KARACHI EDUCATION INITIATIVE

Farooq Barkat Ali is the Chief Financial Officer at Engro Corporation Limited. Previously, he has served as the Chief Financial Officer at Engro Fertilizers, and Engro Energy Limited (EEL). Farooq has also served as Vice President – Finance at Engro Corporation and Chief Financial Officer at Engro Powergen Qadirpur and Engro Eximp Pvt Limited.

As CFO at Engro Energy, Farooq looked after various aspects of the business including Performance Management of EEL subsidiaries, Treasury & Investor Relations, and financial oversight of all entities under the Energy vertical.

He serves on the Board of Engro Fertilizers Limited, Engro Enfrashare (Pvt.) Limited, Engro Infiniti (Pvt.) Limited, Thermal Vision (Pvt.) Limited, Engro Connect (Pvt.) Limited, Engro Elengy Terminal Pakistan Limited, Engro Energy Services Limited, Engro Power International Holding BV, Engro Power Investments International BV, and Engro Power Services Holding BV.

Farooq carries around two decades of experience in various Finance and Commercial roles. He started his career with Reckitt Benckiser in 2002 and then moved to Shell Pakistan in 2007, before joining the Engro Group in 2013. During his career, Farooq has managed multiple projects including the financing of mega projects, ERP implementations, and mergers & acquisitions.

Farooq is a Chartered Accountant by profession from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) and has also been previously associated with Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) in Karachi.

Favad has been affiliated with Engro group for more than 20 years and is the Head of Engro Foundation. He joined Engro Fertilizer in 1999 as Distribution Officer in the Marketing department. After various stints at Engro Fertilizer in the Marketing and Public Affairs department Favad moved to Engro Polymer and Chemicals as Market Development Advisor. Currently as the Head of Engro Foundation Favad looks after the CSR activities for all Engro subsidiaries. He obtained his MBA degree from Institute of Business Administration in Karachi.

Hussain Dawood is a Pakistani industrialist and ardent philanthropist. He chairs an array of profit and not-for-profit ventures namely Dawood Hercules Corporation Ltd. the group’s flagship holding arm with investments in foods and energy, Engro Corporation Ltd., the largest Independent Power Producer in Pakistan; Karachi Education Initiative, which funds the graduate management school Karachi School of Business & Leadership, and The Dawood Foundation, with its legacy of establishing various education and health institutions across the country.

His social responsibilities include Memberships of the World Economic Forum and its Global Agenda Councils of Anti-Corruption and Education. He was conferred the award “Ufficiale Ordine Al merito della Repubblica Italiana” by the Republic of Italy. Hussain Dawood holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, USA, and is a graduate in Metallurgy from Sheffield University, UK.

Mr. Atif Bajwa has an extensive international career spanning more than 37 years of executive leadership roles in banking, and of multiple Boards and public interest positions. He started his professional journey with Citibank in 1982 and has since held numerous senior positions in large local and multinational banks. These include President/CEO of Bank Alfalah, President/CEO of MCB Bank and Soneri Bank, Regional Head of Citigroup for Central and Eastern Europe, Head of Consumer Banking of ABN AMRO’s Asia Pacific region, and Country Manager of ABN AMRO Pakistan. Mr. Bajwa has been active in business, social and public interest areas, and has led key advocacy institutions to impact economic and social sectors. In this regard, he has served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Business Council (PBC), and the President of the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI). He has also served as a Director on the Boards of various private and public sector companies. Mr. Bajwa received his education at Columbia University, New York.

Mr. Abdul Samad Dawood joined the Board of Engro Corporation in 2009. He currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Board of Dawood Hercules Corporation, where he has been a director since 2002, and has also previously served the company in an executive capacity.

Mr. Dawood’s rich and diverse experience of management and governance spans 18 years, with a special interest in mergers and acquisitions. He has led more than $4 billion worth of M&A deals, including the Dawood group’s acquisition of HUBCO from National Power International Holdings B.V. in 2012 and the sale of DH Fertilizers to Fatima Fertilizer Company Ltd in 2015. He also played a leading role in the merger of Engro Foods into global dairy giant, Royal FrieslandCampina N.V., based on the convergence of their values, goals, and abilities to address Pakistan’s nutritional challenges; he has since served as the Chair of the Board of FrieslandCampina Engro Pakistan. In addition to this, Mr. Dawood is an active director on the board of Pakistan Business Council, a pan-industry advocacy group that promotes easing of barriers to enable Pakistani businesses to compete in regional and global arenas. In line with his areas of interest, he is a director and trustee of Boards across varied industries including financial investments, energy, and education, some of which are the Dawood Foundation, Dawood Lawrencepur Ltd, and Reon (Pvt) Ltd. In addition to these responsibilities of governance, Mr. Dawood has previously served as the Chief Executive Officer for Dawood Hercules Corporation Ltd and Cyan Ltd, and is an active member of the Young Presidents Organization.

Mr. Dawood is a graduate in Economics from University College London, UK and a certified director of corporate governance from the Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance.

Sabrina Dawood is currently the CEO of The Dawood Foundation & Public School and Director of Engro Foods Limited, prior to which she has been working in various companies of the Dawood Hercules Group, such as Dawood Hercules Corporation Limited and Dawood Lawrencepur Limited in marketing, corporate communications, administration and CSR. She holds an MSc in Medical Anthropology from University College London and a BA from London School of Economics in Anthropology & Law.

Arif Habib is currently the Chief Executive of Arif Habib Corporation Limited. He is also the Chairman of Pakarab Fertilizers Limited, Fatima Fertilizer Company Limited, and Arif Habib DMCC Dubai. He also serves as a Director in various companies including Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Company Limited. He was appointed to AHCL’s Board on September 21, 2013.

Mr. Arif Habib remained the elected President/Chairman of Karachi Stock Exchange for six times in the past and was a Founding Member and Chairman of the Central Depository Company of Pakistan Limited. He has served as a Member of the Privatization Commission, Board of Investment, Tariff Reforms Commission and Securities & Exchange Ordinance Review Committee. Over the years he has been nominated on the Board of Directors of a number of companies by the Government of Pakistan.

Mr. Habib participates significantly in welfare activities of different organizations. To quote a few, he remains one of the trustees of Fatimid Foundation and Memon Health & Education Foundation as well as the director of Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy and Karachi Education Initiative.

Corporate Responsibilities: As Chairman: Pakarab Fertilizers Limited | Fatima Fertilizer Company Limited | Javedan Corporation Limited | Arif Habib Foundation | Pakistan Private Equity Management Limited | Arif Habib DMCC | Real Estate Modaraba Management Company Limited | Sachal Energy Development (Pvt.) Limited.

As Director: Pakistan Engineering Company Limited | Aisha Steel Mills Limited | Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited | Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy |International Complex Projects Limited

As Honorary Trustee/Director: Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association | Fatimid Foundation | Karachi Education Initiative

Muneer Kamal’s diverse corporate governance experience includes having previously served as Chairman of Pakistan Stock Exchange, Chairman of National Bank of Pakistan, Trustee of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital, Director of Engro Corporation, Director of New Horizon Exploration & Production Ltd., Director of Government Holdings Private Ltd., and Vice Chairman of KASB Group.

Muneer Kamal’s career in banking & financial services sector spanning over 35 years started with Citibank Pakistan where he served in various local and international positions, including Head of Country Public Sector & Financial Institutions. Subsequently, Muneer Kamal went on to executive roles, appointed in President/ CEO roles at Faysal Bank Ltd, Union Bank Ltd. and KASB Bank Limited, successively. He currently serves as a member of the board at Dawood Hercules Corporation.

Mr. Kamal has an MBA degree from the University of Karachi.

Hasan Irfan Khan is an advocate admitted to practice before the hon’ble Supreme Court of Pakistan and has been practicing corporate, commercial and Intellectual Property law since 1993. He is an internationally acclaimed lawyer and is legal adviser to a number of ‘Fortune 100’ and ‘Fortune 500’ Companies in Pakistan. He is member of the Board of Governors, World Wildlife Fund (WWF Pakistan) and Chair, Human Resource Committee since June 2008, and Member Executive Committee since April 2010. Mr. Khan has been a member of the Board of Management, Punjab Institute of Cardiology for over 7 years; his last term ending June 2011. He is the Managing Trustee of the Irfan Family foundation, “Asifa-Irfan Foundation” which focuses on health, education, poverty alleviation, protection and conservation of the environment.

Mr. Khan has authored and co-authored key chapters for numerous legal publications of International repute. He has drafted proposed laws in the public health, pharmaceuticals and the agriculture sectors as well as Intellectual Property laws. He is also one of the five co-authors of the Electronic Transactions Ordinance 2000. He is a member of Patent Advisory Committee of Higher Education Commission, and has also been a member of numerous law related advisory committees to the Government of Pakistan.

Mr. Khan was visiting faculty at LUMS and the Punjab University Law College and has lectured at NIPA, Pakistan Staff College, Foreign Trade Institute and the Federal Judicial Academy Islamabad. Mr. Khan has delivered presentations and lectures at innumerable international and local conferences. He is member of the Lahore High Court and Supreme Court Bar Associations and many international associations such as INTA, ITMA, CPA, APAA, AIPPI, IBA, Law Asia.

Ahsan Zafar Syed is the 5th President and CEO of Engro Corporation and the 7th Chief of Engro since the exit of Exxon. Today, Engro is one of Pakistan’s largest conglomerates, with a business portfolio spanning across four verticals including petrochemicals, energy, telecommunication infrastructure and food & agriculture, and a steadfast commitment to helping solve some of the country’s most pressing issues.

Ahsan began his journey with Engro in 1991 as a young engineer, accumulating three decades of experience in operations, project management, and strategic leadership across the petrochemical, energy, and food & agriculture sectors. He is regarded as a mettle of Engro and has achieved significant milestones for the Company; he was the driving force behind the $1.1 billion fertilizer expansion project and played a pivotal role in executing the $2 billion Thar dream, aimed at indigenizing energy for Pakistan. Ahsan’s journey is synonymous with Engro’s enduring legacy and is a testament to Engro’s robust organizational prowess, serving as a source of inspiration for aspiring young graduates in the wider industry.

Before his appointment as President and CEO of Engro Corporation, Ahsan led Engro’s flagship fertilizer business. Under his leadership, Engro Fertilizers became the most valuable fertilizer company on the Pakistan Stock Exchange. The increase in valuation is attributable to portfolio optimization where the company divested low return noncore businesses, improved market positioning of Engro urea, scaled up specialty fertilizers, enhanced digital presence to better serve the farmers, and completed one of the largest turnaround activities at the Plant site focused on driving efficiencies and debottlenecking urea capacity. In his earlier role in the Company, Ahsan led the construction of the $1.1 billion Enven Plant, a milestone achievement for Engro and one of the largest projects completed in Pakistan.

During his tenure as CEO of the Energy vertical, Ahsan played a pivotal role in realizing Pakistan’s Thar dream by unearthing indigenous coal and operationalizing a 660MW power plant at mine mouth. This project has been instrumental for Pakistan’s energy security, achieving import substitution of $1.5 billion till date and providing electricity to 9 million people annually.

In recognition of his engineering contributions to Pakistan, Ahsan was awarded the prestigious “National Engineering Excellence Award” by the Institution of Engineers Pakistan in 2024. He has also rendered his honorary services to Engineering Development Board, entity under Ministry of Industries & Production, Pakistan, entrusted to strengthen engineering base in the Country.

Ahsan is an alumnus of NED Karachi and Manhattan College New York, USA. Additionally, he has attended advanced management program at INSEAD in France.

Mohammad Naeem Mukhtar is currently the Chairman of Board of Directors, Allied Bank Limited. He completed his MBA in Finance from Cardiff Business School U.K, and did his Post Graduate diploma in Textiles and Chartered Textile Engineering (CText ATI) from The Textile Institute, U.K. He has over 27 years of extensive experience in banking, finance and industry. Besides holding the position of Chairman Allied Bank Limited, he is also the Chief Executive Officer of M/s Ibrahim Fibres Limited, Director, M/s Ibrahim Agencies (Pvt.) Limited and Member Board of Governors of National Management Foundation, the parent body of Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).

Mr. Siddiqui retired as an Air Commodore from the Pakistan Air Force in 2003. His last post was as the Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Administration) at Pakistan Air Force Headquarters. For his meritorious services to the PAF, he was awarded Tamgha-e-Imtiaz (Military) and Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Military).

He was commissioned in the GD(P) Branch of the Pakistan Air Force in 1974. He is a qualified flying instructor and has flown over 8000 hours on different aircraft including C-130, Boeing-707 and Dassault Falcon 20. He has served as a VVIP and Presidential pilot during his tenure of service and has held various key Command and Staff appointments in the PAF. He served as Director of Air Transport at Air Headquarters from 1996 to 1998 and commanded an operational air force base with over 8,500 personnel from 2000 to 2002.

Mr. Siddiqui holds an M. Sc. in Defence and Strategic Studies from Quaid-e-Azam University, an M. Sc. in Strategic Studies from Karachi University, a B. Sc. (Honours) in War Studies from Karachi University and B. Sc. Avionics from Peshawar University. He is also an alumna of the National Defence College.

He is Chairman JS Investment Limited and JS Air (Pvt) Limited and serves as Director on the board of Mahvash & Jahangir Siddiqui Foundation, Hum TV Network Limited, Karachi Education Initiative, Karigar Training Institute and Fakhr-e-Imdad Foundation.

Muhammad Ali Tabba is the Chief Executive of Lucky Cement Limited, Pakistan’s largest producer and leading exporter of quality cement. Lucky Cement is a part of the Yunus Brothers Group in Pakistan with diversified interests in textiles, energy, cement and other construction related sectors.

Mr. Tabba is widely recognised and venerated for his role in reforming and exponentially growing different companies of the group. Due to his extensive engagement in many community welfare projects, he has received numerous recognitions and awards.

The most notable among the several awards he has received for his social interventions includes the distinction of Young Global Leader awarded by World Economic Forum (WEF) acknowledging his professional accomplishments, distinguished leadership and commitment to shaping a better future.

Mr. Tabba also sits on the Board of Governors at various universities, institutions and foundations. Along with this, he is spearheading the Group’s own Aziz Tabba Foundation with welfare projects in the field of education, health, housing and other social needs.

He adheres largely to the philosophy of compassion left behind by his father Mr. Abdul Razzak Tabba – an eminent industrialist himself, by carrying forward and further expanding his philanthropic initiatives.