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Dhiru Galani was born in Mombasa, Kenya in 1947. He studied engineering in Poona, India. Than he came back to Kenya where he worked as teacher. Few years later he moved to the UK where in 1974 he got married. Mr Galani worked for Osram, a subsidiary of Siemens, and in various roles including research and development and technical support for lighting solutions. He retired two years ago and from that time he focused on serving local Indian community. Mr Galani have three daughters who have all graduated from University.

Lakshmi Kaul is 37 years old journalism and human rights graduate specialising in development communications and social media campaigning. Her research on unrecognised sector of labour at the International Labour Organisation (ILO) contributed to the drafting of child labour act in Andhra Pradesh and setting up of the National Child Labour Projects (NCLPs) in Delhi. In the recent years, she has evolved as a culture ambassador and community worker. Lakshmi leads a culture initiative in the UK - SPIC MACAY. She is on the Advisory of Indian High Commission's culture wing and is an active campaigner of Indian culture and heritage. Among her achievements is the recent victory for India at the Kashmir debate held in the British Parliament. She continues to engage with various community members in building the communities stronger via various cultural, social and professional initiatives. Another of her contribution to the Kashmiri Pandits community is the institution of community awards, to build role models and leadership in the community. Being a woman herself and a mother, Lakshmi encourages women of all age groups to bring out their strengths and use them for their own development as well as community development. A number of women have as a result taken initiative and set up their small enterprise including Ria Mitra, a former model and now an insurance company employee.

Kevin Hyland OBE is the first UK Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, as appointed by the Home Secretary Theresa May. In his new capacity, Mr Hyland will spearhead the UK’s fight against modern slavery, with a concerted focus on strengthening law enforcement efforts in the UK and internationally and helping to ensure that public authorities identify and support slavery victims effectively. Prior to undertaking this role, Mr Hyland acted as the operational lead for the Metropolitan Police’s Human Trafficking Unit. He has over 30 years experience investigating organised crime and has been successful in securing convictions in some of the most challenging cases of slavery and trafficking including cases of child trafficking and others dating back more than a decade. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Santa Marta Group, a high-level strategic partnership between international law enforcement agencies, the Catholic Church and civil society. He remains a member of this group and continues to support a number of anti-slavery projects and charities.

Gerald La Touche is a career public servant who joined the Civil Service in June 1998. Having worked across several government agencies, Gerald joined the Regional Development Agency for the West Midlands, Advantage West Midlands in May 2003. There, he served as Regional Economic Strategy Manager, and later Senior Corporate Planning and Performance Advisor. Gerald was also appointed a Justice of the Peace for the West Midlands area in April 2005, serving as Magistrate on the Birmingham Bench. In 2012 Gerald embarked on building his own consultancy. With a Masters Degree in International Studies: International Political Economy; Law; and Globalisation and Governance, Gerald focused on the international. Volunteering his services to the International Trade Union Congress, Gerald represented Labour issues at the UN Sustainable Development Conference, Rio+20 in Brazil in 2012. Gerald also contributed to the negotiations and drafting of the UN Sustainable Development Conference, Rio+20, outcome document, ‘The Future we want”. Gerald featured in the BBC ‘UK Devolution - What next’ programme by participating in the West Midlands segment, “More Power West Midlands?” Of Caribbean descent. He is happily married, father of three, and lives in the West Midlands community of Smethwick.

Sophia is an English barrister of Caribbean parentage, a single mother to mixed race, mixed sex twins, specialising in family law dedicated to child protection, having gone through the care system herself.

Ashok Lakhani founded Kolak in 1984 with his brother Bharat. Ashok met with senior executives from Swiss based snacks specialist Zweifel Pomy-Chips AG at the first European Cable and Satellite Convention and the seeds of an idea were sewn. A commercial agreement was later signed with the company and Kolak Snack Foods Limited was born. Ashok is a founding member, Chairman & CEO of Kolak Snack Foods Limited and continues to shape the future of the business with fellow board members Bharat and Rikin.

John Kalia was born on 29th August 1965, in Barking, Essex and grew up in the same neighbourhood. Upon achieving a Diploma in Business Studies during further education he joined the family business Sam Travel in 1983 as second generation to the business. Mr Kalia completed all the IATA & ABTA qualifications and in 1985, they were appointed an IATA license which allowed the business to grow from strength to strength. During this time, his passion for exploring the world amplified which he is now lucky to share with his wife and two children who share his love of travel. In 2006 they sold the business to Moresand Ltd and Mr Kalia joined them as a minority shareholder and Director. Through this, they created a business plan to be implemented in 3 stages to achieve their set goals of expansion. In 2013, Moresand Ltd was listed in the London Stock Exchange Group of 1000 companies to inspire Britain and in 2014 was ranked in Investec Mid-Market 100 list of fastest growing companies. Moresand’s CAA ATOL license is currently ranked at no. 43 in the largest UK ATOL holders, they now have 350 staff worldwide.

The venue was perfect, the hospitality warm and the audience attentive. This just about describes the very inspiring and informative event on 30 January, The Centenary Meeting, at the Imperial War Museum. It was one of the 2500 events, between now and 2018, to mark the Centenary of the First World War (1914-1918).

Dr. Richie Nanda is the Executive Chairman of The Shield Group and Topsgrup. He is very much the rags to riches entrepreneur, and started his business empire with just £10 in his pocket when he took over his first family business, which consisted of a chain of Chinese restaurants in Mumbai called TUTKUKS. Turning his attentions to the global security arena, Richie is widely credited with rescuing the ailing security industry in India in the early 1990s. He ushered in a new era of change by introducing a series of strategic initiatives. He also corporatised private security not only for TOPSGRUP but for the entire Indian security industry. He revolutionised TOPSGRUP from a sick company with revenues of £30,000 pa and eight customers, to India’s largest security group with revenues in excess of £150 million, 93,000 employees, 120 offices and approximately 8000 customers.

David Montgomery is CEO of Local World, a company he founded three years ago when it acquired regional newspapers in England and Wales. Titles include the Nottingham Post, Leicester Mercury and the Western Morning News as well as thirteen other daily titles and around 70 weekly papers.