CHAMPIONS (UK) PLANTS GLOBAL AMBITIONS WITH NEW MANAGING PARTNER AMIR QURESHI
Champions (UK) plc has appointed seasoned international executive Amir Qureshi as Managing Partner to lead two of its strategic leadership divisions, The NED Advisor and Board Champions, as the group aims to deepen its influence across the global private equity, corporate governance and board advisory markets.
The appointment, announced today, signals a significant shift in how the firm intends to serve investors, portfolio companies, and C-suite leaders seeking better alignment between strategy, performance, board capability and executive oversight.
Qureshi, who has spent more than 20 years in senior leadership roles across multinationals, private equity-backed scale-ups and global advisory firms, said he intends to modernise how investors and boards access and deploy leadership talent.
“I’m delighted to be joining Champions as Managing Partner to lead both The NED Advisor and Board Champions. These two divisions serve distinct but complementary markets,” he said. “The NED Advisor focuses on the Private Equity and investment community, providing both the breadth of a high-calibre leadership network and the depth of support from pre-deal due diligence through to post-deal value creation, including fractional and interim leadership. In parallel, Board Champions supports corporate and growth businesses in strengthening board and C-suite effectiveness, governance, and performance.
“Our mission is to modernise how boards and investors access and engage leadership, moving from passive oversight to active partnership. By aligning the right people with the right opportunities, we aim to help investors, CEOs, and boards unlock greater performance, growth, and long-term value creation.”
Matthew Hayes, Managing Director of Champions (UK) plc, said the appointment builds on the firm’s ambition to expand its global advisory footprint. “Amir’s appointment marks an exciting and major step in the development of The NED Advisor and Board Champions. His arrival will strengthen both divisions’ leadership offering to investors, boards, and C-suite executives worldwide. Amir will build on an exceptional career which has seen him lead transformation, governance, and performance across multiple sectors.”
A career spanning multinational leadership and private equity expertise
Qureshi began his career at The Coca-Cola Company in 2001, rising to senior posts including Sales Director, General Manager and Managing Director for EMEA. He oversaw operations across 25 countries, led transformation programmes and held multi-million-dollar P&L responsibility. He later joined Lebara Mobile, serving as Managing Director in Switzerland and then as Global Sales Director, helping to drive aggressive growth in Europe’s telecoms markets.
His next move took him into leadership assessment and people analytics as Chief Operating Officer and subsequently Chief Executive Officer of Thomas International. Over nearly six years, he presided over global expansion, digitisation and a shift to investor ownership, during which the company reached 98 per cent recurring revenue, completed eight acquisitions and rolled out unified technology systems including NetSuite and Salesforce.
He later held senior roles at Drax Executive and, most recently, served as Chief Executive Officer at UK-based education and training provider Protocol, where he led digital transformation and strategic growth initiatives.
A combined leadership ecosystem for boards, investors and high-growth firms
At Champions (UK), Qureshi will oversee The NED Advisor’s specialist network, which serves private equity, venture capital and corporate finance firms. The division provides investor-grade Non-Executive Directors, Chairs and Advisors geared towards immediate commercial impact, governance acceleration and exit readiness.
Alongside this, Board Champions supports organisations in more than 60 countries, offering executive search, fractional leadership, interim management and performance-driven advisory support. The business uses a data-driven, tech-enabled model to match companies with seasoned CEOs, CFOs, CMOs and functional experts capable of delivering measurable business improvements.
Under Qureshi’s direction, the two divisions will work more closely to build a connected ecosystem of boardroom and C-suite talent designed to flex to the needs of investors, corporates and scaling firms. Both units provide a suite of engagement types—ranging from permanent board appointments to fractional roles, contract assignments, day-rate advisory and interim placements—reflecting Qureshi’s belief that modern leadership requires agility as well as strategic depth.
