Our Mission, Principles & People

Managing Director

Aadam was educated at Haberdashers’ Boys’ School as an academic scholar. He holds a BSc from the LSE, and a Distinction diploma in law. He is an incoming trainee solicitor at leading City law firm Macfarlanes, where he sat as a Summer Associate in M&A and Litigation. Previously, Aadam has trained as an Officer Cadet in the Army and interned in capital markets at consulting firm D2LT. In addition Aadam is a Leadership Fellow at OCIS within the University of Oxford. At The Criterion Centre, Aadam oversees the development of our long-term vision, strategy, partnerships, and finance.

Chief Operating Officer

Amna is a graduate in Politics from the University of Cambridge. Previously she has interned at multiple magic circle law firms, and currently is pursuing policy analysis at MLegal, a startup focused on the intersection between law and policy. Amna is also a researcher at the thinktank Equi. At The Criterion Centre, Amna manages all operational efforts, from PR to research and events.

General Secretary

Minnat was named one of the UK’s top 150 future leaders. She was educated at University College School before studying History and Politics at the University of Cambridge. She now works in communications at a boutique international consultancy. Minnat has previously interned in strategy at the BBC, at the House of Commons in a constituency office and at Verian Group in policy research. At The Criterion Centre, Minnat is our administrative lead, managing internal communications, supporting strategy and coordinating operational tasks.

Head of Strategy

Hassan currently works as a strategy analyst at Rolls-Royce, with expertise in the defence industry. He holds an MSc in Analytics and Machine Learning from Imperial College London, as well as a first-class BSc in Industrial Engineering. At The Criterion Centre, Hassan heads up our strategy team, overseeing the identification of opportunities and cultivating the organisation's vision in an ever-evolving landscape.

Head of Policy

Syed has previously worked as a Summer Associate in a financial regulation firm, The Institute of Economic Affairs and the House of Commons, with further experience in private credit, investment research, and policy research at a number of boutique firms. Syed is currently studying for an MSc in Political Science at LSE and is a University of Warwick PPE alumnus. At The Criterion Centre, Syed oversees our policy agenda, ensuring relevance and compliance across our research.

Head of Finance

Abdullah currently works in the private equity team at Vemi Capital, an Ethical Asset Manager. Previously he worked as an analyst at a boutique international M&A advisory firm, as well as a summer intern in asset management. Abdullah is a finalist in Economics & Social Policy at LSE. At The Criterion Centre, Abdullah manages the organisation's fundraising efforts, donor relations, and financial administration.

Head of Research

Saqif works as a private client tax specialist at Deloitte. He is a University of Cambridge alumnus, where he held positions in the Cambridge Union and served as President of the Islamic Society. At The Criterion Centre, Saqif oversees the organisation's research team and paper procurement.

Head of Public Relations

Yasin is an undergraduate at LSE on a scholarship provided by the Avicenna Foundation. He has previous experience in boutique consulting, as well as considerable experience within the charitable sector. At The Criterion Centre, Yasin manages the PR team, media relations, social media presence, and our podcast.

Teaching Associate, Department of Politics & International Studies, University of Cambridge · James Buchanan Fellow, Mercatus Center at George Mason University

Dr. Moussa currently lectures on Middle East Politics and pursues a multi-disciplinary research agenda covering the politics and economics of authoritarian systems, critical security studies, and international relations at the University of Cambridge. Her current research examines the manifestations of privatising and outsourcing security in the Arab region since 2011. Engy completed her PhD at Cambridge in 2021 and has previously lectured at Qatar University.

Political Scientist. Teaching Fellow, SOAS and KCL. Lecturer in International Relations

Dr. Siyech undertook his PhD at the University of Edinburgh focusing on international relations. He has lectured and taught at Kings College London as well as SOAS. He was also the research director of the thinktank Equi, and has written over 100 publications. He has spoken at the UN, Interpol and at Meta.

Former lecturer at the LSE and senior research director

Dr. Bunglawala undertook her PhD in Political Science at the London School of Economics and Political Science where she then lectured and taught. She was the Assistant Director of the Aziz Foundation, and Head of Research at MEND, where she led research on religious and race relations. She sat on the Research Excellence Framework 2014 expert sub-panel for Theology and Religious Studies as an impact assessor and has advised on various AHRC/ESRC funded research projects on religion, politics and policy in the UK.

Teacher of Economics, Department of Economics, University of Cambridge

Marium Ashfaq is a PhD researcher at the University of Cambridge. She holds a MPhil in Economics with distinction from the University of Cambridge. Her current research concerns UK industrial policy, and oligopolistic competition. Marium has also worked at the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) as an Economic Researcher.

Economist at HMRC

Sami is currently an Economist at HMRC where he works on fiscal coordination. Previously he has been an Economist with the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.