Junaid Bhatti is a Marketing and Communications professional and an experienced Company Director. He is a Chartered Marketer and has particular specialisms in corporate transformation, digital marketing, media relations and reputation management.

Brummie through and through, he grew up in The Midlands and is a lifelong Aston Villa fan.

Trained as a journalist and radio producer by the BBC in Birmingham, he briefly worked at Pebble Mill and then for the likes of Guardian Media Group, CNN, ABC News and Mentorn films, before embarking upon a career in banking and financial services.

After several years of management roles in financial services, he shifted his focus to ethical banking. Junaid was part of the small team that set up Islamic Bank of Britain – the UK’s first govt. authorised Sharia-compliant bank – in 2004. He has also worked in local government and the health sector, as well as directly with senior politicians and numerous non-profit initiatives.

Junaid is a Governor of the North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, which operates the Peterborough City Hospital, Hinchingbrooke Hospital and the Stamford and Rutland Hospital.

Since 2009, he’s served as Director of Marketing and Communications for a global arts and science education brand that has engaged with hundreds of millions of people around the globe. As part of this work he’s built and strengthened partnerships with the United Nations, various governments (across all five continents), international broadcasters and publishing giants, artists, scientists and historians from all over the world.

For several years, he served as a Director and Trustee of Midlands Arts Centre, a British charity that provides arts and cultural experiences and training to a diverse audience, from its base in Edgbaston, Birmingham.

Junaid has a passion for live music, stand-up comedy, and community theatre, as well as new media entertainment delivered through podcasts and other digital channels.

The Baron of Ballencrieff is proud to have been granted:

• Distinguished Companion status in The Royal Order of the Pearl (DCPS)
• Fellowship of the Chartered Management Institute (FCMI)
• Fellowship of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (FCIM)
  and Chartered Marketer status (CMktr)
• Fellowship of the Institute of Leadership and Management (FInstLM)
• Associate Fellowship of the Institute of Islamic Banking and Insurance (AFIIBI)
• Lifetime Membership of the United Nations Association
• Lifetime Membership of The Burns Club of London