Perween Warsi, CBE

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

, (b. 1956) Founder and Chief Executive, S&A Foods

Biography

Warsi was born in India in 1956 and moved to the United Kingdom in 1975.

Perween began her business making ethnic finger foods from her kitchen. In 1986 she founded S&A foods, winning her first major contract to supply chilled and frozen dishes to Asda

Asda

Asda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...

 and Morrisons

Morrisons

Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc is the fourth largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, headquartered in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The company is usually referred to and is branded as Morrisons formerly Morrison's, and it is part of the FTSE 100 Index of companies...

 stores, having secured the contract via blind tasting and much perseverance.

In 1989 the first S&A Foods factory was built in Derby

Derby

Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...

, creating over 100 jobs for the area. By 1996 the success of S&A had led to the need for larger premises, and a new bespoke factory was built next to the original site.

Perween was awarded an honorary MBA by the University of Derby

University of Derby

The University of Derby is a university in the city of Derby, England. The main site is on Kedleston Road, Allestree in the north-west of Derby close to the A38 opposite Markeaton Park...

 and appointed to the Department of Trade and Industry Advisory Committee and Competitiveness. In the same year, Perween was awarded an MBE in the British New Year’s Honours list.

In 2002, Perween received the prestigious CBE award in the Queen’s Jubilee Honours list and the Ashridge

Ashridge Business School

Ashridge Business School is an independent, non-profit making organisation, near Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire, England. Its activities include open and tailored executive education programmes, MBA, MSc and Diploma qualifications, organisation consulting, applied research and online learning....

 International Leadership Conference accolade for outstanding leadership. She also sits on the CBI National Committee.

In May 2004, Perween regained 100 per cent ownership of Derby-based S&A Foods with the acquisition of the shareholding from venture capitalists 3i

3i

3i Group plc is a multinational private equity and venture capital company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It has offices in 13 countries across Asia, Europe and the Americas and had total assets under management of £12.7 billion as at 31 March 2011...

.

Most recently, Perween was awarded the First Women Lifetime Achievement Award alongside Baroness Hogg, chairman of 3i (sponsored by the CBI).

Her NET worth is £70,000,000.

Marriage and children

Perween and Talib Warsi married in 1973. The couple have two sons, Sadiq and Abid.

Awards

• 1996: Woman Entrepreneur of the World Award
• 1997: MBE, New Year’s Honours list
• 2002: CBE, Queen’s Jubilee Honours list