We Are Power Podcast
The We Are Power podcast is the podcast for your career and your life. A weekly podcast with listeners in over 60 countries worldwide where you'll hear personal life stories, top-notch industry advice, and key leadership insight from amazing role models. The podcast not only aids your personal and professional development but also delves deep into conversations around Gender Equality and Social Mobility. Each week the We Are Power Podcast will bring you a new interview from a leader within the 100,000-strong We Are Power community, hosted by Simone Roche MBE.
We Are Power Podcast
Unlocking the Power of Positivity: Ammar Mirza CBE Journey to Transform Communities
In this inspiring episode, Ammar Mirza CBE, entrepreneur and community advocate, shares his remarkable journey from his roots in shipbuilding in Newcastle and Liverpool to his dedication to supporting the armed forces community. Ammar talks about his drive to create positive change, living by the mantra of "fixing things and adding value."
He also reflects on the importance of giving back and cherishing small moments, like taking a selfie, to spread positivity in a world often filled with negativity. Ammar offers insights on balancing charity work with personal life, as well as the power of resilience, global networking, and gratitude. Tune in to hear how Ammar’s experiences continue to shape his mission to improve health, wealth, and happiness worldwide.
Chapters:
00:00 Welcome to the Podcast
00:46 Introducing Our Guest: Ammar Mirza CBE
01:16 Ammar's Journey: From Shipbuilding to Advocacy
02:22 Advocacy and Giving Back: Spreading Positivity
03:53 Balancing Charity Work and Personal Life
06:37 Global Networking and Growth
10:51 Resilience and Gratitude
17:02 Advice for Aspiring Advocates
21:08 Vision for the Future: Improving Lives
22:45 Final Thoughts and Farewell.
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Hello and welcome to the we Are Power podcast. The we Are Power podcast on tour in the Toon, we're over here having a wonderful visit into Newcastle and today I am being joined by he's a legend, amar Mirza CBE, entrepreneur, founder, asian Business Connections, angel investor, supporter of the armed forces and much more. Welcome to the pod. Thank you for welcoming us to Newcastle.
Speaker 2:Brilliant, and welcome to the Toon and the North East, simone. It's wonderful to have you up here. I know that you regularly compare our localities because of the similarity. It's wonderful.
Speaker 1:We always think there's that real similarity between Liverpool and Newcastle. It's the water, it's the heritage, it's the shipbuilding and do you know what? It's the people, isn't it Cheeky? Cheeky is what we are.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, you know my wife's from Liverpool. So there you go.
Speaker 1:Well, I was also delighted to present you with your 2024 Northern Power Women Advocacy Badge, because this year, as part of the Northern Power Women Awards, we've created our very first advocacy list, of which you are one of our proud patrons, but it's the first time I've seen you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it's probably the highlight of this year is what it is.
Speaker 1:And we're in November that's amazing.
Speaker 2:It is for me. I think it's. You're brilliant. I think what you do is brilliant. I've already said this I love what you do and the way that you do it as well.
Speaker 1:So now you do so much. You only have to go to your website. You're about you experiencing everything right, but how would you describe your career in one or two sentences? And I know that's quite ambitious for me to ask you to describe anything in one or two sentences.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a great thing and it's a great question, and it's probably one of those moments at a, at a dinner, where someone says oh, so what do you do when you go today? How do I actually not sit here and bore someone for such an entertainment? Probably two things I'll describe it if I was to take up your challenge. I or three, because I love the power of three actually that negotiation right now.
Speaker 2:I just love the power of three is what I do, and so I fix things, or I make them better, or and or I make them better, and I only get involved in things where I add value do you know, I love that. I think everyone should live by that mantra so yeah, so that's uh, but it was a great question and I was sort of reflecting on how best to answer that Value. It's all about value, right?
Speaker 1:And you know we have our brand. We Are Power, power for Good, the. We is right in the centre of it. It's about using that power for good, and one of the things you are really passionate well, both passionate about is the armed forces. Yes, Talk to me about that honorary role and what it felt like to be awarded that I won't show other awards, by the way.
Speaker 2:No, no, no, only because I now apologise, because it's the one thing that really trumped pretty much everything else. I was involved in, even the CBH. Well, you know it's up there and I'll explain why. You know it's up there, um, and, and I'll explain why. But, um, so I was in the cadets, uh, and, and probably as a precursor as to what do I do and why do I do it. Um, some morning, I, you know, I'm inspired by you and the work that you do and the, the work that you've done through the we part of we Are Power. But growing up I had limited proper influence, limited support, if any. I started working in a shop when I was 10 to support mum and came home with a couple of quid and give it to mum and, and, and the relevance to that was when I was 14 I was introduced to the cadets and, and I remember up until that point the lack of pretty much discipline the lack of courage, the lack of organisation and the lack of, you know, I'd get up there.
Speaker 2:I mean, I've always worked but going somewhere where I could put something on and feel part of something. And there was this opportunity there to progress and learn and in a positive way it contributed to my OCD and I remember having this conversation with mum and part of the challenge and, if you indulge me a little bit because it's a, it's a bit of an interesting story and it probably informed what I then done ever since those black and white days. But we, mum, really, really worked hard and in those sort of from eight, where we were suffering from abject poverty, to when I was sort of 14, mum had sort of done everything she could and we moved an area and there's a bus route, the number one bus and it's probably the first bus in Newcastle and whatever else, and it goes through pretty much every single area in Newcastle and I remember on a Tuesday and a Thursday sitting with my uniform, cadet uniform and as a 14 year old you'd always be sat at the back of the top of the bus and without a doubt you'd go through affluent areas and then you'd go to real sort of deprived and challenged areas incredibly racist areas there were then and kids would get on the bus and be like, yeah, what are you doing? Like One of the cadets I'm hoping that was a Geordie accent and inevitably, at least once a month. You know, I'd end up, you know, being proud and whatever else, and end up in a bit of a tussle. So mum um, mum sort of said son, you're not doing this, you know as in and I'd go. No, but I love it and you know, anyway, that was where my affinity and affiliation and appreciation of the other armed forces came from.
Speaker 2:And then, ever since then, so I wanted to join the army. I remember going to the careers and talking about Sandhurst and getting a letter and mum saying you're not doing that and that was the end of that and roll forward a few decades since, round about 2010, I started becoming a bit more of a business advocate of the armed forces. My nephew joined the Royal Marines Commando and seeing what it done for him, and then lots of friends. And you know, we're from the north east and it's a bit like the northwest, we contribute significantly to the armed forces. So so it's that. You know, it's all of that. And then I was asked oh, would you like to become the honorary colonel of the 101 regiment? And I'm going, yes, what does that mean? And then it was like, oh, this is what it means. It was the first time in 124 years history of the regiment that they'd recruited someone outside, and more, I suppose, explicitly an.
Speaker 2:Asian as well. Right, A Geordie Asian, which was incredibly proud.
Speaker 1:But you've not only taken that role and put the uniform on again maybe not on the bus this time, who knows but the one thing that you have done is really helped create this cadet apprenticeship pathway. Yeah, you've been influential in that. So you know, we talked earlier about using your power for good. This is this. Motivation and intent starts so early, and now you're doing something with us. Tell us about that yeah, so.
Speaker 2:So I mean going back to those black and white days on the bus. My life could have quite easily gone down two different routes. Right, as in um, you can either hang around with those people that you probably shouldn't, but you know, when someone tells you not to do something, you always go. Well, that's exactly what I'm gonna do. And as a parent, what do you know? Mum, um, and, and then you become a parent and you go, gosh, they were so right anyway, um, and and, and.
Speaker 2:Because of those opportunities and those lack of role models and all of those things, I realized that, well, actually, first part, I ran away for a period of time to London, right, right, I joined the civil service, I was in the British Council and then came back wasn't the opportunities? Went and had a career for 10 years in innovation, in IT working. I helped build a data centre in Knowsley and had offices at Albert Dock that I went to as well, so a real great affinity with Liverpool. Well, anyway, coming back to the cadet apprenticeship pathway. So, for the last um, I then resigned from that role in 2003 and since then I went about addressing all of the things that I never had.
Speaker 2:So, all of those opportunities, all of that support so creating. You know, going back into education, and then one of the things that we realised as an employer, as a very active employer appreciative of apprenticeships, I wanted to do something to raise the profile of apprenticeships in a positive way, and every bit of feedback that employers give is young people aren't work ready. And actually we went through 50 apprentices and I think at that time there was about eight that completed the apprenticeship. The rest weren't ready, right. So I was like we need to do something about this. So we created uh, with Lieutenant Colonel Andy Black, we came up with this cadet apprenticeship pathway and developed this initiative which recognises that cadets are work ready. You know, they have all of the skills, the soft skills, and it addresses some of the apprenticeship issues that employers feel.
Speaker 1:And you talked about your career. So we've gone to being on the bus as the cadet and then going, you know going down to their London and then going, you know going that down to that there, london civil service business no-transcript. Where did that all come from? Where did that come as part? Because this is all really different, isn't it?
Speaker 2:it's a bigger mar jigsaw, this one yeah, yeah, no, it is, and thank you for that analogy. I'm still looking for the missing pieces as well. I think, uh, you know, I'm gonna use that and say, sabon, call me a jigsaw, and I'm gonna say there's a couple of pieces missing from it.
Speaker 1:You'd always have extra pieces that we never only miss in an opening.
Speaker 2:But, yeah, that career. So mum was an incredible influence and actually I ran away. So my late father, who I had both an incredible relationship with at the time we had a typical father and son type relationship and dad went off to Saudi, left mum and mum was a an entrepreneur. She was never meant to be but there was enterprising. You know she sat on a sewing machine for 18 hours a day, you know, sewing clothes, and then bought property and then lost all the property with a crash and then started again and you know she just sort of powered on and that was a big influence.
Speaker 2:But the community part, my late father, he was one of the first leaders of the community here and actually that drove me away from that, first and foremost because they left and I was like you know, I've seen Dad do all of these, you know, constantly people coming round.
Speaker 2:He was a general secretary, he was educated, he taught, he was the most educated Asian at the time because the vast majority of low-skilled people came to support the economy here. Dad and all of his brothers were Professor Gs is what they called them and and he done that and I thought I don't want to do that. But then we reconnected and um and, and I think that was an influence. But also going back to that element of I'd spent 10 years building my career, lived in isolation, lived in a bubble, and I came back and I thought you know what I want to give back. I feel obligated to. I, you know, might have gone on to make my own sort of path and done what I've done, but the most critical thing that you can do is is help others sort of achieve right and make.
Speaker 1:Some times people don't know how to. Sometimes people think I want to, but I don't know how to because I don't want to patronize or interfere. What? What would you say to people out there?
Speaker 2:that's a. You know it's a. It's a great point, and I'm. People have this perception that someone we need to give back in a particular way, and giving back can be as simple as talking to somebody in the street. Or you know, your, your son or daughter's friend might be struggling, or you know it might be someone at work that just needs to have a conversation. So giving back doesn't need to be this grandiose gesture. It's just. You know, my ambition was never for it to be about me and you know we chuckle about selfies, right?
Speaker 1:Because you're the selfie queen.
Speaker 2:You're the selfie queen, right, but as selfie king, um, uh, and there is a bit of a competition here, but but it's healthy healthy in every sense.
Speaker 2:Um, the reason why I I know what I look like, right, I, I look at myself every day, and the reason why I started taking selfies and went on this mission was to promote other people, right, because, a I'm keen to do that.
Speaker 2:B there's a moment in time where you whether it's a forced smile or not, they're smiling, right, you have a memory and, believe it or not, I looked through my 175,000 pictures that I now have and on them there's a number of people that aren't here so sadly, and one individual in particular was an ABC award winner and I was at a wedding with him and I've known him for a long, long time, lovely person, and it was the last picture that we took. So those type of somber things, and it's not just about those somber things, but it's about those memories and there's a number of those people that aren't here anymore, but it's actually about those that are right and it's about showcasing them. So giving back right might be as simple as I'm going to be in Simone or Amar's selfie, because if they're promoting me and they're showcasing me. I'm prepared to put my head above the parapet, because that's what we need more of 100%.
Speaker 1:I think if we want to shine a light and spotlight, that's where the simple giving back can be. I do you and I are always the one who's. Everyone else looks great in it. We've got the awkward face right in the front right, haven't we?
Speaker 1:it's about grimace it's better than a business card, yeah, and it's a way to go. This is where we had a conversation, so therefore we must continue it, because sometimes you can be at an event or or, and all of a sudden it's a moment in time. Oh, it's not about a braggy, I was there. It's about. This is the start of that conversation.
Speaker 1:Of course it is, and some people are not always keen to do it because they feel like, oh God, it feels I'm out of my comfort zone. So we make it easy, right?
Speaker 2:Well, I believe so, I think so, and you're absolutely right in what you do. There's a whole podcast on selfies here, but then no, no, yeah, but it's because it's a critical part of us giving back is my point right?
Speaker 1:And I need to get my phone and count how many I got, because we did have a challenge pre-day.
Speaker 2:That's why I sent that figure. Who had the most? That's why I sent that figure. I'm riled now a little bit.
Speaker 1:I'm riled to go away and Thank you 4,572,000,000. Brilliant Winning at live. Obviously, that's the case.
Speaker 2:So those 27 that you've got, Simone, compared to that.
Speaker 1:Wait a minute. Yeah, but have you ever had one on live podcast? Just putting it out there, here we go.
Speaker 2:We've got one now, right, and brilliant, there we go.
Speaker 1:It's brilliant that for people watching or people listening, it's not going to work well, is it? But anyway, but it is. But it's done with intent, isn't it? You know, let's.
Speaker 2:And this is the point, simone is, sadly, we live and you know, sort of jesting aside, we live in a, in a, in a space, in a place where people now are offended at not being offended. Right, everyone is purely fixated on the negativity that's going on. So people struggle with oh my gosh, why is Amar celebrating this? And why is Amar there? And look, where's Wally, there's where's Amar. And it's like what? And it's like, yeah, because I'm trying to showcase other people, right, and that's one way of giving back. I mean, there's a whole range charities.
Speaker 2:I set up a charity in 2013, you know so, which was was I've talked about competition because of the environment I lived in. So I had three brothers, two sisters, three stepsisters. At times in our life I was permanently and constantly hungry, so, and, and literally that. So, so know, navigating your way, sat there saying I don't want to be poor and I'm going to address that, and then I don't want others to be poor, and trying to help them through three different things. So health, wealth and happiness, and those three things I feel is what we should be supporting people to do.
Speaker 2:But the problem with that is, because of the negativity that exists, you sometimes end up.
Speaker 2:I'm still a really sensitive person, right, people find this so extraordinary when I say I'm an introvert, right, and and because it contradicts what I do and how I do it, and and actually because of this constant, I just want to change the world.
Speaker 2:It becomes hard at times, right, it becomes oh my gosh, I'm a bit tired, right, and I just want to sit in a room by myself, and I love my own company and I love everybody else's, obviously, but having gone through the various challenges and a problem shared is a problem shared but actually, it's important to talk about the challenges and how you've overcome them so that others can go. Well, I can do that too, and having experienced all of those challenges and I excuse the crudeness of this, but I feel as if I've been kicked in the goonies so many times I should have a squeaky voice. Right, this is what I should have, and it's how do you deal with that? Well, actually, you just get up and you get out and you're just on a mission to help other people. I mean, you're the expert at this. I'm inspired by you.
Speaker 1:Well, it's interesting. You talk about being an introvert. So that surprises me. But also doesn't, because I speak to many other motivating, committed humans like yourself and they'll say, actually I'm an introvert, so it doesn't shock me. But you know, when you say sometimes people want to pull it down or you know, because you can't be that happy all the time, we're both very positive people. Yeah, we both love other people. We both want to change the world. There's a duet in this, but that's a whole other thing. Um, can you sing it? Oh, absolutely badly, really really bad.
Speaker 2:Brilliant, yeah, all right, yeah, yeah 100%?
Speaker 1:All right, yeah, just not this minute. But what do you do to get over that? Because people think, always smiling, always on it, always over it. He's tough enough to take whatever I say, but sometimes it hurts right.
Speaker 2:It always hurts? Right, it's not sometimes. It's not sometimes it always hurts. But that's a brilliant question, because what do you do? I don't want to change my personality. I want to be that positive person. That's who I am, you know, as in that's my suit of armor is being positive. And actually, if you constantly and consistently are despite those kick, those quickie voices right, that you might get the opportunity, there is that you can't be held down. You might be dragged down, but you can't be held down. And it's like, does that feel good? And actually, if you can help someone smile and see someone smile, whether it's in a selfie or whether it's whatever it is, you've, you've made someone slightly happy can I just talk about the advocacy right?
Speaker 1:we created this year northern power and award advocacy list seems a bit crazy where it's the ninth year of Northern Power Women Awards under Real Power. We've always been inclusive of all genders, that's something I've been totally clear about. It was always really important to collect the good guys, and so when we created this list, I wanted to have some patrons that I didn't want naturally on the list because I want them to be guardians, and when I reached out to you, you were hell. Yeah, it was almost without really much brief or interest. But why is that advocacy so important to you? You've talked clearly about having a strong, strong man, a strong northeast man, yeah, but why is that?
Speaker 2:happening. Well, I think, first and foremost, simone, it's someone like you making the magic happen, right? So I have disappeared for the benefit of the tape. So advocacy for me, it's always about making sure that you support others.
Speaker 2:My lived experiences I say this very openly I don't know what it's like to be a woman, and I'll never, ever profess to, but I can certainly say and feel and know what it's like to be a son, to be a husband, to be a single parent. So I was a single parent for a long time with my daughter, which was quite unique, right. So when I'm talking about the challenges and the challenges aren't exclusive to women it's about recognizing, think that you know, and that's one thing that I've always admired and appreciated about what you've set out to do. Right, it is about women, right, as in supporting, promoting, connecting, but actually it's not all men, it's, and men, and that's why, for me, the advocacy list is something I'm incredibly proud of. It chimes with what I stand for, and that's not for one second to suggest that I don't appreciate or don't want to promote or acknowledge men, and and I know that that's exactly your mission as well, and, just on that note, one of the things that I've done, so a bit like supporting, promoting women.
Speaker 2:I feel it my moral, ethical and professional duty to be supporting and promoting white boys and white middle-aged men, because they can't speak out for themselves, because it'd be like oh well, of course you're going to say this because you, you know you've, you've run the world forever and whatever else. That's quite wrong, you know it's, it's. We can't leave anybody behind. So the first thing is we need to lift and support women to realise their ambitions and raise their aspirations and help them understand that they can be whatever they want to be and deserve to be. But in parallel to that, you know we need women, and I know this is exactly what you're doing. As you're going up that ladder, you're pulling up the men that are getting left behind as well, and that's why this advocacy list and this patronage, to me is a beautiful thing.
Speaker 1:And it's not a list, it's a work in progress, isn't?
Speaker 2:it? Of course it is no, but I meant as in it's like.
Speaker 1:We've got you to work already, haven't we?
Speaker 2:Well, here I am. I've flown back especially just for this. Here's what I have.
Speaker 1:So quick fire round. You have a side hustle on a radio show, spice Radio, who's been your favourite interviewee? You, ah, you've got so much going on managing those side hust hustles. What's the top tip? Keeping all the plates spinning teamwork makes the dream work. So many tote bag moments. We talk about tote bag moments and t-shirts in this podcast and there's a million here today, and do I ask what's next?
Speaker 2:internationalisation on taking our North East global.
Speaker 1:But it already is, isn't it no?
Speaker 2:but as in to do it effectively. So what do you see? What next? I built a 10,000 square foot international trade centre at Newcastle Airport to bring the world closer. Here We've got Saudi, we've got Turkey, we've got India and we're now taking regional businesses out there as well. So, having a dedicated space in place where we are power features, we're going to get your lights there, we're going to showcase the social mobility and the impact of this campaign and this community that you've created and I think that is that quite.
Speaker 1:You know. Um, I was also like she believed she could, so she did. Yeah, what is the quotation that chimes with you?
Speaker 2:well, it's that, see it, be it one. To be honest, it's, unless you can see it. So, so a lot of the time. I'm just very briefly going back to my why and why do I keep putting my head above the parapet? And I wrote a blog about this called the Parapet Parable, which is a bit of a tongue twister.
Speaker 1:But, anyway.
Speaker 2:It's about sticking your head above the parapet and the fact that that's what you need to do. So we need more people to stick their head above the parapet and, yes, it becomes a target, but duck down when they're shooting those bows and get back up there and, you know, make the world a better place and I love your power three.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for joining me today. Thank you, you're either here to fix it, make it better, add value, health, wealth, happiness one of the ones which wasn't a three, by the way, but I love the fact that you can be dragged down, but you can't be held. Yeah, nothing's going to hold you down. Take us with you on your internationalization you're there, you're there thank you so much for joining us.
Speaker 1:Thank you, our moms are superstar. And thank all of you for listening, for watching coming on our adventure uh to newcastle as we've come on tour for this week's podcast. Thank you so much for joining us. Please stay connected on all our channels and we are powernet, thank you.
