Biography

Anila married at 18 years old and continued her education, graduating from Nottingham Law School, UK, with distinction. She had her first daughter in the second year of the LLB and was 36 weeks pregnant with her second during the final examinations. Following her solicitors' professional qualification and training, she started her career as a solicitor in the early 1990s. Having had two more children, she diversified into the NHS in the UK in 1999, where she became the managing partner in GP practices, responsible for their strategic business development for 17 years. She also managed the addition of a dental practice and a pharmacy. An inclusive and compassionate leader, she led the team to Investors in People accreditation, two Excellence in General Practice awards, and a Public Health award. During this time, she was also involved in the inception of a collaboration of 18 GP practices and was elected its management lead for two years. Over the years, she sat on various boards and committees for the Nottingham City Primary Care Trust, Clinical Commissioning Group, and Nottingham City General Practice Alliance, helping to shape the innovative delivery of primary care services. She set up a management consultancy in 2014. Throughout her diverse career, driven by a lifelong love of learning, she found herself drawn to the academic world. After completing her LLB and legal professional qualifications, Anila undertook a Postgraduate Certificate and a Diploma in Public Services Management, a CMI Diploma Level 7 in Strategic Management and Leadership, a Master's in Health Law and Ethics, and an Executive MBA, for which she received the Dean's award for MBA excellence and distinction. Her MBA research resulted in a TEDx Talk published in 2020 and several keynote speeches. With a keen interest in gender equality, she is researching gender equality in the higher echelons of the legal profession of solicitors in England and Wales for a PhD at Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University, UK. As a non-practising solicitor, she is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.