Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh currently holds the portfolio of the Minister for Finance, Revenue, Economic Affairs & Statistics in the Government of Pakistan. Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh is an economist of international repute with over 30 years of experience in economic policymaking, management and implementation. His work experience includes Harvard University Cambridge, World Bank where he was country head for Saudi Arabia and as a Senior Official advised 21 countries, Minister for Finance, Planning and Development Sindh, Member of teh Senate of Pakistan, Federal Minister for Investment and Privatization and General Partner of an International Investment Fund.

Dr. Hafeez Shaikh had a highly successful tenure as Minister for Finance, Planning & Development in Sindh Province during 2000-2002. He was the architect of the financial recovery of Sindh, restoring financial discipline, reducing taxes, increasing revenues, paying over Rs. 20 billion of old bills, clearing the overdraft of State Bank of Pakistan of Rs. 11 billion, increasing allocation for poverty alleviation, social sector and development, and enhancing the relationship of Sindh Government with international donor agencies.

His three years as the Federal Minister for Privatisation & Investment were the most successful in Pakistan’s history. 34 transactions worth over US $ 5 billion were completed in a transparent fashion. Using the slogan of “Privatization for the People”, shares in several companies were given to 0.8 million people, creating broad ownership. The period saw a foreign direct Investment increase from $ 1 Billion to $ 5 Billion. Dr. Shaikh was awarded Pakistan’s “Man of the Year” in 2004 by the business community in recognition of his contributions to the country. He left Government in early 2006. He was a highly regarded member of the Senate of Pakistan and was Chairman of the Senate’s Committee on World Trade Organization.

Dr. Shaikh’s international experience includes assignments in Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Romania, Czech Republic, Iran, Kuwait, Argentina, Bangladesh, Jordan, Qatar, Malta, Botswana, Tanzania, Ghana and Libya. After leaving the Government, Dr. Shaikh was General Partner of an international investment company, headquartered in New York, which set up a $1.38 Billion fund for investments in Asia. Dr. Shaikh has a Ph.D in economics and has authored many publications including a book on Argentina.

Mr. Asad Umar is the Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms. He has also served as the Focal Person for Supervision & Coordination among government agencies for all mega projects in Karachi funded by the Federal Government and Chairman Standing Committee of the National Assembly on Finance, Revenue, and Economic Affairs. Mr. Asad Umar is also a member of Economic Advisory Council set up by the Prime Minister of Pakistan. He has previously served as the Minister for Finance, Revenue, and Economic Affairs. Prior to entering politics, he was a business executive, serving as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Engro Corporation from 2004 to 2012. Mr. Asad Umar graduated from IBA Karachi from where he received an MBA degree.

Mr. Muhammad Hammad Azhar is the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Division, Government of Pakistan and a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan since August 2018.

He began his schooling at Aitchison College Lahore and completed his A-levels from Wellington College, ranked as the top boarding school of UK. He was then admitted to University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), from where he graduated in BSC (Hons) Development Economics. He then proceeded to the BPP law School in London from where he completed his Post-Graduate Diploma in Law. He enrolled for the Bar Vocational Course in 2004 and was formally called to the Bar at The Honorable Society of Lincoln’s Inn in 2005. Barrister Mr. Hammad Azhar is also an entrepreneur and Managing Partner at AFCO Steel Industries, one of the largest and oldest steel manufacturing groups in Pakistan.

Hammad is a Corporate Fellow of the Palace of Westminster in UK, a fellowship he attained after completing a course of Parliamentary Studies at the Palace in 2003. He has interned at the House of Lords, the upper legislative body of UK and Watson Farley and Willams, a respected shipping law firm of London. He excels in public speaking, and was the annual declamation champion of Wellington College in 1999. He was elected as President of the Pakistan Society of the SOAS Students Union in 2002.

Dr. Shamshad Akhtar has a broad-based development career in national and multilateral organisations spanning over 37 years.  She has served as the Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, Under Secretary General of the Economic and Social Commission of the Asia and Pacific (UNESCAP), Senior Special Advisor on Economics and Finance and Assistant Secretary General UN, the UN Secretary General’s G20 Sherpa, Vice President, Middle East and North Africa (MENA) at The World Bank, and Senior Special Advisor to the President of Asian Development Bank (ADB). Most recently, Dr. Shamshad Akhtar served as Federal Finance Minister in the caretaker government prior to the general election of Pakistan in 2018.

In addition to advising on macroeconomics issues including growth policies, public finance, and monetary policy and management, Dr. Shamshad Akhtar has advised various governments and the private sector in specific areas of governance, poverty, privatization, and public-private partnerships in sectors such as energy and agriculture. Over the years she also advised a number of countries on financial sector (both bank and non-bank) policy, legal and regulatory frameworks and conducted assessments of central banks. As Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, she was nominated Asia’s Best Central Bank Governor by the Emerging Market Groups in 2006 and Bankers Trust in 2007. She was also amongst Asian Wall Street Journal’s top ten Women Business Leaders in 2008.

Mr. Shabbar Zaidi was appointed as the Chairman, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in June 2019.Mr. Zaidi is a renowned tax expert and a Chartered Accountant. He has also served as the provincial caretaker finance minister for Sindh from 2013. He was a senior partner in A.F. Ferguson & Co., before taking charge as the Chairman FBR. He also acted as the President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) and South Asian Federation of Accountants. He remained former Chairman, Professional Standard and Technical Advisory Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan. Among his non-profit work, he is a trustee of Sindh Institute of Urology & Transplantation (SIUT) and member of Boards of Governors of Liaquat National Hospital and Karachi School of Business and Leadership.
In the past, he has also been the President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan and Chairman of the South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA). Syed Shabbar Zaidi has also authored many books.

Professor Naoyuki Yoshino is Dean of the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) and Professor Emeritus at Keio University, Tokyo, Japan. He obtained his PhD from Johns Hopkins University (United States) in 1979 where his thesis supervisor was Sir Alan Walters, economic adviser to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Mr. Naoyuki has been a visiting scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (United States) and a visiting professor at various universities including the University of New South Wales (Australia), Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques (France), and University of Gothenburg (Sweden). He has also been an assistant professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo and an economics professor at Keio University.

Professor Yoshino’s professional career includes membership in numerous government committees. He was named Director of the Japan Financial Services Agency’s (FSA) Financial Research Center (FSA Institute) in 2004 and is now Chief Advisor. He was appointed as Chair of the Financial Planning Standards Board in 2007. He has served as Chairperson of the Japanese Ministry of Finance’s Council on Foreign Exchange as well as its Fiscal System Council (Fiscal Investment and Loan Program Section). Additionally, he has been a Board Member of the Deposit Insurance Corporation of Japan and President of the Financial System Council of the Government of Japan.

He was nominated for inclusion in Who’s Who in the World for 2009 and 2013, and was named one of the Top 100 Educators in 2009. He obtained honorary doctorates from the University of Gothenburg (Sweden) in 2004 and Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (Germany) in 2013. He also received the Fukuzawa Award in 2013 for his contribution to research on economic policy.

Annabel started as Head of DFID Pakistan in October 2019. Before coming to Islamabad she was based for five years in Harare, where she was Head of DFID Zimbabwe and also led the DFID South Africa Development Partnerships Unit. Her previous roles in DFID include: leading DFID’s policy on governance, gender, and social protection; being Head of Profession for DFID’s Governance, Conflict and Humanitarian Advisers; as well as time in DFID Tanzania, DFID Nigeria, and DFID South Africa. Annabel joined DFID in 1997.

Before DFID, Annabel worked as a tax lawyer for a large city firm in London, for the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front in Eritrea rebuilding their education system in preparation for the country’s independence, and in a refugee settlement with American Save the Children in Sudan.

Ms. Ingrid van Wees is the Vice-President for Finance and Risk Management of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). She assumed the position in December 2016.

Ms. van Wees is responsible for the overall management of the operations of the Office of Risk Management, the Controller’s Department, and the Treasury Department.

Before ADB, Ms. van Wees was a senior director reporting to the management board at the German Investment and Development Corporation (DEG). Her responsibilities included origination, structuring and portfolio management of the bank’s debt and equity investments in Europe, Middle East, and Asia plus treasury. Prior to DEG, Ms. Van Wees held management positions in corporate finance and business development at international listed corporations.

She holds a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands and a Master of Business Administration degree from INSEAD.

Mr. Satoshi Kuwahara is the president of Credit Record Data (CRD), Japan. CRD promotes the streamlining and efficiency of SME financing by assessing their business conditions based on data and by measuring credit risks related to SME financing. It has established its footing in Japan as an infrastructure for data on SMEs.

Prior to joining CRD, he served as the Director at Toyo Engineering Corp. He has also worked as Executive Director at Organization for Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation. Mr. Kuwahara has also served as Deputy Director-General at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. He has been the Director of Industrial Structure Policy Division, Industrial Policy Bureau at Ministry of International Trade and Industry.

A national of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Ms. Yang holds a Master’s degree in Economics from Beijing University, PRC, a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from the Shanghai University of Finance
and Economics, PRC, and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Prior to joining ADB, she was with the World Bank Resident Mission in PRC as a Financial Specialist for five years. She also worked in Civil Service in Ministry of Water and Power, and Ministry of Finance prior to the World Bank. She joined ADB in December 1998 as a Control Officer in CTL and moved to the former ECOD as a Project Specialist in November 2002. She then held increasingly responsible positions
including Financial Specialist, Senior Financial Analysis Specialist, Senior Transport Economist, and Principal Transport Economist in the former ECTC and EATC. In October 2011, she was promoted to Lead
Transport Specialist in EATC. In February 2013, she was appointed as Director, CWTC. Concurrently, she serves as Chair of the ADB Transport Sector Group and promotes bank wide work in sustainable
transport. She has extensive operational knowledge and experience in project processing, administration, portfolio management, and delivering knowledge products.

She has strong and diversified country and IFI experience in leading teams and complex operational and corporate assignments such as regional and country strategies. She has also successfully led the transport and trade facilitation strategy 2020, railway 2030, and road safety 2030 for CAREC. Her strong technical knowledge, excellent client orientation skills, and firm commitment to development work are valued and respected by colleagues, client governments, and development partners.

Mr. Jameel Ahmad’s illustrious career as an accomplished central banker spans over 28 years at senior positions at the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA). His association with the SBP dates back to 1991 in various capacities including Deputy Governor and Executive Director.  He has also served as Advisor to Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (the Central Bank of Saudi Arabia) from July 2009 to April 2015.

Mr. Ahmad is also serving as Board Member and Chairman of the Deposit Protection Corporation (DPC), Board Member and Vice Chairman of Pakistan Security Printing Corporation (PSPC), Member Policy Board of Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), Board Member of National Institute of Banking & Finance (NIBAF) and Member of the National Council of Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan (ICMAP). Mr. Ahmad has also served as Member Board of Directors of the Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance (PICG), Chairman of the Verification Committee constituted under the Corporate & Industrial Restructuring Corporation (CIRC) Ordinance of Pakistan, and Member / Secretary of the Task Force on Combating Counterfeiting of Currency Notes and Government Bills constituted by the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

He is a member of SBP’s Monetary Policy Committee since 30th January, 2016 and also contributes in various management committees of SBP. He represents SBP on Financial Stability Board (FSB)’s Correspondent Banking Coordination Group and was also a member of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS)’s Task Force on Prudential Treatment of Assets. He was also a member of the IFSB’s Technical Committee and its working Groups on Risk Management, Supervisory Review Process, Capital Adequacy and Determination of Alpha Factor. He has also represented SBP on many other national and international committees/foras.

During his association with Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), Mr. Ahmad represented SAMA on many working groups / task forces of the BCBS including its Large Exposures Group, High Level Task Force on Sovereign Exposures, Task Force on Prudential Treatment of Assets and Supervision & Implementation Group. He also represented SAMA on FSB Compensation Monitoring Group, G20 Task Force on Financial Safety Nets, IFSB Working Group on Capital Adequacy and IFSB Task Force on PSIFIs.

Mr. Ahmad did his MBA from University of Punjab at Lahore in 1988 and is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan (FCMA) since 1994, an Associate Member of the Institute of Bankers Pakistan (DAIBP) since 1993 and Fellow Member of the Institute of Corporate Secretaries of Pakistan (FCIS) since 1992. He also won two gold medals and two certificates of merit for his distinguished achievements during academic/professional studies. He also received extensive on-the-job training in Banking Supervision under a World Bank Project during 1998 – 99 that included short attachments with various US regulatory Agencies. Some of the other training courses he attended include courses at Toronto Centre for Leadership in Banking Supervision, Centre for Central Banking Studies of Bank of England, IMF Training Institute, SEACEN Centre, Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada, and the BIS Financial Stability Institute, Switzerland.

Mr. Salim Raza has over 40 years of experience in the banking and financial sector. Mr. Raza has held the position of the 15th Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) after having worked in international banking for 36 years. His business experience covers credit and corporate finance, real estate, and global asset management. He has also been the CEO of Pakistan Business Council (PBC). During his tenure at SBP and his association with PBC many innovative initiatives were introduced to assist deepening of debt Capital markets, broadening financial inclusion, increasing access to credit for the agricultural and SME sectors, reforming and improving efficiency within the banking sector, and advancing the cause of economic empowerment.
Prior to that, Mr. Salim Raza held various positions at Citibank NA in Pakistan and abroad and served as Country and Regional Head for Citibank across various geographies in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, the UK, Central and Eastern Europe.
In September 2018, Mr. Salim Raza was appointed to the Prime Minister of Pakistan’s Economic Advisory Council as a member representing private sector. He holds a combined BA & MA degree from Oxford University where he studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oriel College. He currently serves on the Boards of Habib Bank Limited, International Industries Limited, and Planet N Group. He is an adjunct professor at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi for Political Economy and also lectures on a variety of economic-development related subjects at different forums.

Ali Sarfraz has vast experience of leading initiatives in the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors. He was engaged in advising private sector firms while working in senior strategy and operational roles in Asia and Europe. He also developed new strategies for increasing revenue streams of a major mobile operator in Pakistan. While working in senior policy positions in public sector, he focused on building conducive business environments, developing skilled workforce, and adopting technology use for the government. He has an MBA from INSEAD and BS in Electrical Engineering from University of Texas, Austin.

Mr Waqas ul Hasan has over 15 years of experience of designing and managing private and financial sector programmes. He designed DFID’s £200m Enterprise and Asset Growth Programme, sought internal DFID funding and co-financing from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and setup Karandaaz Pakistan as platform for investment in Pakistan Microfinance Investment Company (PMIC), credit and equity for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and for innovations and expanding frontiers of digital finance in Pakistan. He has been lead adviser for DFID’s £50m Financial Inclusion Programme (FIP) under which two credit guarantees, for wholesale funding to microfinance and retail lending to small and rural enterprises, were setup and number of regulatory and market infrastructure innovations were supported. Pakistan Credit Guarantee Company (PCGC) is spinoff of the credit guarantee facility for small and rural enterprises setup under FIP. At DFID, Mr Hasan is also lead adviser for infra finance initiatives which include £40m Public Private Partnerships assistance to the provinces of Sindh and Punjab and the federal Govt of Pakistan, setup of Infra Zamin Pakistan (a credit enhancement facility for infrastructure projects) and the Pakistan Infrastructure Bank.

Prior to DFID, Mr Hasan has worked at senior staff and advisory positions at the Asian Development Bank and Govt of Pakistan and managed access to SME finance, fiscal decentralization and access to justice programmes. He is DFID’s Observer on the Boards of Karandaaz, PMIC and PCGC. Mr Hasan is certified as Director by Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance and holds a Masters in Finance from the London Business School and a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology Lahore.

Mr. Alex MacGillivray’s background is in sustainable development, competitiveness and business strategy. Alex’s background is in sustainable development, competitiveness and business strategy. Before joining CDC, he held senior positions at Accountability and the New Economics Foundation, and has worked with a broad range of businesses, government and non-profits. Alex has developed and embedded evaluation and management systems for innovators of all shapes and sizes around the world, particularly in emerging markets. He has a keen interest in low-carbon innovation.

Dr. Linda Arthur’s areas of specialization include comparative policy analysis, education policy reform, project evaluation, and portfolio management. Prior to joining ADBI, she worked in the Asian Development Bank’s South Asia, Central and West Asia, and Independent Evaluation departments as well as ADB’s country offices in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Dr. Linda Arthur holds a BA and MA from the University of Toronto, and a DPhil from the University of Oxford.

BARRISTER ALI ASGHER KHAN is an Advocate of the High Court of Pakistan and a Barrister-at-Law. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, USA); a Post Graduate Diploma in Law from the College of Law (London, UK), and was called to the Bar of England & Wales (Lincoln’s Inn).

Mr. Khan is the founder and managing partner of ALI KHAN LAW ASSOCIATES. Prior to founding and establishing the firm, Mr. Ali Khan worked as a ‘Partner’ at one of Pakistan’s leading laws firm for fourteen (14) years where he led the firm’s ‘Project’ practice in Karachi. In addition, prior to moving to Pakistan, Mr. Ali Khan worked as an investment banker in the power and energy groups at GOLDMAN SACHS & CO. and DEUTSCHE BANK in New York, (U.S.A) and was part of the global financial restructuring team at AES CORPORATION in Arlington (U.S.A).

With a professional experience spread over five (5) continents, Mr. Ali Khan possesses a unique skill set combing law and finance. He has extensively advised on most of the mega energy and infrastructure projects established in Pakistan in the last fourteen (14) years and his contributions and pioneering efforts in the development of such sectors (specifically in relation to public private partnership transactions and policy making) are widely recognized – both locally and internationally.

Mr. Ali Khan has been consistently ranked at the top over the years in Pakistan by acclaimed and prestigious global rankings including in ‘Band 1’ for ‘Projects, Infrastructure & Energy’ by CHAMBER & PARTNERS; as ‘Leading Lawyer’ for ‘Corporate and M&A, Projects and Infrastructure’ by ASIALAW; as ‘Energy & Natural Resource Expert’ by EUROMONEY ENERGY EXPERT GUIDE; and as ‘Recommended’ by the LEGAL 500.

Mr. Ahmed Khan is a seasoned entrepreneur and e-commerce leader in Pakistan. Before starting Cheetay, he was the Managing Director of Rocket Internet where he successfully launched ventures like Kaymu, Daraz, EasyTaxi, Carmudi and Lamudi. Daraz was recently acquired by Alibaba for $150 million. He started his career with P&G and later moved to McKinsey in Dubai.

Ms. Ayesha Aziz is the Managing Director of Pak Brunei Investment Company and has diverse experience in investment banking, private equity, and portfolio management. She was associated with the ANZ Banking Group for ten years where, amongst other assignments, she worked on the Financial Engineering desk in London. Ms. Aziz was involved in establishing and managing business operations and subsidiaries of Pak Oman Investment Company, including a Microfinance Bank and an Asset Management company. More recently, she has overseen the establishment of a specialized Leasing Company and a listed Modaraba Fund where she serves on the Board as Chairperson and Member respectively. She is currently also on the Board of KSB Pumps, and has been on Punjab Board of Investment and Sindh Enterprise development board amongst others in the past.

Having done her O’Levels from Convent of Jesus & Mary and her A’Levels from Karachi Grammar School, Naila Naqvi immediately joined Avari Tower as a management trainee on a 2 year program. In that program she had undergone training in all the departments including, kitchen, housekeeping, store, front desk, quite literally everything! She continued to work at Avari after her training.
Soon after, she applied for a scholarship to study Hotel Management in Singapore under a government scheme and was the only one who got selected out of over 300 hi-profile candidates. Spent 3 years in Singapore and did her certificate in Food & Beverage management from Ecole Hotelier Switzerland in addition to Hotel Management.
Coming back home to Pakistan was essential so she came back and joined rejoined Avari. Before setting up Pie in the Sky, she went on to pursue further studies at International School of Baking in USA and did a comprehensive 6 week course on setting up and running a professional bakery which led to materializing the dream of Pie in the Sky on 27th January 2001.

A financial professional having extensive experience in government, academia and the private sector.  Accumulated diversified experience of policy formulation, implementation and monitoring of strategies and initiatives at the country, ministry and enterprise levels.

Currently as Adviser to Chief Minister on Economic Affairs and Planning & Development Department responsible for the economic reform agenda of the Government of Punjab, Developed the ‘Business Plan of Punjab’ as the road map of reforms across departments and sectors to boost the Productivity and competitiveness of the Punjab.

Adviser to the Prime Minister and Federal Minister of Finance, Revenue, Economic Affairs and Statistics of Pakistan (2004 – 2008). Leader of the Pakistan economic team during a time period marked by extensive reforms, high GDP growth of the economy, rapid privatization of major entities in telecom, banking and power sector and large FDI flows into Pakistan.

In the private sector extensive experience in academics and consulting assignments with corporates and financial institutions.

Aamir Khan has 30 years of experience in banking and capital markets, covering corporate, investment, SME and institutional banking in Pakistan and Canada. He has served in senior positions at Standard Chartered Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, and American Express Bank Ltd.  He is well versed in corporate lending, treasury and credit risk management, and has extensively worked on structured financial products, international trade and cross-border transactions.

Prior to being appointed as a Commissioner, he served as an Executive Director at the SECP, where he headed several departments. He also played a key role in a number of initiatives at the SECP, including the launch of commodity murabaha at PMEX, agriculture-related initiatives, bringing microfinance companies within the SECP’s regulatory ambit, finalizing of laws and improving ease of doing business.

A former Chevening Scholar, he has an MBA degree, as well as an M.Sc. in international banking from the UK. He is also an associate of the Institute of Bankers in Pakistan.

Mr. Shauzab Ali is SECP Commissioner for Specialized Companies Division, Investor Education & International Relations Department, Anti Money Laundering Department, Information Systems and Technology Department, Information Security Department. Mr. Shauzab Ali is a Chartered Accountant with more than 25 years of professional experience with focus on development banking and finance, corporate banking, project finance, portfolio management, planning & budgeting, and financial management. Before his appointment as Commissioner in March 2018, he was with the Asian Development Bank where he was responsible for all the public finance and financial sector activities of the Asian Development Bank in Pakistan. Prior to that, he has worked with Standard Chartered and Allied Bank in senior positions in corporate and investment banking and financial control functions. He has also worked for the NBFC sector in senior positions including CFO of an investment bank and the Lahore Stock Exchange.

Ali Khizar Aslam is a senior columnist with over fifteen years of experience in economic, financial and business research analysis and communication. He established the economic and business research department at Business Recorder, the country’s leading financial news daily. Ali also engages with leading organizations in the development sector and with multinational entities in the corporate sector in the capacity of independent consultant and advisor. Ali has a MSc. in Economics from LUMS, and BSc in Civil Engineering from UET, Lahore.

Mr.  Javed Iqbal has over 25 years of banking experience in the areas of Investment, Corporate and SME Banking. He started his career with Al Faysal Investment Bank and over the years, he has headed SME/Commercial businesses at Faysal Bank, and United Bank Limited. Prior to joining BAFL, he was Regional Head – SME at Standard Chartered Bank. Currently, Mr. Iqbal is the Head-SME Pakistan for Bank Alfalah Limited – leading the stellar and sustainable growth in the SME business; championing in areas like: financial inclusion for SMEs, introducing best practices, and multi-donor led investment programs. Two of his key initiatives are provision of Non-Financial Advisory Services (NFAS) in the SME space; where the bank launched the SME Toolkit – an online solutions portal aimed at providing advisory, global best practices, key tools/enablers and induction of “Value Chain” based customized solutions bringing scale to businesses in the SME segment and addressing the needs for Financial Inclusion. His role continues to create sustainable impact, and bring value for SMEs at large and manages the country’s 2nd largest SME portfolio.

Asim Siddiqui is a Fellow Chartered Accountant and is the Country Managing Partner of EY Ford Rhodes. Asim started his career with the firm in 1994 after returning from the UK. He became a member of ICAEW in 1993 and ICAP in 1996.

Asim became a partner in the firm in 1997 and was assigned to develop new business segments of Risk Advisory and Transaction Advisory Services. As Transaction Advisory Services leader, Asim and his TAS team expanded EY service offerings from Transaction Diligence and Valuation advisory to transactions advisory in Energy, Real Estate and Infrastructure Advisory services, including PPPs and privatization.

Sheharyar is a PPP Specialist at ADB’s Office of PPP working on infrastructure transaction advisory in South, Central and West Asia. Before joining ADB in 2018, he was vice president Asia Pacific project finance at Korea Development Bank (KDB) in Singapore where he closed a number of project finance transactions in South East Asia, Australia and Japan in the energy and infrastructure sectors.
Prior to joining KDB in 2014, he worked with Standard Chartered Bank for five years working on structured finance transactions in Asia & Africa. He began his career as a telecom infrastructure planner with Telenor. He holds a B.Sc. in electrical engineering, an MBA and is a GARP certified Energy Risk Professional (ERP).

An experienced Civil Servant with a demonstrated history of 22 years of working in Public Sector Departments, Development Projects and District Administration. Skilled professional in Government Management, Research, Project Financing, Risk Management and Stakeholder Management;  with a  PhD from University of Manchester, UK in “Development Policy & Management” focusing upon PPPs in developed and developing countries. Also holds an MSc in “Management & Implementation of Development Projects” from the University of Manchester, UK and MBA (Finance) from IBA, University of the Punjab, Pakistan.

Rabel Z. Akhund is the Founder and Managing Partner of Akhund Forbes Hadi which is a leading top tier Corporate and Commercial Law Firm in Pakistan. He has practiced law for over 18 years in London, Pakistan and internationally. He is a graduate of University College London where he obtained his LL.B and LL.M degrees and is a Solicitor of England & Wales and an Advocate in Pakistan.  Prior to founding Akhund Forbes Hadi and during his 8-year career in leading global law firms in London, Rabel successfully worked on and completed cross border private equity buy-out transactions with a combined value in excess of £5 billion.  Rabel trained and qualified as a solicitor at a leading global law firm in London. 

Rabel is deeply involved in all Non-Litigation client matters at Akhund Forbes Hadi.  His practice focuses on Cross Border M&A, Capital Markets, Privatisations, Projects and Finance transactions and he has personally led on some of the largest and most complex transactions in these areas in Pakistan recently.

In 2016 alone, Rabel advised his major clients on corporate and finance transactions with an aggregate value in excess of USD 2 billion.

The 2016 edition of Legal 500 describes Rabel as “outstanding” and “highly experienced” and the 2017 edition of Legal 500 describes Rabel as “really hands-on with his work”.  The 2018 edition of Legal 500 describes Rabel as “excellent” and “very thorough and knowledgeable”.

Ms. Samina Masood is the Founder and CEO of M-Tex, which is a textile design and production business. She is one of Karandaaz Women Entrepreneurship Challenge 2018’s investee. Samina’s business met the criteria and out of a large pool of applicants, her’s was one of the successful applications. She got the business support services and then also went on to secure growth capital from Karandaaz after the competitive process.

Previously, Ms. Masood was an education services administrator for eighteen years. During her long service at the head office of a leading school system in the country, she was known to be a hardworking, diligent and effective professional.

Mr. Khalid Mehmood Shaikh is serving as the Director General, PPP Unit Finance Department, Government of Sindh. Mr. Shaikh was a member of the founding team of the Sindh PPP Unit where he developed legislative, institutional and legal framework. He also played an integral role in the creation of the PDF and VGF funds for PPP initiatives. He currently holds the charge of Director General of both the PPP unit and the Karachi Neighborhood Improvement Program.

Mr. Tariq Maqbool is an analytical and goal-oriented professional with years of Financial Risk Management and Banking experience in global and local financial services industry.

Mr. Tariq started his banking career with the ABN AMRO USA in 1997 as a Credit Risk Analyst and worked at middle and senior management levels in Risk and Compliance departments before leaving the bank in 2005. Mr. Tariq also worked at senior levels and in consultancy role with Morgan Stanley, and Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC)/NYSE in New York, USA. Before moving to Pakistan he was working as the Director Risk and Quality Assurance with the world reputed Swiss Financial Institution, the UBS. Where he was also responsible for managing Risk and Compliance oversight for all Business Segments, Support Groups, and products in the US and Global Regions.

In Pakistan, Mr. Tariq served as a Chief Risk Officer at Askari Bank, HabibMetro Bank, and Bank of Punjab. Mr. Tariq also served as Country Head Compliance at HabibMetro Bank and Bank of Punjab. Mr. Tariq also served as the Head of Risk & Policy Advisory at PACRA Analytics (Pvt) Ltd, a company he created under the leadership of MD PACRA to provide Risk advisory services to banking and corporate clients.

Mr. Tariq has broad exposure to all aspects of local and international banking and financial regulations, risk management. Mr. Tariq had frequently traveled on business assignments throughout the USA, South America, Europe, Middle East, and Asia.

Mr. Tariq has earned executive management credentials at Columbia Business School, the Kellogg Business School, and the Chicago Business School.  He has an MA in Economics from BZ University, Multan, an MA in Applied Economics from Western Michigan University, Mi USA, and an MSc in Information Systems Management from Ferris State University, Mi USA.

Ms. Maleeha Mimi Bangash has around 18 years of rich and varied international experience in leadership positions in Singapore, Pakistan and Turkey primarily in the areas of Financial Services i.e Investments/ Asset Management, Private Equity, Corporate Banking and Marketing. She formulated the strategy, carried out negotiations and established an International Franchise in Pakistan. She was involved in the launch of the Singapore office of an International Financial Advisory firm and a leading local Asset Management firm (MCB AMC). As Member /Commissioner (CCP), she has been the incharge of areas of Advocacy, Research and Mergers and Acqusition Review and established an invaluable network of relationships with highest echelons of regulatory bodies, ministries and private sector leaders. As Chief Strategy Officer at one of the largest local Asset Management Company (UBL Funds), she formulated 5 year Strategy and implemented the same to take firm to the next level. As Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer (JSIL), she drove revenue growth, Structured investment solutions (Shariah compliant and conventional), and forged business alliances. As Dy.CEO Habib Asset (Subsidiary of Bank AL Habib) she doubled the AUM of the firm, and started the Separately Managed Accounts, wing and managed the portfolios. As Managing Director (MD) of ICRU, (World Bank Group initiative with GoPb) started up, established and successfully ran an efficient, effective organization, which delivered results on factors that impact Ease of Doing Business (EODB), Public Private Dialogue, Investment Climate in Punjab, crowding in the Private Sector in the critical reform work. She is also a member Professional Committees of MUFAP (Mutual Funds Association of Pakistan).

A financial-services professional who has also worked for several years in the real economy, specifically the automobile/manufacturing engineering sector. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1970; is the founder Chief Executive of Arif Habib Consultancy and was the founder Chief Executive (now Vice Chairman) of MCB-Arif Habib Savings & Investments Limited (formerly Arif Habib Investments Limited), a leading Asset Management Company of Pakistan. Serves on the Boards of several Arif Habib Group companies; and apart from being Chairman of the REIT Management Company also Chairs the Board of Power Cement Limited. Has work experience of forty-nine years in manufacturing industry, as well as the financial sector, in domestic as well as international markets. Was part of the task force set up by the Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) to develop the Voluntary Pension System. Was the founder Chairman of the SECP sponsored Institute of Capital Markets and was a Member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council.

Ahsen holds a MBA (Banking & Finance) degree and is a seasoned banker with more than 25 years of experience in SME & Retail Banking, SME & Agri Value Chain Financing, Product Development, Process Re-Engineering, Credit & Risk Management, Business Strategy, Corporate & Investment Banking, and Commercial Banking.

He is presently working as a Freelance Consultant providing Transaction Advisory services and as a SME Banking Specialist.

Ahsen has previously worked with leading banks and his last assignment was at HBL as the Head of SME & Retail Lending business, where he spearheaded the design, development, and implementation of HBL’s SME & Retail Lending business as an independent and profitable function within Branch Banking through a complete overhaul of the delivery structure and introduction of program lending for SMEs.

He has worked closely with IFC, SBP, and McKenzie / PWC on many projects including SME Value Chain Financing, Scorecards, SME Banking, SME Regulations, SME Credit Process, Risk Rating Models, and Loan Origination System for HBL. Ahsen has remained a member of the SBP’s Consultative Group on SME Regulations during 2013-15.

He has also worked as a Short-Term Consultant for IFC’s Bank Advisory Services on SME Banking for the MENA region during 2015-16 and with the Afghan Guarantee Credit Fund (ACGF) – Germany as the Consulting Advisor and Support Services Provider for the design and supervision of a market study for the development of a Trade Finance product for ACGF’s partner FIs in Afghanistan in 2018-19.

Ahsen holds a MBA (Banking & Finance) degree and is a seasoned banker with more than 25 years of experience in SME & Retail Banking, SME & Agri Value Chain Financing, Product Development, Process Re-Engineering, Credit & Risk Management, Business Strategy, Corporate & Investment Banking, and Commercial Banking.

He is presently working as a Freelance Consultant providing Transaction Advisory services and as a SME Banking Specialist.

Ahsen has previously worked with leading banks and his last assignment was at HBL as the Head of SME & Retail Lending business, where he spearheaded the design, development, and implementation of HBL’s SME & Retail Lending business as an independent and profitable function within Branch Banking through a complete overhaul of the delivery structure and introduction of program lending for SMEs.

He has worked closely with IFC, SBP, and McKenzie / PWC on many projects including SME Value Chain Financing, Scorecards, SME Banking, SME Regulations, SME Credit Process, Risk Rating Models, and Loan Origination System for HBL. Ahsen has remained a member of the SBP’s Consultative Group on SME Regulations during 2013-15.

He has also worked as a Short-Term Consultant for IFC’s Bank Advisory Services on SME Banking for the MENA region during 2015-16 and with the Afghan Guarantee Credit Fund (ACGF) – Germany as the Consulting Advisor and Support Services Provider for the design and supervision of a market study for the development of a Trade Finance product for ACGF’s partner FIs in Afghanistan in 2018-19.

Mohammad Ali Ibrahim is a professional, results-oriented, well organized and innovative project manager with over
thirteen years of proven track record in handling complex, multi-million-dollar development projects pertaining to
the corporate and development sector in Pakistan. He has a Masters degree from LUMS in Project Management &
Finance, a leading university in Pakistan and a Bachelors degree in Software Engineering from FAST-NUCES.

Under his current position as the Head of Corporate Sustainability at Jazz (subsidiary of VEON group, Amsterdam),
he oversees the execution of Jazz’s Sustainable Initiatives across Pakistan and helps young people with creative digital
ideas to build businesses and careers by setting up technology incubators and accelerators and by developing digital
skills through bespoke mentoring.

Some of his core competencies include: Project Management, Corporate Communications, Project Planning &
Design, Organizational Development, Policy Development, Team Building, Capacity Building, Training /Learning
& Development, Stakeholder Management, Risk Management, Advocacy, GRI reporting.
He has authored several publications including Education Sector Plans for different provinces and a White Paper on
Strengthening the Digital Ecosystem in Pakistan.
He has attained several international professional trainings from top universities/institutes in Germany, Netherlands,
France and South Africa.

Mr. Ashruff Rana has more than 17 years of experience of providing financial and management consultancy to a wide range of reputed organizations, and in particular, has advised on major transactions in the Energy & Power Sector.

He has advised on Projects of a cumulative capacity in excess of 3.5 GW of Wind, Solar and Hydro Power in matters related to Project Development. A recent achievement includes successfully leading ~ 410MW Wind Power Projects to Financial Close with Lenders including IFC, DEG and CDC.

Usman Hameed has been with HBL since 1999 and has rich experience in Project and Structured Finance, Corporate and infrastructure advisory. He has successfully initiated Infrastructure Advisory business in HBL IB, placing it as the industry front runner in providing novel solutions. He has maintained HBL’s strong project finance position in the market in terms of deals origination and execution.

He has led financial closure of various project finance transactions exceeding USD 15bn in energy and manufacturing sector since 2005. He has built a dedicated team of project finance specialists who are rated very high in the industry. He has developed a strong working relationship with foreign banks including IFIs (ADB, CDB, IFC, Proparco, IDB, K-Exim, CDC, ICBC and Eco Bank).

He holds a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering and MBA from Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).

Mr. Naresh Kumar is seasoned banker with more than 20 years of experience that mainly revolves around SMEs. His SME journey starts with his family business that involves commodity trade and processing and distribution of electronic goods. He joined his family business early on a young age and managed it actively until graduation. Naresh then moved on to gain an MBA in 1998 from IBA Karachi. After his MBA he joined SMEDA and researched different industry segments and did value chain analysis of sectors such as Fisheries, Dates, Marble and Granite, Rice, cotton, Oil mills, Daal(Pulses) processing mills etc. At SMEDA Naresh successfully involved the banking industry to fulfil the financial needs of actors involved in various value chains. After SMEDA Naresh moved into the bank sector, where he played an instrumental role in developing the SME portfolio of HBL. From 2011 to Aug 2019 he was with HBL as business head SME, where he played major role in developing SME portfolio of HBL that was not only limited to dedicated hub structures but able to launch the largest product menu for SMEs that helped HBL becoming a largest SME bank of the country with portfolio size exceeding PKR 70 billion. Seasonal finance is one of area where he specialise, where the book size of HBL exceeded PKR 25 billion. He has recently joined Habib Metro Bank as Head SME.

Shahid has had a multifaceted career journey; from wholesale banking to microfinance to commercial banking and onto fintech.  His last role allowed him to work extensively with ANT financial to power up the largest fintech in Pakistan.  During his career, He created many businesses from scratch and optimized others to address opportunities offered by changing markets and technologies.

In 2005, some people working in Citibank at the time, came together to create Tameer Microfinance Bank (now called Telenor MFB) in Pakistan.  Shahid is one of the founders of this Bank.

Before that, He worked at Citibank for 12 years with his last role being the Head of Financial Institutions Group at Citibank Dubai, where he oversaw Citi’s FI relationships in UAE, Saudi, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain Oman and Yemen.

As with all startups, in early days, everyone had to work on multiple areas.  Shahid worked as the CFO, CRO, Head of Operations and Head of IT (not concurrently).

In 2008, Tameer launched the first Branchless Banking business in Pakistan.  Shahid played a key role in launching “easypaisa”, the branchless banking / digital finance business.  Today, easypaisa is the largest digital finance and payments offering in the country.

In 2012, Shahid moved to Qatar as the COO of a local bank.  Subsequently, he took on the role of the Head of the Commercial Banking at Standard Chartered Bank in Pakistan.

In 2016, Shahid was invited to be the founding CEO of Pakistan Microfinance Investment Company (PMIC).  PMIC is a wholesale lender to the microfinance sector.  Shahid was responsible for creating this organization from ground up and to make it a vital partner to the microfinance sector.

In August 2017, Shahid rejoined Telenor Microfinance Bank (TMB) as the CEO.  Apart from the task of reinvigorating the Bank, He led the process of onboarding ANT Financial.  In March 2018, Telenor Group and ANT Financial signed a deal where ANT invested $ 184.5M to acquire 45% of TMB.

From 2017 to 2019, Shahid worked extensively with ANT to transform TMB into a fintech that is dominating the digital / mass banking and payments business in the country.

In June 2019, Shahid decided to search for new opportunities in the Pakistan market to try bring to the financial sector a new fintech business redesign as is being seen in markets around the world.

Mr. Mudassir H. Khan is the MD/CEO of Pakistan Mortgage Refinance Company. Mr. Khan holds an Executive Masters in Business Administration (update) from Stern School of Business, New York, USA, and a Masters in Finance from St. John’s University, New York, USA. With over 28 years of diversified banking experience primarily covering Retail, Corporate & Investment Banking, Operations, Risk and Development Banking. Before joining PMRC, Mr. Khan worked with the National Bank of Pakistan for four years as SEVP/Group Chief Retail & Commercial Banking and as Group Chief Payments & Digital Banking. Prior to that, he was with HBL for nine years, holding different portfolios as SEVP Group Head Global Operations, CIO, CCO and Head of Basel and Operational Risk. He also worked with the World Bank for more than fourteen years in the area of Financial Sector and Private Sector Development, South Asia Region, based in Pakistan and also worked in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives; as well as in the Africa Region in Ghana, Uganda, Kenya and Sierra Leone. Before joining the World Bank, he worked in the field of Corporate and Investment Banking with Citibank, N.A and Bear Stearns in Pakistan and in the USA.

Mr. Khan has been the Chairman of NBP Fullerton Asset Management (NAFA) and of First Women Bank Limited (FWBL). He was also on the Board of Directors for the National Institute of Financial Transactions (NIFT); ISM and FWBL and was the Chairman Audit Committee & Risk Management Committee for FWBL and member HR and Compensation Committees for NIFT.

Brigadier Ihasan Ullah Khan is a retired officer after serving for 33 years in Pakistan Army. He is from Crops of Artillery. He is a graduate of Command & Staff College, Quetta. During Military Career, he has been on various Command, Staff and Instructional assignments including Instructor/Platoon Commander in Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul. After retirement, he has worked in Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) as Director General. In ERRA, he was DG Rural Housing, Social Protection, Livelihood, Environment, Gender Equality and Water & Sanitation Sectors. In Rural Housing Sector, ERRA reconstructed over 600,000 houses. Presently, Brig Ihsan Ullah Khan is Senior Executive Director Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority.