Read about the Westminster Alumni Award finalists in this category and vote for who you think deserves to win. Voting closes at 11.59pm BST on Monday 20 July.
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Finalists
Amir Hossein Noori
Architecture BA, 2018
Amir Hossein Noori is a University of Westminster alumnus and entrepreneur recognised for his work driving AI adoption in architecture and interior design. After several years in professional practice, he co-founded AI Hub in 2022 to help architects and interior designers integrate AI through practical, design-led workflows. AI Hub has since trained over 6,000 professionals globally and collaborated with organisations including Google, Dolce & Gabbana, KPF, and Shiseido.
He also co-founded Narva, an AI platform built specifically for architects and interior designers, now used by more than 8,000 professionals worldwide. Amir's work has been featured in publications including Business & Interiors and Architizer, which published an article titled Amir Hossein Noori and the Rise of the Future-Ready Architect. He has also built a following of over 125,000 across social media channels dedicated to architecture and interior design professionals around the world.
Charles Newson
Law LLB, 2014
Charles Newson is an entrepreneur and founder of RemoteCEO, a multi-brand remote business ecosystem. Since graduating, he has built and scaled multiple bootstrapped businesses, collectively generating over £2m in revenue and serving more than 5,000 clients globally.
He specialises in lead generation, go-to-market strategy and disruptive online marketing systems for B2B businesses. Through RemoteCEO, he has developed a 10-brand ecosystem combining automation, marketplaces, education and remote service delivery to help companies acquire clients without relying on traditional marketing or large internal teams.
Charles recently launched ProfilePartner, a fast-growing marketplace and SaaS-enabled service that helps businesses scale LinkedIn outreach through verified digital partners. Within 10 months, ProfilePartner reached over $1m in ARR while remaining fully bootstrapped, establishing itself as one of the leading global providers in its category. Alongside this, Charles is building RemoteCEO Academy, which trains individuals to launch and grow their own remote agencies and become remote business owners.
Harshvinder Singh Pahwa
Business Management BA, 2017
Harshvinder Singh Pahwa is an entrepreneur and Director at Ultimate Fashion Maker, a leather manufacturing company established in 1984. Since graduating from the University of Westminster in 2017, he has played a key role in transforming and scaling the business into a globally competitive enterprise, supplying premium leather garments and accessories to leading international fashion houses such as Zadig & Voltaire Paris, SPRWMN Los Angeles, DKNY New York and Stand Studio Stockholm.
Building on this foundation, he founded L’avenir Skins, a forward-thinking luxury brand that reimagines leather through a contemporary, design-led lens. Within five years, the brand has gained strong traction in the Indian fashion landscape with widespread adoption among Bollywood and Hollywood celebrities and influential public figures, establishing itself as a recognisable name in modern luxury fashion.
Beyond fashion, he is expanding into international trade, strengthening cross-border business across Asia while contributing to employment generation and industry growth.
Marlena Hien
Public Relations MA, 2010
Marlena Hien has built one of Europe's most successful D2C consumer brands. In 2018, she co-founded BEARS WITH BENEFITS, a female health supplement brand created by women, for women, to address a category underserved by mainstream healthcare. Fully bootstrapped and 100% female-founded, the company scaled to over €15m in annual revenue in under four years before its acquisition by France's Havea Group in 2022. This was an eight-figure exit that places Marlena among a tiny minority of female-only founding teams worldwide to achieve this scale of liquidity event. Today, BEARS WITH BENEFITS generates €60m in annual revenue across ten countries including the US and is stocked by leading European retailers. The brand was named in the Financial Times Europe's 1000 Fastest-Growing Companies of 2025.
Beyond her company, Marlena invests as a business angel in female-founded ventures and is a keynote speaker championing bootstrapping and structural equity for women in business.