Our presenters

Preethi duped the literary world by leading a double life as her own PR consultant to get her novel noticed. It paid off!

After her manuscript, Gypsy Masala, was rejected by most publishers, Preethi Nair left a lucrative career as a management consultant to set up her own publishing and PR company. Not having the resources to rent an office and publish her book, Preethi established a multinational in her bedroom and duly appointed feisty director, Pru Menon (an alter ego) to energetically and shamelessly hype her work. Nobody else knew of her scheme!

Working as several different people and with a frenetic double, sometimes triple life, Preethi gained substantial press coverage for herself. And after two years and an amazing journey, her faith in her own talents and her perseverance in the face of consistent rejection were rewarded; she signed her three-book deal with HarperCollins.

Preethi Nair won the Asian Woman of Achievement award for her endeavours.

'Pru' Menon' (the alter ego) was short-listed for PPC Publicist of the Year!

The BBC have bought 100 Shades of White for a television adaptation.

Her latest book, Beyond Indigo, a fictionalised account of her extraordinary journey is released in September 2005.

Preethi Nair also works as a travel writer for the Sunday Times, is a contributor on Radio 5 Live’s book panel and works with organisations to inject her unique brand of creativity into the work place.

Born in India, Rajesh Agrawal moved to London in 2001. As an entrepreneur he founded RationalFX in 2005, and Xendpay in 2014, both companies utilising technology to reduce the cost of international money transfer for businesses and individuals. A West London resident, Rajesh is passionate about promoting entrepreneurship and creating opportunities for young people. He was appointed Chair of Oxfam’s Enterprise Development Programme in 2015 and has been a Patron of the Prince’s Trust for many years.

In 2010 in the library at the LSE, Reza Merchant set up The Collective, frustrated by the lack of high-quality, accessible accommodation for young people in London. The Collective is one of the most innovative and dynamic property companies in London. It is the UK’s first and the world’s largest co-living provider, providing young people with a new way to live, focused on community, convenience and quality.

Richard Brown is Research Director at Centre for London. He leads our research and events programme, and writes and speaks widely on urban economics, housing and government.

He joined Centre for London in 2014 from London Legacy Development Corporation, where he was Strategy Director, planning the development of London’s Olympic Park and the surrounding area. Before that he worked at the Greater London Authority, first as Private Secretary to Mayor Ken Livingstone, and then as Manager of the Mayor’s Architecture and Urbanism Unit, which promoted great architectural and urban design in policies and projects.

He previously worked as a journalist, and as a researcher on local government at the Audit Commission.

Richard MBA (Warwick), DipM, BA (Hons), is Managing Director of The JGA Group, a well established and fast growing W London apprenticeship and training organisation. They pride themselves on quality and are always looking out for entrepreneurial opportunities. They trained the 2018 W London Apprentice of the Year and are W London SME of the Year (Highly Commended). His previous experience is in in steel and ePublishing and he is past Chair of the Warwick London Alumni Network.

Roger is Chief Executive of the Omega academic Knowledge Transfer Network on aviation sustainability, based out of Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK. Omega started in January 2007 involving 9 universities and a wide range of stakeholders. Previously Roger headed up work in the UK Department for Transport on air quality and environmental technology aspects of aviation's environmental impact.

He has 20 years experience in aviation during which time he has also worked for Defence Evaluation Research Agency and QinetiQ on aviation environmental research management and emissions technical issues.

Director at Spark! West London's leading education business charity, established in 1980. Ruby brings over a decade of experience in education-business partnership to the role, understanding the complexities of sustaining long-term partnerships and embracing ideas to innovate. Most importantly, Ruby has tremendous passion for positively influencing the future lives of young people. She says, "I’m drawn to organisations that define their purpose by their contribution to society. I believe careers education is a vehicle to change for individuals."

Rupa Asha Huq is a British Labour Party politician, columnist, academic and DJ. She was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Ealing Central and Acton at the 2015 general election. She was formerly a lecturer in Sociology at Kingston University. In 2008, she served on a UK government Foreign and Commonwealth "Understanding Islam" delegation to Bangladesh.

In May 2015, Huq won the Ealing Central and Acton seat. Huq was appointed vice chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Music Group and All-Party Parliamentary on Crossrail. She is also chairing an All-Party Parliamentary Group on London, with specific reference to planning and the built environment. Since her election, Huq has also been a member of the Justice Select Committee. In October 2016, Huq was appointed as a member of the Shadow Home Affairs team in the Labour Party's frontbench in Parliament. She is Shadow Home Office Minister for Crime Prevention. In June 2017, in the general election, Huq retained her seat with an increased majority of 13,807.

Ryan is the CEO and co-founder of AEROPOWDER, a startup developing sustainable insulation materials from surplus feathers. 

He received his PhD from Imperial College, where he studied the effects of air pollution on the lungs. Now, with a passion for solving tangible problems in the world, his work with AEROPOWDER has culminated with the release of pluumo, the world’s first feather-based thermal packaging material for deliveries.

Ryan has been recognised for his work by becoming an Echoing Green Climate Fellow (2017) and being featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe List for Social Entrepreneurs (2017). 

WilkinsonEyre Director, Sam Wright joined the practice in 2001 and leads the Sports and Leisure Team, delivering award-winning projects such as the Liverpool Arena; the London 2012 Olympic Basketball Arena and more recently, the redevelopment of the Compton and Edrich stands at Lord’s Cricket Ground. His work has been instrumental in the expanding of WilkinsonEyre’s work in the sporting sector.