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Revision as of 12:54, 25 February 2016

Syed Ahmed
সৈয়দ আহমেদ
Ahmed in 2007
Born (1974-09-17) 17 September 1974 (age 50)
Sylhet, Bangladesh
NationalityBritish
Alma materSir John Cass Redcoat School
Ealing, Hammersmith and West
Known forCandidate on The Apprentice
AwardsQuiet mark award (for his company's progression in the hand dryer industries.)
Websitewww.syed-ahmed.com

Syed Ahmed (Template:Lang-bn; born 17 September 1974) is a Bangladeshi-born British entrepreneur, businessman and television personality.[1] He is the founder and CEO of the British design and manufacturing hand dryer company SAVortex. He is best known for being a contestant in the 2006 series of The Apprentice, where he was fired in Week 10.

Background

Ahmed was born in Sylhet, Bangladesh.[2][3] When he was nine months old,[4] he moved with his parents to England and was brought up in East London[5][6] in a devout Muslim family.[7] He attended the Sir John Cass Redcoat School in Stepney from the age of 11 to 17 achieving 7 GCSEs. He then attended the Hammersmith College, where he achieved a BTEC in Business and Finance. He later managed restaurants, including the Titanic, part of the White Starline Group, owned by Marco Pierre White.[2][8] He was in the Air Training Corps and dreamed of becoming an RAF pilot but decided to go into business instead.[9]

Ahmed is currently the CEO of SAVortex, which specialises in high-speed, energy efficient hand dryers.[10] Ahmed's development of the SAVortex technology was shown in an hour-long documentary, Hot Air, broadcast on Sky. Ahmed initially financed the business himself.[11] Ahmed was a director of the IT recruitment consultancy firm IT People until May 2006, and a director of Magenta Partnerships Limited from June 2006 until February 2007.

He has made speeches to the young business enterprise community,[12][13] and the more general enterprise community in Britain.[14]

The Apprentice

Further information: The Apprentice (UK series two)

Ahmed appeared as a candidate in series two of The Apprentice, a British reality television show hosted by Lord Alan Sugar. The series was broadcast from February to May 2006. On the show Ahmed was a member of the "Invicta" team. He was a notable candidate on the show, but was fired in week 10.

One of his quotes on the show was a "£100,000 salary is not enough but it's a good place to start."[15]

Post Apprentice

Ahmed appeared on Sky News as a paper reviewer – reviewing current and forthcoming newspapers in a celebrity panel. He also has appeared on interviews, at BBC Breakfast with candidate Jo Cameron on the BBC,[16] and also at GMTV on ITV.[17] He appeared on Sky One's program called The Match, where 80 celebrities take part to win a place in a celebrity football squad.[18] Ahmed again appeared on another Sky One show, called Cirque de Celebrité (from October 2006), featuring celebrity circus acts, and he was voted off in the second week. He subsequently returned as a guest judge.[19]

A Sky One documentary (from June 2007) called, Syed Ahmed - Hot Air?, featured Ahmed attempting to launch a new company which specialised in hand and body dryers, with £20,000 of his own money, to develop in three months.[20][21][22] The program followed the launch of the SA Vortex's hand dryer products.[23]

In December 2010, Ahmed was a host at the Spice times Restaurant Awards in Romford, Greater London. [24]

Charity work

In 2008, Ahmed organised and led a race in support of a breast cancer charity.[25] He also sends money to families and charities located in Bangladesh.[4] Ahmed was one of the four contestants with Secret Millionaires, who attended the Geared for Giving campaign to help promote the Workplace Giving, on May 2009.[26] Ahmed also took part in a charity relay to raise money for children in Gaza. Gaza100, was held on 24 May 2009 in Mile End Park, east London, attracting over 1,500 people, which included also Apprentice candidates, Ghazal Asif and Tre Azam.He has also raised money from climbing a mountain and sent that money to Bangladesh villages water pumps for nice lush clean water [27]

Awards and nominations

In January 2015, he was nominated for the Entrepreneur of the Year award at the British Muslim Awards.[28]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Monkey goes to the National TV Awards". London: Guardian. 1 November 2006. Retrieved 2 May 2009.
  2. ^ a b Ian Wylie (8 February 2006). "Sugar begins hunt for new Apprentice". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 26 August 2008.
  3. ^ "Media troubling Apprentice stars". BBC News (BBC). 21 August 2006. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
  4. ^ a b Ali Hussain (21 August 2006). "Apprentice star gets a taste for the high life (Page 1)". London: The Sunday Times. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
  5. ^ "Yes, Ahm so happy". London: The Sun. 22 July 2006. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
  6. ^ Tamara Zaman (16 October 2008). "British Bangladeshis who have made a mark". New Age Xtra. Retrieved 2 May 2009.
  7. ^ Michelle Dewberry (19 February 2007). "My love for Syed tore me apart". London: The Daily Mail. Retrieved 2 May 2009.
  8. ^ "The Apprentice series two meets the boys". BBC (Press Office). 2 July 2006. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
  9. ^ Natalie Clarke (11 August 2006). "Yes we're Apprentice parents". London: The Daily Mail. Retrieved 2 May 2009.
  10. ^ "SAVortex Presentation" (PDF). SA Vortex. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  11. ^ Nick Levine (18 February 2006). "Syed Ahmed". Digital Spy. Retrieved 16 October 2008.
  12. ^ "Report on Isle of Wight Young Chamber Conference 2006". Young Chamber. 2006. Archived from the original on 5 September 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
  13. ^ "University of Oxford Special: Oxford University's Trading Places". MCC. 28 April 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2009.
  14. ^ "Herts Connections - Syed Ahmed". DanStorey.com (Blog). 8 September 2008. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2009.
  15. ^ Haigh, Gerald (2008). Inspirational, and Cautionary Tales for Would-be School Leaders: Tales for Would-be School Leaders. Routledge. p. 138.
  16. ^ BBC Breakfast (10 May 2006). "You're fired..." BBC. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
  17. ^ "Apprentice star 'protecting' Michelle from media". Evening Standard (London). 21 August 2006. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
  18. ^ "Badger's big idea lands her a TV show". London: The Daily Mail. 16 August 2006. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
  19. ^ "Best and worst of The Apprentice - Syed Ahmed". Virgin Media. Retrieved 2 May 2009.
  20. ^ Leigh Holmwood (26 April 2007). "Syed pays for body warmer". London: The Sun. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
  21. ^ Lucy Mangan (20 June 2007). "Last night's TV: Syed Ahmed - Hot Air?". London: Guardian. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
  22. ^ "Syed Ahmed - Hot Air". Twofour Broadcast. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
  23. ^ Louise Snell. "Syed Ahmed - Hot Air". Asian Business Federation. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
  24. ^ Spice Times Press Release. "Syed Ahmed Host". Spice Times Publishing Ltd. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
  25. ^ "Sir Alan Sugar's Apprentices Line Up For The 2008 Standard Chartered Great City Race In Aid Of Breakthrough Breast Cancer" (PDF). Standard Chartered. 8 July 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2009.
  26. ^ "Apprentices and Secret Millionaires get Geared for Giving". Geared For Giving. 6 May 2009. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
  27. ^ "Charity relay sets world record". BBC News (BBC). 24 May 2009. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
  28. ^ "British Muslim Awards 2015 finalists unveiled". Asian Image. 23 January 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
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