Syed Ahmed

Syed Ahmed hit the headlines by reaching the final five in Series two of BBC TV's ‘The Apprentice' - earning himself a National Television Award nomination in the process. Syed has 5 GCSE's and a BTEC National Diploma in Business & Finance. Prior to embarking on his corporate career, Syed trained as a junior pilot in the Air Training Corps and also earned his Duke of Edinburgh Gold standard award.

A highly driven and dynamic entrepreneur with a background in IT recruitment, Syed started his first business venture in 2004, when he founded IT People Ltd. He played a key role in bringing in the business of numerous big accounts, including corporations such as Morgan Stanley, Reuters and Centrica, and achieving an impressive first-year turnover. This strong performance, coupled with Syed's careful positioning of the brand within the marketplace, enabled him to agree a deal with his business partner for his shares and leave to pursue his entrepreneurial instincts and set up a new venture in a growth market.

His energy was channeled into SAVortex Ltd, a UK company that has developed revolutionary air-spinning heating technology for hand-dryers. The technology, developed by one of the country's leading airflow dynamics engineers, is worldwide patent protected and has been compared to the game-changing cyclone technology Dyson brought to the vacuum cleaner market. After securing international patents and developing two functional product prototypes, Syed hand-picked a management team and board of directors to assist the international launch of SAVortex. He has been a key figure in generating sponsorship, grants and successfully raised in excess of £250,000 - while overseeing ongoing product development, the set up of production and the implementation of marketing strategies.

As a dedicated and energetic entrepreneur, with an infectious enthusiasm for business, Syed also found time to develop a sideline in keynote and motivational speaking - including appearing as a guest speaker at The Global Management Challenge competition and presenting awards at The National Final held at CIMA headquarters. Syed also rolled-out ‘Pioneering Ambitions' - an initiative sponsored by Oxford University and hosted The Edge Competition final at London Stock Exchange, sponsored by AIGO & SEEDA.

Syed actively supports and sponsors several charities and is a non-executive director of restless beings a charity aimed at reducing injustice, persecution and child exploitation around the world. His other charitable activities include supporting CRP - Bangladesh, The Queen Mary University London, BFA, QMBC, Cancer research, brest cancer research, Gaza 100, Just giving, Islamic Relief, Bangladeshi Female Academy, and The Anthony Nolan Trust.

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