Pinky Lilani

Pinky Lilani CBE DL

Nusrat Mehboob ‘Pinky’ Lilani CBE DL is a food guru, author, motivational speaker and internationally acclaimed champion for women. She is the founder and chair of a number of awards recognising influential women and leaders, including the annual Women of the Future Awards and the Asian Women of Achievement Awards.

Early life and education

Lilani was born on 25 March 1954 in Calcutta, India and studied at Loreto House School, Calcutta. In 1974, she graduated from Calcutta University with an honours degree in Education and English. Lilani continued her studies, gaining a post graduate diploma in Social Communication Medias from the University of Bombay in 1976.

In 1978 Lilani moved to the UK. She completed a diploma in Management Studies at the Council for National Academic Awards and a Diploma in Marketing at The Institute of Marketing in 1988. Lilani is married with two sons.

Career

Lilani began her cookery career when she moved to the UK in 1978 when she started to compile her notes and recipes on paper which eventually become her first book Spice Magic which includes recipes and surveys the influence of history, culture, geography and religion on the food habits of India. She published and launched the book in 2001, promoting it by holding culinary demonstrations in book shops. Her subsequent books include Coriander Makes the Difference, and Soul Magic.

Lilani has acted as a development consultant with major food companies in Europe including Sharwoods, and has advised on Indian food products stocked by Safeway and Tesco. As CEO of Spice Magic, she runs team building days for major corporations based around cookery classes and demonstrations.

In 1999, she founded the Asian Women of Achievement Awards, an annual event to acknowledge the achievements of Asian women in Britain. Cherie Booth QC is a patron of the Awards.

Lilani founded the Women of the Future Awards in 2006. They were conceived to provide a platform for the pipeline of female talent in the UK; Cherie Blair is the awards patron. Women of the Future also incorporates an Ambassadors’ Programme to connect award-winning women with school sixth-formers, providing A Level students with mentors and role models and strengthening the pipeline of talent among Britain’s younger women, an annual global Summit for future women leaders, and a Network to which all shortlisted candidates are invited.

In 2007 Lilani founded the Inspirational Women’s Network, an exclusive network of high potential and high achieving UK women. The network provides an opportunity for talented women to come together, share experiences and build business relationships.

Lilani sits on the advisory boards of Global Diversity Practice, a provider of innovative multi-disciplinary consultancy and learning solutions, and Sapphire Partners, the first executive search firm to actively promote women. She is a patron of Frank Water, a charity that partners with grassroots organisations in India to provide safe water, and a British Red Cross Tiffany Circle Ambassador, a powerful group of women leaders and philanthropists. She is an Associate Fellow of the Said Business School.

Honours and awards

In 2006 Lilani was presented with a lifetime achievement award at the CBI First Women Awards. In 2012, she was named as Woman Entrepreneur of the Year at the Indus Entrepreneurs UK Gala Awards.

Lilani was listed on the BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour Power List of 100 most powerful women in the UK in 2013. In 2014, she was named as one of GQ and Editorial Intelligence’s 100 most connected women, and she was commissioned as a Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London. Lilani was appointed as Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2007 New Year Honours for services to charity, and as Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the Birthday Honours 2015 for services to women in business.