From pioneering new technologies and building international businesses to influencing public policy, academia and communities, some of the North’s leading ethnic minority figures have been recognised in the NPH Ethnic Minority Powerlist 2026.

Twelve overall winners were named across categories spanning business, technology, food and drink, international trade, academia, sustainability, culture and public service.

Hundreds of guests gathered at the Cedar Court Hotel in Bradford for a special awards evening celebrating those selected for the 2026 Powerlist and the contribution being made by ethnic minority leaders across the North.

The evening was hosted by broadcaster and entertainer Tommy Sandhu, with Simmi Sekhon, of Sekhon Group and chair of the NPH Ethnic Minority Business & Policy Forum, delivering an impactful address to guests.

Award-winning Bradford restaurant group MyLahore catered the evening, while The Association for Blind Asians was selected as the official charity partner.

Its chief executive, Debbani Ghosh, delivered a powerful appeal highlighting the charity’s work and calling on guests to support its efforts within the community.

But beyond the celebration and individual accolades, organisers say the Powerlist is intended to tell a wider story about who is contributing to the North’s economy and shaping its future.

The North is home to more than 15 million people and over one million private sector businesses, while contributing almost 19 per cent of UK GDP.

Against that backdrop, the annual Powerlist seeks to ensure the achievements of ethnic minority entrepreneurs, professionals and public figures are visible within the wider story of the region.

Sajad Hussain MBA, of Bestway Adams Foodservice Trading Ltd, was named overall Business Leader, while Bradford entrepreneur Younus Choudhary MBE, of Regal Food Products Group, was recognised as the Food and Drink Champion.

Musharaf Asghar, who first became known nationally through Channel 4’s Educating Yorkshire and has since built a career as a journalist and motivational speaker, was named Cultural Icon.

Technology entrepreneur Dr Atif Syed, of Wootzano Ltd, received the Digital Technology Trailblazer accolade, while Dr Vivek Koncherry, of Graphene Innovations Manchester, was named the overall winner for Sustainable Business.

The list also recognised some of the North’s prominent figures in academia and public life.

Professor Adeeba Malik CBE, Lord-Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, was named the overall Inspiring Professional, while University of Bradford academic Professor Uduak Archibong MBE took the Thought Leaders and Innovators title.

Professor Mohammad Faisal Ahammad, of Leeds University Business School, was recognised for Academic and Professional Excellence.

In international business, Mashood Akmal, of Aeroservices Ltd, was named International Trade Champion, while Tayo Adebisi, of Tilz Prosperitas, took the overall Women in Business accolade.

Baroness Alison Lowe, Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime in West Yorkshire, was recognised in the Social Changemakers and Community Impact category, which also encompasses political leadership.

Simon Ismail, of property developer Salboy, completed the group of overall winners, taking the award for Infrastructure, Property, Construction and Sustainable Development.

‘An inspiration for generations to come’

Sharon Jandu OBE, Managing Director of the NPH Ethnic Minority Business & Policy Forum, said the Powerlist was designed not simply to celebrate individual success but to make that success visible to future generations.

“The NPH Ethnic Minority Powerlist 2026 showcases the brilliance and the excellence of the top ethnic minority businesses, professionals,

influencers and politicians across the North of England,” she said.

“This Powerlist not only highlights the achievements of a diverse UK, and the North in particular, but also acts as an inspiration for generations to come.”

That question of visibility is particularly significant.

For younger generations growing up across northern towns and cities, seeing people from diverse backgrounds occupying positions of leadership, whether running businesses, developing technology, influencing public policy or reaching the highest levels of academia, can challenge assumptions about where opportunity exists and who belongs in those spaces.

And judges said it was not simply professional titles or commercial success that distinguished this year’s nominees, but what they were doing with that success.

Sunny Pahal, founder and business strategist at Dare To Succeed, who sat on the panel of judges said the judging process revealed the “incredible depth of talent” across the North.

“What stood out wasn’t just academic excellence or professional success, but the way so many nominees are translating their expertise into meaningful impact for businesses, public services and communities,” he said.

Joining Sunny as a judge Yvonne Stocks DL, founder, director and chair of Palm Cove Society, described the range and quality of nominees as “truly impressive”, adding that selecting individual winners had proved extremely difficult.

“In my view they were all winners,” she said.

Suraj Shrestha, Head of Marketing at GC Business Finance, who judged the Thought Leaders and Innovators category said nominees  demonstrated “exceptional impact and innovation”, while Canon Simon Baldwin, Associate Director for Knowledge Exchange at Leeds Beckett University, said the strength of ethnic minority thought leadership across the North was itself “worthy of celebration and recognition”.

The contribution extends well beyond the region.

Moustafa Elgendy, of the Department for Business and Trade, said nominees for the International Trade Champion category demonstrated the innovation, ambition and resilience of northern businesses achieving international growth while continuing to contribute to their local communities.

David Ledbury, Stakeholder and Partnership Director at Oxford Innovation Advice, similarly highlighted businesses demonstrating measurable sustainability and community impact alongside commercial success.

More than representation

The 2026 Powerlist arrives at a time when conversations around diversity increasingly extend beyond representation alone.

The people recognised demonstrate another side of that debate: ethnic minority communities are not simply participating in the North’s economy and institutions, but helping build businesses, create employment, develop technologies, educate future generations, shape public

services and strengthen communities.

For Jandu, sharing those stories is central to the purpose of the Powerlist.

The North may have made its name as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, but the people driving its next chapter increasingly reflect a very different Britain.

And perhaps that is the most significant message emerging from this year’s list.

The NPH Ethnic Minority Powerlist is not simply about celebrating diversity.

It is about recognising contribution and ensuring that the people helping shape the North’s future are part of the story being told about it.