LEADERSHIP

MOHAMMAD HOTAK

Dr Hotak comes from a longstanding background in healthcare, philanthropy and social entrepreneurship. He is a strong tri-sector leader with extensive experience in the public, private and non-governmental sectors. After graduating from medical school, Dr. Hotak worked in National Health Services in United Kingdom, has led numerous community organisations, is a keen philanthropist and serial entrepreneur. He is the Founder of Invest In Great Britain, Hotak Healthcare, UK Asia Trade & Investment Council, World Afghan Congress and Afghana Foundation. Dr Hotak is a national and internationally renowned speaker on trade, innovation, entrepreneurship and FDI in the media, academia and global forums. 

He holds an MBChB in Medicine from Leeds Medical School and certificates in International Organization Management, Smart Business Growth, Globalization and Leadership. He fluently speaks English, Pashto, Dari and Urdu/Hindi. 

MARYAM ATMAR

Ms Atmar is one of the founding members of the British Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and comes from a strong background in investment management, entrepreneurship and philanthropy. Having worked for Bank of America and Wells Fargo, she has extensive experience in real estate, stocks, bonds and investment funds management. Ms Atmar is currently the CEO of global consulting firm MAIH Group, director at the Afghanistan Investment Fund and Afghana Foundation. She leads BACCI’s global partnerships and foreign affairs relations with a special focus on USA and Canada. 

She has a BA in Psychology from George Mason University and accredited professional qualifications in accounting and banking management from American Institute of Banking  Investors.

HASSAN KHAN NASIR

Mr. Nasir is a talented and passionate business leader with over 10 years of experience in British-Afghan trade and commerce. He has extensive experience in imports and exports between United Kingdom and Afghanistan. Prior to joining BACCI, Mr Nasir has been the visionary, business development and marketing mind behind the success of Shadizai & Brothers group of companies. He is an independent business consultant on British-Afghan exports and imports, an active member of the British Afghan community and a Member of Board of Directors at BACCI.  He is fluent in English, Pashto, Dari and Urdu and has deep understanding of Asian business affairs.

Mr Nasir holds Bachelor of Business of Administration. 

SAIF QAZIZADA 

Mr Qazizda is a highly qualified management executive and tech entrepreneur with a strong background in risk assurance, information technology and cyber security. He has worked as a cyber security expert with leading global technology firms such as Computer Science Corporation (CSC), International Business Machines (IBM), financial consulting firm KPMG, Direct Line Insurance and Bupa Healthcare. Mr Qazizada brings with him in-depth knowledge of information security, risk assurance, audit, security infrastructure, forensic computing, management and leadership. He has been a trusted adviser established global multinationals and international government agencies.

Mr Qazizada is the founder of Qazizada IS Consulting Ltd, British Digital Chamber of Commerce, Afghan Business Association and Afghan Council of Great Britain. He holds a B.Sc in Computing and an M.Sc in Internet Security. 

NICK HARDY

Mr Hardy is a seasoned Private Equity expert and leads our oil, gas and natural resources sector. Prior to joining our team he worked at Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York in their Global Energy and Mergers and Acquisitions departments.

Mr Hardy holds a BA in Business Management and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

ADVISORY BOARD 

RUQEIA AHMADI

Ruqeia Ahmadi is a young and rising leader of the British Afghan community from Yorkshire, and a strong advocate for civil rights, the rights of ethnic minorities, youth and the role of women as leaders in Britain.

She comes from a strong academic and professional background in Law. She has worked for Lyons Davidson Solicitors in Leeds and currently works at the top corporate national law firm, Shulmans LLP. She is also an adviser to the British Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industry on corporate law, trade, investment and business.

Ms Ahmadi holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree from University of Sheffield, School of Law, and also a Master of Laws (LLM) in Legal Practice from BPP University, and was awarded the Sheffield Graduate Award for her outstanding achievements.

At the council, she leads the organisation’s strategy and governance board on legal and women affairs.

JOHN BENNETT

John Bennett trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and then served in the British Army as a Commissioned officer. He carried out operations in Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Belize and Oman. He retired as a Major and started his commercial career in the textile trade.

John held a number of commercial appointments and in 2003 was invited to work for a company in Iraq in support of the Coalition Forces. He was then appointed as a senior manager based in Iraq working on the Prime Vendor contract for the supply of food and rations throughout the Country. In 2011 John started working for an Afghan Logistics company in Kabul. From there he progressed to a management position for a Western company supplying all the fuel and food for the US Forces. In this role he operated not only from Kabul but also extensively on the North West border at Torghundi and Hairaton. John then went back to working in the Afghan private sector as the Commercial Director for a geotechnical company and then again in the logistics sector both in Helmand and Kabul. Consequently John has strong background of operating in Afghanistan and has extensive experience of dealing with the Afghan authorities.  

HEDAYATULLAH YAHYA

Mr. Hedayatullah Yahya is a professional and experienced banker and Chartered Certified Accountant fellow member of ACCA, IFA and IPA. He is Chairman of Supervisory Board at Afghan United Bank in Afghanistan, Chairman of Board of Directors at Enrolment Services Limited and Managing Director/Founder of Yahya Accountancy in the UK. Mr. Yahya is former Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Afghan United Bank. He has also served as a Chief Financial Officer for Ghazanfar Bank, and a board member for Afghanistan Payment Systems. He worked at various managerial posts in the telecommunication company of Virgin Media Inc and postgraduate educational institute of London Business School in the UK, for several years.

He has contributed to the success of Professional Development Institute of American University of Afghanistan and ACCA qualification in Afghanistan by tutoring ACCA papers at the University. Mr Yahya graduated with first class honours in accounting and finance from Leeds Metropolitan University in the UK.

NAEEM YASSIN

Naeem Yassin is the President and CEO of Afghanistan Builders Association (ABA), a trade organization that represents about 500 Afghan companies. From 2005 to 2007, he served as a Board Member of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and then served as Secretary of the chamber from 2006 to 2008. Moreover, he is an active Board Member of the Afghanistan Technical & Vocational Institute (ATVI) and a Board Member of Kabul Municipality “Nokhbagan-e-Shahr-e-Kabul”. He has completed his education in Marketing and Management from Queens College of New York.