MACFEST Director

Mohammed Ali, born in Pakistan, came to live in the UK at the age of 12. He studied at

Huddersfield and Bradford Universities. He then worked in a succession of newly created

development roles with Glaxo Pharmaceutical, Community Relations Council; Tameside

metropolitan Borough Council, Sheffield City Council and Fullemply Group, a high profile

London based national ethnic minority training and employment charity.

In 1990 he founded QED Foundation: an ethnic minority economic development social

enterprise, raising £16m from the public and private sectors to train and help 35,000 people

directly, and thousands more indirectly, into employment, self-employment or further

education. In 2017 he founded Poverty Alleviation Scholarships Foundation, which tackles

abject poverty in developing countries by enabling people from poor backgrounds to acquire

vocational training leading to employment or self-employment. Mohammed Ali has attended,

as participant or speaker, seminars and conferences in the UK, Europe, USA, Canada and

Asia on the challenges facing the integration of ethnic minorities.

He has won many accolades for his work including doctorate from Bradford University and in

2001 Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) from HM the Queen for his work with

communities. He is a governor of York St John University; member, Common Purpose

Pakistan Diaspora Leadership Programme; Social Research Council Peer Review College;

Third Sector Consortium LLP Board; European Migration Forum. Numerous past

appointments included: West Yorkshire Learning and Skills Council; NHS Teaching Primary

Care Trust; National Consumer Council; Bradford University School of Management

Advisory Board; Prescription Pricing Authority; elected to the Association of Chief Executives

of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO) Board; Diversity Officer for the Institute of Directors;

and the BBC Northern Region Forum.