Sohail Rahman
The events that now move the most value in international business, elections, conflicts, regulatory shifts across Asia and the Middle East, are usually covered by people outside those regions. Finding a host who has filed from Swat, anchored from Doha, and knows the FTSE 100 brand brief as well as the geopolitical one is not straightforward. For events that sit at the intersection of global business and hard-edge news, the pool of credible hosts thins out very quickly.
Sohail Rahman is an Al Jazeera English main anchor and former UK network presenter who hosts, moderates and briefs international business and policy audiences on Asia, the Middle East and global news with front-line reporter authority.
Full Profile
Why organisations work with Sohail Rahman
- More than 30 years across ITV, Granada, BBC, Channel 4, CNN and Al Jazeera English, which is a breadth of senior broadcast experience most corporate hosts cannot match.
- He was part of the original on-screen launch line-up for Al Jazeera English in 2005 and has anchored from Doha for two decades, giving him recognised standing across the Middle East, South Asia and Asia-Pacific.
- His correspondent postings in New Delhi and Kuala Lumpur were not studio work. They included access to places most correspondents do not reach, including North-West Pakistan’s tribal areas, which gives his geopolitical material front-line credibility.
- The awards record is specific: Royal Television Society Best Television Presenter in 2003 and a USA TV Emmy nomination for the Nepal Earthquake coverage. These are external markers of presentation quality rather than vanity listings.
- Fluency in five South Asian languages in addition to English makes him unusually useful for events in South Asia, GCC and South-East Asia where a host who understands cultural nuance materially affects how the room receives the content.
Biography highlights
- Main presenter, Al Jazeera English, Doha; part of the 2005 on-screen launch line-up
- Former Al Jazeera Senior Correspondent for South Asia (New Delhi) and Asia Pacific (Kuala Lumpur)
- Previous networks include ITV, ITV Granada, BBC, Channel 4 and CNN
- Royal Television Society Best Television Presenter Award (2003); USA TV Emmy nomination for Nepal Earthquake coverage
- First British Muslim man to present ITV National News and ITV Granada regional news
- Fluent in five South Asian languages and English
Biography
Al Jazeera English went on air in 2005 as one of the most ambitious international news launches in a generation, and Sohail Rahman was part of the original on-screen team. Two decades later he remains a main anchor at the network’s Doha headquarters, having also spent postings as Senior Correspondent for South Asia from New Delhi and for Asia Pacific from Kuala Lumpur. The roles put him directly into the stories that now frame international business risk, from Asian elections and natural disasters to conflict on the Afghan-Pakistan border.
His earlier career sits with the UK networks. More than 30 years across ITV, Granada, BBC, Channel 4 and CNN include a period as an ITV national news presenter, where he was the first British Muslim man to hold the role, and earlier Granada regional news anchoring. In 2003 he won the Royal Television Society’s Best Television Presenter Award for his ITV work. He later received a USA TV Emmy nomination for his coverage of the Nepal Earthquake.
The correspondent experience is specific rather than general. He was one of the few international reporters granted access to North-West Pakistan’s tribal areas, including Swat, and filed on militancy and governance from those regions at a time when few Western broadcasters could. Fluency in five South Asian languages means his reporting and hosting in the region is not mediated through translators, which in turn gives him a register that regional audiences recognise as genuine.
For international conferences, GCC summits, South Asian business events and investor-facing programmes with Asia or Middle East exposure, Rahman brings the combination most organisers actually want: a recognised Al Jazeera anchor, a Royal Television Society award holder, and a correspondent who has filed from the places the audience is otherwise only reading about. He is used for main-stage moderation, awards hosting, MC work and keynote interviews.
Key speaking topics
- Middle East and Gulf geopolitics
- South Asian and Asia-Pacific current affairs
- International business, economics and global markets
- Media, journalism and cross-cultural communication
- Muslim representation and identity in Western media
- Hosting, moderating and awards MC craft
Ideal for
- GCC, Middle East and Asia-based conferences, investor days and trade summits
- International awards and industry events needing a globally recognised anchor as host
- Corporate off-sites, client events and fireside interviews focused on Middle East and Asia risk
- Cultural, faith and representation events where a senior British Muslim broadcaster’s voice is relevant
Audience outcomes
- A sharper read on Middle East and Asian geopolitics delivered by a serving Al Jazeera anchor
- Sessions that move from prepared remarks into genuine interview under a broadcast-grade host
- Specific front-line reference cases from South Asia, Asia Pacific and the tribal areas of Pakistan
- A host who can move credibly between English and South Asian languages in mixed international rooms