Saeed Atcha MBE DL is the Founding CEO of Youth Leads UK, a charity he established at the age of 15.
Having grown up in care in Bolton, Saeed is acutely aware of how young people from disadvantaged backgrounds can be overlooked when it comes to learning valuable life skills and having a voice in their future.
Youth Leads UK has supported more than 12,500 disadvantaged young Greater Mancunians to access volunteering opportunities and skills development programmes.
Saeed served as a Trustee of His Majesty the King’s Step up to Serve #iwill campaign from 2016-2020.
As well as being a Former Government Social Mobility Commissioner with special responsibility for young people and vulnerable groups, Saeed is a trustee of the youth and social mobility charities Generation, Education & Employers and Migrant Leaders, a Non-Executive Director at social housing group Bolton at Home, and an Advisory Council Member to the Care Tech Foundation.
Saeed was the youngest person on Queen Elizabeth II’s New Year’s Honours List in 2019 awarded an MBE for services to young people and community in Greater Manchester. Later that year, Saeed went on to becoming the youngest person in history to be appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Greater Manchester.
Saeed studied at Manchester Metropolitan University and graduated with a BA (Hons) in Marketing and PR in 2017 and an MSc in Public Relations in 2020. Saeed was previously a broadcaster for News Corp.
Saeed married Maryam Kara in 2020.
Having been interested in aviation from an early age, a career in the industry seemed a natural choice. After graduation from University, Andy secured employment at Manchester Airport, later specialising in the air charter sector, in which he has over 25 years of experience. Andy has worked with elite sports teams, corporate, Government and military customers and a host of other clients, and is currently with the leading UK airline Jet2.com.
Born and raised in Manchester, Andy was educated at Bolton School, studying Russian at the University of Manchester. This included a period of study in the former Soviet Union.
Andy has been involved as a volunteer within the Community Rail movement for over 15 years, serving as Chair of Friends of Walkden Station for much of this time. The group were honoured to be awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2015 in recognition of their work in their local community. Andy also serves as a Vice Chair of the South East Lancashire Community Rail Partnership based in Bolton, developing close links between the railway and the communities that it serves in the Bolton, Salford and Wigan areas.
Andy is married with one adult daughter, is resident in the city of Salford and is an overseas citizen of India.