Ash Verma
An Honorary Fellow of Brunel University London, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), a Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (MCIPD), and a Trade Ambassador for the Global Indian Network (GIN).
Biography
The Story
Ash Verma is one of the most versatile and deeply experienced British Indian professionals of his generation — a former senior civil servant of thirty-five years, a strategy consultant and mentor, executive producer, non-executive director, and social entrepreneur whose professional journey spans over five decades. Based in London, he operates at the intersection of government, enterprise, media, and community development, bringing to each a rare combination of institutional authority, entrepreneurial instinct, and an abiding commitment to diversity, cultural representation, and the empowerment of the South Asian diaspora. He is an Honorary Fellow of Brunel University London, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), a Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (MCIPD), and a Trade Ambassador for the Global Indian Network (GIN).
Thirty-Five Years in the British Civil Service
Ash's foundational career was built within the British Civil Service, where over thirty-five years he advised Ministers and top management across multiple government departments on policy, funding, and delivery across a wide range of complex areas: race relations and equal opportunities, inner city regeneration, economic development, business and enterprise support, international trade, community cohesion, and healthcare. He held a succession of senior leadership positions, each of increasing scope and national significance.
As Leader of the West London Task Force, he shaped economic development strategy for one of London's most strategically important and diverse sub-regions. As Chief Executive of the Heathrow City Partnership, he led one of the UK's most ambitious airport-linked economic growth programmes. As Project Director for the co-location of major Government Departments into a unified structure for the Government Office for London (GOL), he managed a complex institutional transformation with national implications. He also served as Business Development Director for West London within GOL, as a Training Quality Adviser, and as Senior Adviser in the Race Relations Employment Advisory Service — where he was co-author of the Review of Race Relations in the Employment Department Group, a landmark policy document. His Group Manager role at East Berkshire Jobcentres rounded out a civil service career in which he designed and led programmes with budgets ranging from £5 million to £200 million, levering in £50 million of inward investment in some of those programmes.
Mentor and International Trade Architect
Building on his civil service expertise, Ash has spent over fifteen years as a strategy consultant and mentor, helping companies grow, diversify, and build sustainable development plans — with a particular focus on overseas market entry into Global South Asian and East African markets. His consultancy work encompasses organisational reviews, joint venture facilitation, health and wellbeing policy design, and executive mentoring for senior leaders across the private, public, and third sectors.
The most high-profile of his enterprise programmes is Gateway Asia — a British Government, EU, and private sector funded B2B internationalisation programme for London's small and medium-sized enterprises. As Chairman and architect of Gateway Asia, Ash led and facilitated over fifty workshops and seminars on doing business in emerging markets (primarily the Indian Subcontinent) and fifty in-and-outbound bilateral trade and investment delegations between the UK and Nepal, Sri Lanka, Germany, France, Czech Republic, Kenya, Mauritius, and the USA. The programme became one of London's most operationally effective bilateral trade platforms for SMEs.
His other signature enterprise and cultural initiatives include: Bollywood Connect and Actor Prepares — programmes supporting the growing influence of the Indian film, TV, media, and entertainment sector in London and promoting the wider Global South Asian Diaspora; the Business Start-Up Programme for West London; the 'Doing Business with India' webinar series in partnership with Brunel University London, the UK India Business Council, and West London Business; the West London Meets India internationalisation initiative funded by the EU and Brunel University; and the Health and Wellbeing in SMEs partnership research project with Brunel University. He is also currently supporting the Expansion to New Markets component of the Growth Hillingdon Business Support Programme, funded by Hillingdon Council, the Mayor of London, and the UK Government's Levelling Up Fund.
South Asian Diaspora on Screen
Ash entered the world of film and TV production as an executive producer in 2019, channelling over thirty-five years of personal and professional engagement with South Asian media and entertainment into a formal creative and commercial role. He is Non-Executive Director of Bonaparte Films, and collaborates with a network of film, TV, media, and entertainment sector partners — including Reel Fearz, Talnet Media, and Brunel University London's Arts and Humanities Department — to promote diversity and the cultural heritage of the Global South Asian Diaspora through screen.
His executive producer credits include The Effects of Lying — a dark comedy feature film about an Asian family produced by Bonaparte Films, currently screening on ITVX and all Emirates flights — making it one of the most widely distributed British South Asian feature films of its kind. His documentary credits include Aim High (on South Asian success in the UK), Invest Harrow (on inward investment), and A Stitch in Time (on the UK fashion industry).
He is currently supporting the investment, production, and distribution of three further projects: Punishment — a bold psychological horror feature film in development with Bonaparte Films, based on a short story by Rabindranath Tagore, exploring relationships between men and women; Death by PowerPoint — a horror/comedy feature film in collaboration with Reel Fearz and Brunel University London, to be filmed on campus on Halloween night; and The Migration Menu — a podcast series initiated by Brunel University London that explores the journeys of Global South Asian people to West London through food, with a book and potential documentary in development.
Non-Executive Director
Ash brings twenty-five years of Board Director, Trustee, and Chairman experience to his non-executive work across the private, public, academic, and third sectors. His current non-executive and advisory portfolio spans film and media, regeneration, housing and property development, international trade, charities, and healthcare — and includes Bonaparte Films, Reel Fearz, Talnet Media, Kaya Wellbeing Index, Saloria Architects, Mangla Stone Group, and Rajiv Rustgi and Associates. In each role, he advises on strategic development, governance, investment, and sustainability, sharing his deep knowledge of government policy, economic development, and international trade.
Social Entrepreneurship
Ash's philosophy of 'giving back to society' and 'making a difference' is not rhetorical — it is woven into the institutional fabric of his career. He is Chairman of Community Connex, a health and social care provider that supports people with learning disabilities and campaigns for their rights, and Chairman of Healthwatch Harrow, the independent health and social care champion for residents in the London Borough of Harrow. He is the former Chairman of Capable Communities, a social enterprise dedicated to supporting isolated and vulnerable adults. His contribution to the economic, cultural, and social development of the UK's South Asian community has been recognised twice in the Asian Power 100 publications.
Fellowships, Memberships, & Public Commentary
Ash is an Honorary Fellow of Brunel University London — a distinction awarded in recognition of his sustained contribution to the university's internationalisation, community engagement, and creative projects over many years. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), a Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (MCIPD), and an Ambassador and former Board Director and business awards judge for West London Business — the business leadership body for 'the world's most connected place.' He is a Member of the London Chamber of Commerce, the Hillingdon Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Small Business, the Hindu Economic Forum (HEF, UK), and the Asian Jewish Business Network (AJBN).
He is also a frequent public commentator on UK-India trade and diaspora affairs. In the wake of the UK-India Free Trade Agreement signed on 24 July 2025 — a landmark bilateral deal — Ash published analysis describing it as 'a catalyst for growth for both countries,' drawing on his decades of direct experience in UK-India trade facilitation and his on-the-ground knowledge of both markets. His voice on diaspora enterprise, cultural diplomacy, and South Asian representation in British public life reflects a career that has always understood commerce and culture as inseparable.
The diaspora dividend is far bigger than borders, it is openness, opportunity, and understanding.
Highlights
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