Our Team

Group Sponsors

Group Sponsors

Sultan Ali Lakhani
Advisor to the Group
Sultan Ali Lakhani
Advisor to the Group
<p>Mr. Sultan Ali Lakhani is Advisor to the Lakson Group of Companies, five of which are listed on the Stock Exchanges of Pakistan covering a diversified range of businesses such as paper &amp; board, soap, detergents and toothpaste, printing &amp; packaging, food and insurance. Three Funds of a Group Investment Company are also listed and traded. American franchises/affiliation includes Colgate-Palmolive Company &amp; McDonalds Corporation. The spectrum of unlisted Companies includes textiles, surgical instruments, media (T.V. &amp; Print), software development &amp; consultancy, travel &amp; tourism, investment &amp; mutual funds, ISP-broad band &amp; data centre, business process outsourcing house into call centre &amp; I.T. The businesses of the Lakson Group provide gainful employment to over 12,000 persons.</p> <p>Mr. Lakhani has over 40 year&rsquo;s experience of Senior Management. He is also CEO of Century Publications (Pvt. Ltd.) responsible of publishing one of Pakistan's most widely circulated Urdu-language newspapers and also hold the position of Editor-in-Chief of both the The Daily Express &nbsp;&amp; Express News Channel (Pvt. Ltd.). In 2011, for the recognition of Mr. Lakhani&rsquo;s services to Pakistan he was awarded HILAL-I-IMTIAZ, Pakistan&rsquo;s second highest civilian award by the President of Islamic Republic of Pakistan.</p> <p>Mr. Lakhani received his B.A. (Honors) from Karachi University. He is Honorary Counsel General of Mexico in Pakistan. Mr Lakhani had also served as the Member of Senate (Upper House) of Pakistan from 1987 to 1994.</p>
Iqbal Ali Lakhani
Chairman of the Group
Iqbal Ali Lakhani
Chairman of the Group
<p>Mr. Iqbal Ali Lakhani is the Chairman of the Lakson Group of Companies, five of which are listed on the Stock Exchanges of Pakistan covering a diversified range of businesses such as paper &amp; board, soap, detergents and toothpaste, printing &amp; packaging, food and insurance. Three Funds of a Group Investment Company are also listed and traded. American franchises/affiliation includes Colgate-Palmolive Company &amp; McDonalds Corporation. The spectrum of unlisted Companies includes textiles, surgical instruments, media (T.V. &amp; Print), software development &amp; consultancy, travel &amp; tourism, investment &amp; mutual funds, ISP-broad band &amp; data centre, business process outsourcing house into call centre &amp; I.T. The businesses of the Lakson Group provide gainful employment to over 12,000 persons.</p> <p>Mr. Lakhani has over 39 year&rsquo;s experience of Senior Management in consumer marketing, finance, manufacturing, industry and government relations. Areas of special interest cover marketing, total quality management and leadership. He is a Charter Member of The Indus Entrepreneurs and Director of Pakistan Business Council. In addition, he is also on the Board of Trustees of the Layton Rahmatullah Benevolent Trust. Previously he has served as the Chairman Cigarette Manufacturers Association of Pakistan, Chairman Aga Khan Economic Planning Board for Pakistan and Vice President American Business Council of Pakistan.</p> <p>Mr. Lakhani received his B.A. from the University of California &ndash; Berkeley. He was a member of the PSI-National Accounting fraternity; Honor Student&rsquo;s Society, member of Phi Beta Kappa and received the departmental award for outstanding undergraduate achievement.</p> <p>Mr. Lakhani has travelled widely and has attended international seminars, meetings and conferences in several countries of the world.</p>
Amin Mohammed Lakhani
Sponsor – Lakson Group
Amin Mohammed Lakhani
Sponsor – Lakson Group
<p>An MBA in Finance and International Business from The Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania (USA) and holder of Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University (USA), Mr. Amin Mohammed Lakhani is part of the Executive Leadership Team of Lakson Group of Companies.</p> <p>Mr. Amin Mohammed Lakhani is Chief Executive of SIZA Foods (Private) Ltd., the franchise holders of McDonald&rsquo;s restaurants in Pakistan, a world known Multinational Corporation serving fast foods. Under his dynamic leadership, SIZA has succeeded in a short period of 14 years in making McDonald&rsquo;s almost a household name in Pakistan, expanding the network of its restaurants to 26 in key cities of the country. He has also won &ldquo;Golden Arches Award&rdquo; 2011 from McDonald&rsquo;s Corporation.</p> <p>His rich experience in finance, marketing, management and production spanning over 29 years has enabled him to serve as CEO of 16 unlisted public and private limited companies, Director on the Corporate Boards of 5 Lakson Group Companies listed on Stock Exchanges in Pakistan and Director in 9 other private companies of the Lakson Group.</p> <p>Mr. Lakhani is the Honorary Consul General of Singapore in Pakistan since July 1992. Previously he served as Singapore&rsquo;s Honorary Consul since April 1989. Acknowledging his services the Republic of Singapore awarded him Public Service Star.</p> <p>Mr. Lakhani actively participates in social activities. He is a Founder Member of Pakistan Chapter of Young Presidents&rsquo; Organization, and served as the local Chapter&rsquo;s chairman for the 2006-07 term. He is a Member of Stanford Alumni Association as well of The Wharton Alumni Association. He is an ardent sport enthusiast and his favorite sporting activities include riding, playing polo, tennis and golf. He has widely travelled around the globe and takes interest in international/current affairs.</p> <p>Mr. Lakhani strongly believes in Lakson Group&rsquo;s philosophy of paying back to the society. He is a Trustee of Hasanali and Gulbano Lakhani Foundation, a Lakson Group welfare trust. The Foundation provides educational and medical facilities to the deserving and needy persons and helps people in other areas.</p>

Principals and Partners

Principals and Partners

Zulfiqar Ali Lakhani
CEO of Colgate Palmolive
Zulfiqar Ali Lakhani
CEO of Colgate Palmolive
<p><span>Zulfiqar Ali Lakhani is Managing Director and Chief Executive of multiple MNC companies in Pakistan. As an active partner of the Lakson Group, he divides his time between his FMCG companies which includes Colgate-Palmolive, Clover Pakistan and others.</span></p> <p><span>Over the course of 30 years, the companies he has managed have entered new product categories and achieved leadership in four out of six consumer product groups (powder beverages, detergents, dishwashing products and toothpaste).&nbsp; He has also launched and is successfully consolidating one of the largest FMCG countrywide sales and distribution network.</span></p> <p><span>Mr. Lakhani has over thirty years of experience in marketing, manufacturing, finance and sales. His M.S. in Industrial Engineering and B.S. in Chemical Engineering, both from Stanford University and MBA in Finance and Marketing from the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, have enabled him to be actively involved in both the manufacturing and marketing sides of the businesses. He is an active member of the Management Board of the Lakson Group which includes Cybernet (ISP), McDonalds, and others in the field of insurance, paper and board, media and commercial packaging.&nbsp; He is also a member of the Wharton Executive Board for Asia.</span></p> <p><span>Mr. Lakhani&rsquo;s personal interest in the arts also encouraged him to re-vitalize the Foundation for Museum of Modern Art (Fomma) in Pakistan. His contributions and involvement as Chairman of the non-profit organization has seen it evolve from a dormant entity into an active and highly visible forum, raising several million rupees for the various exhibitions, workshops and publications. The main focus of Fomma remains the promotion of the Arts and the setup of a Museum of Modern Art in Pakistan.</span></p>
Danish Ali Lakhani
CEO of Cyber Internet Services Pvt. Ltd.
Danish Ali Lakhani
CEO of Cyber Internet Services Pvt. Ltd.
<p style="font-weight: 400;"></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span><span></span></span>CEO of Cyber Internet Services Pvt. Ltd.</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span><span></span></span>MBA, Harvard University</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span><span></span></span>M.S. (Electrical Engineering), Stanford University</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span><span></span></span>Sc.B. (Applied Mathematics, Computer Science and Business Economics), Brown University</li> </ul> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Danish A. Lakhani has been a founding member of Cybernet where he is currently the Chief Executive Officer. Since 2008, Danish has led the company's renewed focus in the enterprise, carrier and consumer market segments. Under his leadership, the company expanded into fiber to the home business, under the brand name StormFiber and into cloud computing - deploying Pakistan's first public cloud service, RapidCompute. Mr. Lakhani started his career as a Software Engineer at Cisco Systems in San Jose, CA where he worked as member of the ATM development team for the Catalyst 8500 series and later as member of the DWDM Engineering team for the ONS 15540/15530 optical platforms.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Mr. Lakhani holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School, a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering (with specialization in Networked Systems) from Stanford University. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree (with concentrations in Applied Mathematics - Computer Science and Business Economics) from Brown University where he was elected to Sigma XI (Scientific Research Honors Society).</p>
Bilal Lakhani
Publisher and CEO of the Express Tribune
Bilal Lakhani
Publisher and CEO of the Express Tribune
<ul> <li><span>Publisher and CEO of the Express Tribune</span></li> <li><span>MBA, Yale University</span></li> <li><span>BA, Brandeis University</span></li> </ul> <p><span>Mr. Bilal Lakhani is the founder and publisher of The Express Tribune, one of Pakistan&rsquo;s leading English-language daily newspapers. He is also responsible for driving business growth across other media properties of the Lakson Group.</span></p> <p><span>Mr. Lakhani is a known philanthropist and an Angel advisor/investor at early-stage investment fund based out of Karachi. He has also worked as an intern in United Nations and also have experience of working in investment banking at Salomon Smith Barney, an investment bank. </span></p> <p><span>In April 2010, Mr. Bilal Lakhani launched the first local edition of the International Herald Tribune (IHT), something that no other person previously ventured to do in Pakistan</span></p> <p><span>Mr. Bilal Lakhani was educated at Yale and Brandeis Universities where he studied management and political science. </span></p> <p><span>In his spare time he loves to travel, most recently visiting Cambodia, reading fiction, playing squash and the board game, Catan.</span></p>
Babar Ali Lakhani
CEO of Lakson Investments
Babar Ali Lakhani
CEO of Lakson Investments
<ul> <li><span>CEO of Lakson Investments</span></li> <li><span>CEO of ICE Animations Private Limited</span></li> <li><span>Executive Director of Express Media Group</span></li> <li><span>Co-Founder of Special Olympics Marathon Pakistan</span></li> <li><span>MBA, Brandeis University</span></li> <li><span>BA (Finance), Bentley University</span></li> </ul> <p><span>Mr. Lakhani has over 13 years of investment and portfolio management experience in domestic and international equity and fixed income markets. Mr. Lakhani most recently served as the Chief Investment Officer of Century Insurance, a Public Limited Company listed on the Karachi and Lahore Stock Exchanges of Pakistan. He was an Investment Associate at High Street Advisors and a Research Analyst at Credit Suisse Equity Group (formerly Credit Suisse First Boston). Mr. Lakhani brings extensive investment experience, globally practiced portfolio management discipline, and a comprehensive understanding of the global asset management industry to Lakson Investments Limited.</span></p> <p><span>Mr. Lakhani received his BA in Finance from Bentley College, and his MBA from Brandeis University.</span></p> <p><span>Mr. Lakhani is a member of the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP), the Society of Financial Service Professionals and the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO). Mr. Lakhani is a member of the Alumni Trustee Committee of Brandeis University and is the school&rsquo;s representative in Pakistan.</span></p> <p><span>Mr. Lakhani&rsquo;s passions include Philanthropy, Ironman and Marathons, Family activities and holidays, Technology (AI, IOT, Machine Learning, and Disruptiveness), Kindle books, and watching movies.</span></p> <p></p>

Leaders

Leaders

Mohammad Hussain Hirji
Chief Executive Officer, Century Insurance Company Limited
Mohammad Hussain Hirji
Chief Executive Officer, Century Insurance Company Limited
<p>Mr. Mohammad Hussain Hirji is presently the Chief Executive Officer of Century Insurance Company Limited, a position he has held since September 2010.</p> <p>Mr. Hirji started his insurance career at Adamjee Insurance Company in 1989 where he served as branch head. He then moved to Canada in 1993 where he worked in the insurance broking industry till his return to Pakistan in 1996. He joined EFU General in 1996t as head of Miscellaneous Underwriting and later given the additional portfolio of heading the Reinsurance department. In 1999 he was transferred to Allianz-EFU Health Insurance, where he served up to 2002 as head of Operations. In 2002 Mr. Hirji left the insurance industry to take up a position as head of Finance and Administration at the Aga Khan University &ndash; Institute for Educational Development. In 2004, he returned to the insurance industry as head of Operations for the newly formed PICIC Insurance. In early 2009 Mr. Hirji was appointed as President and Chief Executive of Askari General Insurance Company, based in Islamabad. He joined Century Insurance Company in October 2010 as Chief Executive Officer, the position he holds today.</p> <p>Mr. Hirji has a Bachelors degree in Economics and an MBA in Business Economics, both from DePaul University in Chicago. He became an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute in 1991, He is also a Canadian Accredited Insurance Broker.</p>
Jamil Mughal
Chief Marketing, Development & Supply Chain Officer, McDonald’s Pakistan
Jamil Mughal
Chief Marketing, Development & Supply Chain Officer, McDonald’s Pakistan
<p>Mr. Mughal has over 22 years of experience in marketing, public relations and real estate development. He is currently serving as the Chief Marketing, Development &amp; Supply Chain Officer at McDonald&rsquo;s Pakistan.</p> <p>Mr. Mughal received his Business Planning Process certification from Hamburger Marketing University, Oak Brook, Chicago and his<span>&nbsp;</span><br />Bachelor of Engineering from Mehran University of Engineering &amp; Technology.</p> <p>He frequently provides professional representation and brand ambassadorship at numerous forums, events and panels. Mr. Mughal has also been a guest speaker on various occasions to academia such as I.B.A, A.M.I &amp; SZABIST Karachi.</p> <p>Mr. Mughal has travelled across most of Europe, U.S.A, Middle East, Asia, Australia and the Far East on professional career assignments &amp; professional development initiatives.</p>
Aftab Ahmed
Chief Executive Officer, Century Paper & Board Mills Limited.
Aftab Ahmed
Chief Executive Officer, Century Paper & Board Mills Limited.
<p>Mr. Aftab Ahmad graduated from the University of Engineering &amp; Technology, Lahore in 1968. He worked with Packages Limited in Lahore for eight years, followed by two years as an engineering consultant for the first ever textile mill in Tripoli, before moving to the Azzawiya Oil Refinery Company &amp; Raslanuf Petrochemical Complex in Libya, where he worked for another six years.</p> <p>In 1984, he joined Century Paper &amp; Board Mills Ltd. in the capacity of Deputy General Manager. He served as GM Operations, the Director Operations and finally as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Company in 2008 and serving to date. He helped shepherd Century from conception to reality &ndash; starting by selecting the site on which the mills now stand. He oversaw the selection, installation, and operation of seven paper &amp; board machines &ndash; in addition to two pulp mills, corrugation plants, and three cogeneration power plants. Two of those machines are particularly noteworthy: a global, state-of-the-art paper-board machine that spans almost a quarter a kilometer in length, and one of the most efficient effluent treatment plants in the country.</p> <p>Mr. Ahmad is a highly skilled professional and a creative genius. Under his leadership and development of the company, Century &ndash; now stands as the largest Paper Board Mill in Pakistan and continues to expand in alignment with his vision. Mr. Ahmad also serves as Convener of the Pakistan Paper Industry for Engineering Development Board (EDB), Member of Steering Committee of Cleaner Production Institute (CPI), Executive Member of Pakistan Paper &amp; Board Mills Association, Member of Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC), Member of the Pakistan Institute of Engineers</p>
Ather Imran Nawaz
Chief Executive Officer, Sybrid (Pvt) Limited & Ice Animations (Pvt) Ltd
Ather Imran Nawaz
Chief Executive Officer, Sybrid (Pvt) Limited & Ice Animations (Pvt) Ltd
<p><span>Ather currently serves as Chief Executive Officer and Director of Sybrid Private Limited, and Ice&nbsp;Animations Private Limited, both companies of the prestigious Lakson Group of Pakistan. In addition,&nbsp;he is serving on board of many educational and philanthropic organisations over the last decade.&nbsp;Sybrid is one of the largest Technology Solutions provider in Pakistan, with subsidiaries in USA, UAE,&nbsp;Australia and presence in other countries. Sybrid provides software products and services, digital&nbsp;transformation services, digital performance marketing services, healthcare RCM and technology&nbsp;services, customer support and managed services to clients in around the world. With offices in Karachi,&nbsp;Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Khairpur, USA, UAE, Sybrid and Ice Animations has a workforce of a 2,000+&nbsp;professionals. As CEO, Ather is responsible for all operational, business and financial matters and reports&nbsp;directly to the Chairman of the Board of Directors.&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span>Ather was also the founding Chairman of the Board for OPEN Islamabad and later served as President&nbsp;from 2016-2018, as well on OPEN Global Board. OPEN is the largest global network of Pakistani origin&nbsp;professionals and entrepreneurs. Ather continues to serve on the OPEN Islamabad board of trustees.&nbsp;He holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in Computer Science from Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute (GIKI)&nbsp;and Purdue University respectively. He received a Gold Model for best academic performance from GIKI&nbsp;in 1999 and is an honorary member of Upsilon Pi Epsilon IEEE Computer Science Honour Society since&nbsp;2003.<br /></span></p> <p><span>Ather has published a research paper on role of Agile practices in disaster management and business&nbsp;continuity, that he presented in IBM CASCON conference held in Toronto in 2009. Ather is a certified <br />ScrumMaster (Virginia, 2006).&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span>Ather also serves on the boards of Pakistan Children's Heart Foundation, which is building the first&nbsp;Pediatric Cardiology Hospital in Pakistan, and on the Board of Governors of Institute of Management&nbsp;Sciences, Peshawar, KPK; one of the finest business schools in Pakistan.</span></p> <p><span>Ather has served on the Higher Education Commission's (HEC) National Scholarship Management&nbsp;Committee, HEC's Steering Committee for Improving ORIC functions in universities, and currently serves on NUST's Research &amp; Innovation Committee. Ather frequently delivers lectures in universities and public&nbsp;forums and volunteers his time for non-profit organisations.</span></p>
Kashif Mustafa
Executive Director, Lakson Investments
Kashif Mustafa
Executive Director, Lakson Investments
<p>Kashif Mustafa is a financial professional with over 21 years of remarkable experience in various key roles within leading financial and healthcare institutions. He has been a driving force at Lakson Investments since joining in 2011. He currently serves as the Executive Director and is an integral part of the core team.</p> <p>Professional Accomplishments:<br />Throughout his career, Kashif Mustafa has exhibited expertise in Investment &amp; Financial Advisory, Private Equity, Operations and Business Management, Turnaround Management, Family Governance Structuring, Economic Research, and Lead Negotiation/Business Development. His lead role has played a pivotal role in shaping Lakson Investments into a preferred choice for Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (UHNIs) and family offices, particularly in the realm of discretionary investment advisory management. He is the member of the Investment Committees of Public Equities, Private Equity and Venture Capital</p> <p>He is widely recognized for his instrumental role in establishing Pakistan's first-ever Private Funds' Regulations in collaboration with regulators. He also led the successful launch of the inaugural Lakson Private Equity Fund and Lakson Venture Capital Fund. He sits on the board of Bookme, Bagallery and OMI Hospital.</p> <p>Educational Background:<br />Mr. Mustafa's academic achievements are equally impressive. He holds a Master's degree in Wealth Management from Singapore Management University, earned through a prestigious partnership program with Yale School of Management, USA, and St. Gallen University, Switzerland. His academic pursuits also encompass a second Master's degree in Economics and an undergraduate degree in Mathematics. He is a certified professional from the Institute of Banking &amp; Finance (Advanced), Singapore, and boasts certifications in Alternative Investments from Yale SOM and Preserving Wealth for Generations from St. Gallen, SL. Kashif Mustafa is an alumnus of Wealth Management Institute, Singapore.</p> <p>Media Presence:<br />Kashif Mustafa's insights and expertise are frequently sought after by the media. He has become a respected voice in discussions covering financial, economic, regulatory, and political issues.</p>
Amir Chapra
Chief Executive Officer, Merit Packaging
Amir Chapra
Chief Executive Officer, Merit Packaging
<p>A Packaging Professional with close to 30 years of experience in all aspects of Packaging. He started his career in Metatex Pvt. Ltd based in Karachi, Pakistan in 1991. Metatex Pvt. Ltd., in one form or the other, had been in the Plastics field since 1968. Metatex was producing 1000 tons of Packaging material per month and employed 700 people. He started as a Trainee in 1991 and left Metatex Pvt. Ltd in 2013 as Director Production and Supply Chain.</p> <p>After selling his shares in Metatex Pvt. Ltd he formed a consulting firm A.S.R.A. Packaging Ltd. In 2013. From 2013 to 2017 he provided consulting services locally and had served in Africa, Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Turkey.</p> <p>In 2018, he joined Cherat Packaging Ltd. a part of the Ghulam Faraque Group of Companies with a total turnover of half a billion dollars, as Executive Director Marketing for their Greenfield Flexible Packaging Project. He developed Sales and Marketing teams in the South and North Regions and was able to generate a sale of above 2 billion by the third year of Production.</p> <p>On March 1<sup>st</sup>, 2021, he joined Merit Packaging Ltd, A part of the Lakson Group as Chief Executive Officer. Merit Packaging Ltd. based in Karachi, which is a known name in the Offset and Gravure Packaging Market since the 1980. Major clients include Unilever, Nestle, Tapal, National Food Ltd., Vital, EBM, Continental Biscuits, Philip Morris, Colgate Palmolive etc.</p>