Qari Asim, MBE is Senior Imam at Makkah Mosque in Leeds, which has won the award of being UK's model mosque. He is a Legal Director at a global law firm, DLA Piper.

Qari holds various positions on a number of other organisations that focus on issues related to government policy, education, business, leadership, youth empowerment, gender equity, environment and social welfare.

Qari is a blogger and columns or comments from him appear in The Times, The Telegraph, The Independent, The Guardian, Yorkshire Post and Huffington Post.

Nathan Spencer, Managing Director at UKREiif, will be joining us just one week before UKREiif’s annual event returns to Leeds. With other 16,000 people expected to attend, UKREiif brings together a spectacular array of key decision-makers from every area of the built environment: the public sector – with every core UK city and region involved – alongside government, investors, funders, developers, housebuilders, and more.

Professor Shearer West joined the University of Leeds on 1 November 2024 as its fourteenth Vice-Chancellor and President. An expert in Art History, Professor West has held influential leadership roles in universities and higher education. She obtained her BA degree in Art History and English at the College of William and Mary in Virginia in the United States of America, and her PhD in Art History at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. Professor West was awarded a CBE in the 2021 Queen’s New Year’s Honours List for services to higher education.

Ed Whiting OBE was appointed as Chief Executive of Leeds City Council in November 2024. Ed brings a distinguished career in public service and strategic leadership to the city. Previously, as Director of Cities and Local Growth within the Department for Business and Trade and Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, he spearheaded crucial economic growth initiatives across the UK. His extensive experience includes senior roles in HM Treasury and 10 Downing Street, as well as serving as Director of Strategy at Wellcome, where he championed equality, diversity, and inclusion. Ed's connection to Leeds runs deep, having grown up in the city. He now lives in West Yorkshire with his partner, David, where they are dedicated foster carers.