Zara Janjua

The career ladder no longer holds people. The most capable employees now build portfolio lives and expect work to mean something, and they leave when it does not. Retention depends less on the next promotion than on whether the organisation’s own story is worth staying for.

Zara Janjua is a BAFTA, NTA and RTS award-winning broadcaster who hosts corporate summits and inclusion conferences, and speaks on building portfolio careers and aligning work with purpose.

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Currently booking for 2027 and selected 2026 dates

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Why organisations work with Zara Janjua

  • She brings broadcast-grade interviewing into corporate rooms, drawing on more than 500 live hours of television and national news across BBC, ITV and STV.
  • She is the host NatWest chose for its Women in Business podcast, its skills development series, and its internal What’s The Chat? podcast, which makes her a credible anchor for organisations building long-running internal communications platforms, not one-off events.
  • She has chaired the Financial Alliance for Women Summit and the EBRD Conference on Skills Development in Central Asia, and has led onstage conversations with Karren Brady and Steven Bartlett, so she is trusted to handle senior figures and senior delegates at international level.
  • She is an appointed member of NatWest’s Ethnicity Advisory Council, which gives her a working view of how a major institution actually moves on inclusion, not just how it speaks about it.
  • She speaks on portfolio careers and reinvention as someone who has actually built one, from national news to comedy, television writing and documentary film, which reaches audiences facing their own career uncertainty in a way a career theorist cannot.

Biography highlights

  • BAFTA, NTA and RTS award-winning broadcaster; presents on BBC Radio Scotland and has fronted national news, daytime and comedy across BBC, ITV and STV.
  • Delivered a keynote to an audience of around 16,000 in Melbourne for Rotary International.
  • Led onstage conversations with Karren Brady and Steven Bartlett at the Women in Business and Tech Expo.
  • Reporter for the New York Times Climate Hub at COP26, interviewing John Kerry and Al Gore.
  • Host of NatWest’s Women in Business podcast and its internal What’s The Chat? podcast, and a member of its Ethnicity Advisory Council.
  • Highly Commended finalist, Women of the Future Awards, sponsored by Oxford University and the Financial Times.

Biography

One career rarely runs from national news to stand-up comedy, television writing, and documentary film. Zara Janjua’s has, and each strand carries recognition: a BAFTA, NTA and RTS across her television work, a place in the BBC Comedy Writersroom won from more than four thousand applicants, and a Technical Award for her first documentary.

That range is what makes her effective on a corporate stage. She interviews senior leaders without flattening them and holds a panel to its actual argument, drawing on more than 500 live hours of television and national news. She reported for the New York Times Climate Hub at COP26, securing interviews with John Kerry and Al Gore, and now presents on BBC Radio Scotland.

NatWest shows how that translates inside an organisation. Janjua hosts the bank’s Women in Business podcast and its internal What’s The Chat? podcast, and sits on its Ethnicity Advisory Council. On larger stages she has led onstage conversations with Karren Brady and Steven Bartlett at the Women in Business and Tech Expo, and delivered a keynote to an audience of around 16,000 in Melbourne for Rotary International.

Her keynote work has moved with her. The recurring subject is now the shape of a modern working life: portfolio careers, reinvention, resilience, and aligning work with purpose. The Women of the Future Awards, sponsored by Oxford University and the Financial Times, named her a Highly Commended finalist for building exactly that. The documentaries she produces in Nepal, Tanzania, and Guatemala for charitable partners are its clearest expression, and the reason a Rotary International president has publicly credited her fundraising impact.

Key speaking topics

  • Event hosting and moderation
  • Panel chairing and interviewing
  • Portfolio and multi-hyphen careers
  • Career reinvention and resilience
  • Future of work and careers
  • Diversity, equity and inclusion
  • Mental health in the workplace
  • Storytelling and business communication

Ideal for

  • CHROs, internal communications leads and DEI directors anchoring long-running internal channels.
  • Boards, summit organisers and awards committees commissioning a host for inclusion, women in business or skills conferences.
  • Talent and early-careers leaders programming events on career reinvention, portfolio working and retention.
  • Financial services, professional services and public-sector organisations briefing a moderator on senior international panels.

Audience outcomes

  • A panel or summit that lands its argument rather than drifting between speakers.
  • An internal communications moment that employees actually listen to, anchored by a broadcaster they recognise as credible.
  • Senior speakers drawn out on substance, not left to recite prepared lines.
  • Sensitive subject matter on inclusion, mental health or women’s progression handled with editorial care.
  • Audiences leave rethinking what a viable career can look like, prompted by someone who built one across news, comedy and film.

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Testimonials

Zara is someone who sees the world as a global citizen, constantly looking to use her voice to raise others up. Through her documentary work in Nepal and later supporting Rotary's literacy project in Gautemala, she helped raise hundreds of thousands for frontline essentials. Zara possesses extraordinary empathy and compassion, and it is a joy to watch her write each new chapter of her life.
Jennifer Jones
President, Rotary International for 2022–23
Zara is an exceptional storyteller who understands the privilege and responsibility that comes with having a voice. She uses hers with purpose, championing equality, diversity and inclusion, while always seeking to empower others through kindness and compassion. What I most admire is her unwavering curiosity and commitment to lifelong learning. Zara has continually reinvented herself with courage and grace, embracing new challenges and proving that there should never be limits on what women can achieve. Her breadth of talent is remarkable, but it is matched by her generosity of spirit. She brings warmth, authenticity and joy to every room she enters, building genuine human connections wherever she goes. Zara is not only making a meaningful difference today; she is inspiring others to realise their own potential and helping to create a brighter, more inclusive future. She truly embodies what it means to be a Woman of the Future.
Pinky Lilani CBE DL
Founder, Women of The Future Awards
Zara was our host/presenter at Business Gateway International Women’s day event. Zara was key to the whole day running smoothly using her expertise in presenting to ensure that our guests including the First Minister of Scotland were introduced appropriately. The day ran to time and she created seamless links between the different elements of the event. Zara is great to work with. Zara is well briefed and understands her audience, which gives Zara an added confidence when presenting, making her audience respond positively and warm to Zara from the beginning to the end of an event.
Susan Harkins
Head, Business Gateway - worked with Zara on International Women’s Day Event with Nicola Sturgeon
Zara brings a full range of skills to the table – from presenting and reporting, to researching and producing, and from writing and directing to editing and planning – and never fails to deliver, on time and to spec. She has an innate knowledge of the TV production industry and sets herself apart from most with her understanding of the needs and wants of an audience. Invaluable.
Angus Simpson
Senior Producer, The Fountainbridge Show STV
Zara is a real go-getter with an unbridled enthusiasm and drive to achieve and progress. She is always full of ideas on how a project could develop, eager to learn and develop editorial nuances and willing to muck in on whatever is required. Zara’s strongest attribute is the versatility of her skillset both behind and in front of the camera.
Andrew Chambers
Channel Editor, STV
Zara is a uniquely versatile presenter, not only in the range of programmes she is able to present from news and sport to entertainment shows, but also in the fact she worked her way through the ranks as a producer and therefore has an invaluable understanding of the production process. She is easy to work with, industrious and applies herself to any given task. I would highly recommend Zara as an asset to any TV project and would gladly employ her again in the future.
Paul Hughes
Solid Media/Former Head of Programmes, STV
Great presence, energetic style, full of talent!
BBC Studios Presents
I found Zara to be diligent with a professional attention to detail. She has a very engaging personality and her warm charm works well in interview situations.
Peter Martin
PLZ Productions
We had the pleasure of having Zara as a host for our fundraiser fashion show in 2018. We got Zara at the last minute but she was extremely professional and got acquainted with the guests speakers very quickly. Zara was witty and entertaining. Our guests had nothing but praise for our host. We would love to ask Zara to host our future events.
Farah Khushi
Kushi Foundation
Zara is an engaging and professional presenter, with a natural ability to energize the room. She eloquently represents our brand, our messaging and values as an organization. Her background in journalism enables Zara to delicately draw out viewpoints from speakers and panelists to ensure that they shine. She is a natural communicator and researches the subject matter ahead of the event which enables Zara to be fully present at each event. We have worked together on numerous occasions and I would highly recommend Zara – she is a star!
Lily Cheng
Rising Network
Zara was a confident, engaging and extremely likeable host for The Comedy Underground, a new stand up show for the BBC Scotland TV channel. She was extremely professional, courteous and someone all of us here at Dabster Productions would love to work with again. Not only was she very well prepared for the job, she was eager to learn and to develop and was happy to take on board notes and direction.
Richard Melvin
Director, Dabster Productions

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