Speakers
All speakers are listed in alphabetical surname order. This page will be updated as new speakers are confirmed.
Henry Bonsu
Best known as the man axed by BBC London for being “too intellectual”, Oxford graduate Henry has been a journalist since 1990, working on BBC radio and TV programmes like Today, World at One, Public Eye, and Black Britain. For two years the double EMMA award-winner anchored the Drivetime news programme on BBC London 94.9FM, interviewing leading politicians, businesspeople and tabloid celebrities, and was a popular panellist on Channel 5’s The Wright Stuff. Henry now appears as a news commentator on Radio 5 Live, Sky News, and Channel 4’s Richard and Judy show. Over the years he has written for the Times, Mail on Sunday, Daily Express, The Voice, New Nation, Pride Magazine, and the London Evening Standard. He is also a regular presenter of BBC World Service’s listener feedback show Write On.
Henry is a founding director of the Creative Collective, which aims to get more youngsters from ethnic minority backgrounds into the mainstream media, and sits on the board of Minority Matters Recruitment, the leading diversity agency. As well as public sector events like today’s, he hosts fundraising galas and award ceremonies for groups like the African HIV Policy Network, Connexions, and the Stephen Lawrence Trust. He is particularly passionate about his work with young people, speaking on culture and identity to primary and secondary school children around London and beyond.
Shobna Gulati
Trained at Darpana Performing Arts School, India, Manchester University, The Laban Centre, London and Middlesex University.
Her stage performances include Moti Roti Puttli Chunni and D'yer Eat with your Fingers at Theatre Royal Stratford East, Maa at The Royal Court, You're Thinking of Doughnuts at Nottingham Playhouse, How High Is Up, at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Cafe Vesuvio and Pretend You Have Big Buildings at The Royal Exchange, Manchester, A Midsummer Nights Dream, National Tour for Tara Arts, Romeo and Juliet at Leicester Haymarket, The Mikado at The New Vic, Stoke on Trent and at the Stephen Joseph, Scarborough, Crazy Lady written and directed by Nona Shepphard at The Drill Hall and The Contact Theatre Manchester, Dancing Within Walls at the Contact Theatre Manchester, Girls Night by Louise Roche (National Tour) and The Vagina Monologues.(Sheffield and Nottingham). In Pantomime in the title role of Aladdin at the Theatre Royal, Wakefield, in Dick Whittington at The Wolverhampton Grand, as the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella at Birmingham Hippodrome and at The Regent Theatre, Stoke.
On television, Shobna appeared as Anita in Victoria Wood's awardwinning dinnerladies for the BBC. As Sonia's social worker in Eastenders, for the BBC, in Dave Spikey's Magnolia for the BBC's Comedy Playhouse, as a special guest in New Street Law, Red Productions for the BBC, one of the storytellers for the new launch of Jackanory for the CBBC, as Practice Nurse, Nisha Clayton in the last ever series of Where the Heart is for ITV. She is best known to millions in her four years as Sunita Alahan in Coronation Street. She has also been on Stars in Their Eyes and Soapstar Superstar for ITV.
She has also appeared as a panelist in the BBC's Have I Got News For you and presented an episode of Saving Planet Earth for the BBC and authored her own episode of Empire's Children for Channel 4.
On radio, in If you can't stand the Heat by Tajinder Hayer for BBC Radio 4 and has presented her own Sunday night radio show "Seven Deadly Sins" for BBC Radio Manchester.
Levi Roots
Levi Roots is the singer who slayed the dragons of BBC2's business show with a reggae tune.
He convinced the millionaire investors on Dragons' Den to back his plan to produce his Reggae Reggae sauce on an large scale.
Now Roots, from Brixton, is in talks with Sainsbury's about distributing the sauce, which claims to "put music in your food". He may also have a surprise hit song on his hands.
Roots and his family have been selling Jerk Chicken and ribs using his grandmother's secret recipe barbecue sauce for several years at Notting Hill Carnival. But they only started to sell the sauce itself at last year's event. They sold more than 4,000 bottles, inspiring the singer to take his business scheme to the TV experts.
Roots, whose real first name is Keith, has performed with James Brown and Maxi Priest and was nominated in 1998 for a Mobo award as best reggae performer. But he said the Dragons' Den panel "looked at me like I was a madman" when he turned up with his guitar. "I don't think anyone has sung reggae music to them before. I thought they were going to get up and start dancing."
Telecoms boss Peter Jones and Australian private investor Richard Farleigh agreed to pay £25,000 each for a 20 per cent share of the business. They are helping Roots draw up a business plan and he is seeking industrial kitchens.
Discussions about a nationwide launch with Sainsbury's could even be accompanied by a chart release of the Reggae Sauce song following thousands of enquiries from viewers after Wednesday's show.
It is fair to say that Reggae Reggae Sauce is among the most popular product/business ever on the programme and Levi has almost overnight, become an inspirational role model for thousands, presenting to schools, business speaking events & conferences.
The sauce has broken all records for high street chain Sainsbury’s.
Rohit Talwar
Rohit is a global futurist, inspirational speaker, strategist, innovator and change agent. In January 2006, Rohit was profiled as one of the top 10 global trendwatchers by The UK’s Independent Newspaper.
In October 2005 he won the prestigious ‘stickiest guru’ award after being voted best speaker for his presentation on the future of travel at Asia’s largest travel conference. As a result, he was then asked to deliver the keynote address on future travel risks and opportunities to the ASEAN travel ministers’ Forum (ATF) in the Philippines in January 2006. In February 2006 he was invited to chair the conference and deliver a keynote address on the World in 2020 at the first World CEO Forum in Dubai.
Rohit is internationally recognized as an innovative thinker and action orientated, insightful, entertaining and thought-provoking speaker on future global trends and challenges. He draws on over 10,000 hours of research from his global analyst team to deliver compelling future business insights.
Rohit advises global corporations, innovative start-ups and governments to address key trends, develop inspiring future visions and deliver innovative change. He is currently helping clients respond to the rise of Asia and is writing a book on China’s impact on 21st century global businesses.
Rohit has launched a personal campaign to raise One million pounds for good causes. He started with a fund raising seminar and dinner for the Pakistan Earthquake Red Cross Appeal in Singapore - an event that received widespread TV, press, radio and web coverage across Asia. Rohit is currently working with a number of parties to develop a programme of fund raising events.
He has spoken and consulted on 5 continents and over 20 countries including Australia, Belgium, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Italy, Malaysia, New Zealand, The Philippines, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, the UK, the USA and Zimbabwe.
Rohit’s clients include ABN Amro, The BBC, BT, BAT, BAe, Berwin Leighton Paisner, Cargill, Chloride, Citibank, DeutscheBank, EADS, Electrolux, Ernst & Young, GSK, IBM, Intel, Linklaters, Marks and Spencer, Morgan Stanley, Nokia, Nomura, Novartis, Orange, Panasonic, Pfizer, Playtex, PwC, Shell, Thames Water and Yellow Pages.
In government he has worked with the US Department of Defense, the Singapore National Horizon Scanning Centre and in the UK - the Civil Contingencies Secretariat, Defence Science and Technology Laboratories (dstl), Home Office, Environment Agency, Foreign Office, Health Modernisation Agency, Ministry of Defence and Office of Science and Technology and the Departments for Constitutional Affairs, Trade and Industry and Environment Food and Rural Affairs
Signature
When a Muslim who performs a Michael Jackson tribute act and a chunky Sikh, carrying a broom, first stepped out in front of the cameras, the viewers were as bemused as the judges on Britain's Got Talent.
What followed could have been an excruciating mix of tastelessness and embarrassment. Instead, what we got was brilliant and hilarious, one of the most un-PC performances ever to feature on British television and a perfect riposte to those who agonise and pontificate over multiculturalism.
Since that day, Signature - the dance duo comprising Suleman Mirza, a 29- year-old trainee lawyer from Essex and 34-year-old Madhu Singh, from Hayes in Middlesex, who worked at PC World in Heathrow's Terminal 5 - have become a phenomenon.
Their blend of energetic pop and banghra has prompted standing ovations. On a single day their BGT audition rerun on YouTube exceeded five million viewers.
Signature made it through to the final and eventually finished as runners-up to teenage dance sensation, George Sampson.
They continue to wow audiences with their original, witty and highly energetic routines.