotion 2008 and volunteers his time to represent the
interests of SME's on the CBI SME council, Rochdale Development
Agency, and Board of KYP. Zulf continues to support local
entrepreneurs and emerging businesses throughout the UK.
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