Business News
Annual Meeting Special PRESIDENT’S PROFILE: SAQIB BHATTI
Always striving to promote Birmingham and its people
Greater Birmingham business. Since leaving London School of
A
Economics and Political Science (LSE), where he studied law but also become involved in many activities and societies, Saqib has immersed himself in striving to promote Birmingham, its people, its businesses and its diversity. Saqib gained a Bachelor in Laws
from the LSE in 2007 and then qualified at Big 4 firm Deloitte in the financial services audit department. During this time he became a member of the Institute of Asian Businesses (now the Asian Business Chamber of Commerce) and became its vice-president. In 2011 he joined Younis Bhatti & Company, the accounting, tax and audit services firm founded in Birmingham by his father in 1980.
t only 33, Saqib Bhatti has already accumulated a vast amount of experience in the
‘One thing I am certain of is how crucial the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce are to the region’
Saqib is currently a director of
both the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) and the Westside Business Improvement District. He is also a senior policy adviser to the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe. He is now honorary chairman of the ABCC. Saqib’s memories of Birmingham Chamber go back to when he was eight. He says: “It was the Institute of Asian Businesses annual dinner and my father was the chairman giving the keynote speech at the International Convention Centre. “While I may not have realised
the importance that the Birmingham Chambers of Commerce play at that age, even
OUTGOING PRESIDENT: PAUL KEHOE Paul ‘had a ball’ over his two years
Outgoing president Paul Kehoe told the meeting in a video link that he had “had a ball” during his two-year term. He said: “It seems hard to believe
that another 12 tumultuous months have passed and I am going to repeat the opening lines of my AGM report of last year. “Such is the state of the nation’s
strategic direction and massive uncertainty with regard to the country’s future trading prospects beyond 2019, that it beggars belief that the UK economy appears to be in a relatively stable position. “It is in this curate’s egg of
economic circumstances that the Chamber must operate and operate it does. You will read on this report and hear at the AGM, the great successes the Chamber has made in turning itself around and has now become a “go to” organisation for business advice and guidance across a number of activities and areas. “Each of the separate constituent
parts of the GBCC have all excelled and the activities that they have laid on for members have been well attended and allowed the Chamber to grow. The establishment of new
8 CHAMBERLINK October 2018
Outgoing president
Paul Kehoe
divisions to meet the needs of members and new trade opportunities shows how flexible the Chamber can be. The most significant growth has been in the Future Faces where the growth has been very strong. “The next generation will need to
deal with greater uncertainty no matter what the economic and political circumstances but you should be heartened to know that one member of that next generation will be your next president. “Saqib Bhatti will be one of the
youngest Chamber presidents in the country and will be, I am sure, a great leader and set an excellent example to his peers on the role that the next generation can play in ensuring that business, trade and commerce remains a force for good across the region. “It has been my pleasure to
serve the business community for the last four years as VP and president. It’s been a real pleasure to work with some great people - whom are ably led by our CEO, Paul Faulkner. All that remains for me to do is wish the Chamber all the very best for the coming years.”
then I was able to appreciate the gravitas and influence of such a prestigious organisation. “Almost 23 years on
and I have the honour of being the president and one thing I am certain of is how crucial the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce are to the region. “As policy influencers, business
connectors, deliverers of international trade services, the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP Growth Hub and many other key services, I have no doubt that the Chamber of Commerce will only grow in strength and importance.”
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