He is a writer, curator, workplace inclusion consultant and singer-songwriter. He is the author of the critically acclaimed books Straight to Normal: My Life as a Gay Man (2019) and Queersapien (2022).
A TEDx speaker, Sharif has addressed numerous global and local forums on communications, inclusion and multiculturalism hosted by the Canadian High Commission, the British High Commission, Public Relations Organisation International, International Communications Consultancy Organisation, Open For Business, the American Centre and corporations such as Johnson & Johnson, Bank of America, Adobe, Barclays, Microsoft, Stryker, WE and Cognizant. He has spoken at colleges and schools such as Gargi College in Delhi, IIM Ahmedabad and the Scindia School in Gwalior.
The Founder of The Rainbow Awards for Literature & Journalism, Sharif is also the frontman of Friends of Linger. His band’s track, ‘Head Held High’ is considered to be India’s first dedication to the LGBT+ community. Sharif also belongs to one of India’s most diverse indie bands, The Original Knock Offs, that has artists from across the world.
A believer that communications through discussions, talks, art, literature and music are key to influencing change, he brings together over 30 years of experience in the fields of journalism, research, PR and image management in all he does. He has worked with organizations such as The Pioneer and The Economic Times in the media, and was the CEO and, later, chairman of Integral PR. Sharif is an advisor to the Global PR Trust focussing on social change and has chaired several juries such as those of the SABRE Awards and Fulcrum Awards.
