LEVELATIONS with Ziara Siddique: Legacy, Leadership and Building This Is Manchester

Some leaders build businesses. Others build platforms. Ziara Siddique has built a legacy.

Founder and Creator of This Is Manchester, Ziara’s career spans advertising, media, commercial strategy, and cultural leadership. It’s a journey defined by action over noise, values over ego, and a deep belief in celebrating the people who move cities forward.

In this edition of LEVELATIONS, Ziara reflects on her career, what drove her to create This Is Manchester, the realities of building something largely alone, and what legacy truly means to her.

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A Career Built on Action

Ziara built a long and diverse career in advertising, media, and commercial brand partnerships. Spending a significant part of her career at News Corp, she became the highest-grossing and highest-yielding media executive leading the North across broadsheet titles within The Times Media Group.

She thrived on the balance between numbers and ideas, building campaigns and partnerships that delivered real commercial impact for global brands including American Airlines, Clarks Shoes, and Magnet Kitchens. Alongside this, she worked closely with elite sports professionals and supported global artists on tour, environments where professionalism, discretion, and integrity were non-negotiable.

“I built a long and diverse career in advertising, media, and commercial brand partnerships. I’ve always been commercially astute and loved number crunching, combining strategy with creativity to deliver real results. Those were amazing times, I was genuinely unstoppable, fierce, and absolutely loved my advertising days.”

Adaptability became one of her defining traits. Ziara has always described herself as a chameleon, creative, strategic, and comfortable wearing multiple hats. Known for a “less chat, more doing” mindset, that blend of creativity and action continues to shape everything she builds today.

Behind the commercial success sits a grounded upbringing rooted in humility and hard work. Her parents instilled simple but lasting values: graft, discipline, and staying humble, foundations that continue to guide her leadership.

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Creating This Is Manchester

Now eight years in, This Is Manchester was born from the intersection of blue-sky thinking, entertainment, and Ziara’s deep experience in media and advertising. What began as an idea quickly became something intentional.

“This Is Manchester was created with a purpose of legacy. It’s a nod to the region’s powerful heritage and history, while also celebrating the people shaping the narrative moving forward.”

Built as a platform grounded in humility and authenticity, social impact and corporate responsibility were woven into the DNA from the start. Since launching the This Is Manchester Awards, the platform has helped raise more than £150,000 for good causes, proof of its impact beyond recognition alone.

Ziara continues to adapt and evolve the platform year on year. Change keeps it fresh and energetic, but the intention remains constant: to honour the past, elevate the present, and create something meaningful for the future.

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The Cost of Building Alone

Building something with purpose doesn’t come without challenge. For Ziara, the hardest moments came when trust was broken, particularly when her empathetic nature was taken advantage of or when her vision was repurposed.

“The lowest points have been when people take advantage of my empathetic nature, especially when trust is breached or when someone repurposes your vision. It’s tough, particularly when you’re building something meaningful on your own.”

Those experiences forced difficult but defining lessons. Building largely alone required stronger boundaries, clearer discernment, and an unwavering commitment to values, even when it was uncomfortable.

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What Keeps Her Going

Despite the scale of what she has built, Ziara’s motivation has never been personal recognition. Her focus has always been outward.

“It is not about me. It’s about the people, communities, organisations, and places shaping the future and contributing to the whole ecosystem. There are countless individuals and organisations doing brilliant work, and what motivates me is giving them a platform, ensuring their contributions are seen, valued, highlighted, and celebrated.”

Across Greater Manchester and beyond, this commitment to people remains the driving force behind everything she does.

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Resilience, Perspective and Wellbeing

Ziara’s journey has also been shaped by personal loss. Losing her mother nearly three years ago fundamentally changed her perspective, reinforcing what truly matters. Balancing grief with responsibility demanded resilience. the ability to keep showing up, especially with a young family.

Wellbeing has since become non-negotiable. Movement, humour, staying connected to the right people, and not taking herself too seriously are all part of how she remains grounded while carrying a growing vision.

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Big Ideas. Bold Leaders.

Ziara’s story is one of action, integrity, and legacy. A reminder that leadership isn’t defined by noise or titles, but by the impact you leave behind — and the people you choose to elevate along the way.

At LEVEL, we believe those are the stories worth sharing.

LEVELATIONS is our ongoing series spotlighting business leaders shaping what’s next, one conversation at a time.

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