Elham Fardad is the founder and CEO of Migrant Leaders, a UK charity dedicated to helping young people from disadvantaged and migrant backgrounds achieve their career potential. Since launching the organisation in 2017, she has created a powerful model for inclusive social mobility, connecting talented young people with mentors, professional networks and career opportunities.

Elham’s work is shaped by her own experience. Having fled the Iran Iraq war, she arrived in the UK at the age of 14 and had to navigate a new language, culture and education system. Those early challenges gave her a deep understanding of the barriers many young migrants face, particularly the lack of confidence, connections and access to opportunity.

Drawing on her senior career in finance and corporate leadership, Elham founded Migrant Leaders to bridge the gap between talent and opportunity. Under her leadership, the charity has built strong partnerships with major employers and senior professionals who volunteer as mentors and advocates for young people.

Today Migrant Leaders supports thousands of young people across the UK. By 2025 the organisation had supported more than 3,700 mentees, working with over 2,000 volunteer mentors and hundreds of schools, colleges and universities, many located in the UK’s most deprived areas. The programme has achieved remarkable outcomes, with the majority of participants going on to secure long-term employment.

Through her leadership, Elham Fardad has helped reshape how businesses engage with emerging talent and has opened doors for a new generation of young leaders. Her work demonstrates how lived experience, combined with strategic leadership, can create lasting change and expand opportunity for others.