Keynote Speakers
Hussain Dawood
Chairman of Dawood Hercules Corporation Mr. Hussain Dawood is a renowned Pakistani businessman and philanthropist. Owing to the Dawood family’s business acumen and rich heritage, Mr. Dawood has enriched and steered many companies and businesses to successful heights. Currently he Chairs 7 successful profit and not-for-profit organizations namely; Dawood Hercules Corporation, Engro Corporation, Hub Power Company, Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund, Karachi Education Initiative / Karachi School for Business & Leadership and Dawood Foundation and is an expert in Corporate Governance. Mr. Dawood’s investments span across an array of sectors making him one of the most diverse businessman of Pakistan. Dawood Hercules Corporation’s businesses range from fertilizer, chemical to private equity, textile, garment, business end-to-end solutions and brokerage. Engro Corporation businesses range from fertilizer, chemicals to foods, grains, energy, trading, liquefied chemical terminal and coal mining. Hub Power Company’s business interests focus on energy. He is an ardent philanthropist and is therefore an active member of the World Economic Forum and it’s Global Agenda Council on Anti-Corruption, Education and Pakistan and its Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI). He is also the Chairman of the International Advisory Council of the Cradle to Cradle Institute in SanFrancisco. He supports many education and humanitarian associations and serves as a Director on the boards of Pakistan Business Council, Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy and Beaconhouse National University. He is on the Boards Karachi Education Initiative UK, London and Asia House, London. In recognition of his contribution, the Italian Government conferred on him the award “Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana.” Mr. Dawood holds an MBA from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, USA, and is a graduate in Metallurgy from Sheffield University, UK |
Ishrat Husain Dean and Director of Institute of Business Administration, Karachi Dr. Ishrat Husain is currently serving as Dean & Director of Institute of Business Administration, Karachi – the oldest graduate business school in Pakistan established in 1955. He served as the Chairman, National Commission for Government Reforms for two years from 2006 to 2008 with the status of Federal Minister reporting directly to the President and Prime Minister of Pakistan. The Commission produced a two volume report on governance reforms in Pakistan. He was appointed the Governor of Pakistan’s Central Bank in December 1999. During the next six years, he implemented a major program of restructuring of the Central Bank and steered the reforms of the banking sector. In recognition of his meritorious services he was conferred the prestigious award of “Hilal-e-Imtiaz” by the President of Pakistan in 2003. The Banker Magazine of London declared him as the Central Bank Governor of the year for Asia in 2005. He received the Asian Banker Lifetime achievement award in 2006. Dr. Husain had a distinguished career at the World Bank for over two decades 1979-1999. Among the key positions he held at the Bank were Resident Representative to Nigeria, head of the Bank’s Debt and International Finance Division, Chief Economist for Africa between 1991-94 and later as Chief Economist for East Asia and Pacific Region. He became the Bank’s Director Poverty and Social Department and in 1997 he was named the Country Director for Central Asian Republics. Since his retirement as the Governor he has been actively involved in many national and international assignments. During 2005-06 he was appointed by the Board of IMF as a member of a three person panel to evaluate the IEO. He was a member of the Mahathir Commission 2020 vision for the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). He also advised the IDB for creating its poverty reduction fund. He was appointed by the Board of Asian Development Bank to a two member independent panel to restructure the Accountability Mechanism. He is currently a member of Middle East Advisory Group of the IMF, the Regional Advisory Group of the UNDP, and was Chairman World Economic Forum Global Advisory Council on Pakistan until June 2014. He is also currently Convener, Economic Advisory Council, Ministry of Finance and Member, Advisory Council to the Minister of Planning, Development and Reforms. Mr. Husain has maintained an active scholarly interest in development issues. He has authored 18 books and monographs and contributed more than three dozen articles in refereed journals and 27 chapters in books. Ishrat Husain obtained Master’s degree in Development Economics from Williams College and Doctorate in Economics from Boston University in 1978. He is a graduate of Executive Development program jointly sponsored by Harvard, Stanford and INSEAD. |
Sania Nishtar Leading Health Practitioner and Policy Expert Sania Nishtar graduated from medical school in 1986 as the best graduate with 16 gold medals, a college record, which remains unbroken to date. In 1999 she left a lucrative career as Pakistan’s first woman cardiologist to establish the NGO think-tank, Heartfile which today is the most powerful health policy voice and catalyst for health reform in Pakistan and is recognized as a model for replication in other developing countries. She is the founder of many other health institutions, Pakistan’s Health Policy Forum and Heartfile Financing, a program to protect people against health impoverishment. In 2013 she served as a Federal Minister in Pakistan’s Interim Government, where she held four portfolios, and was instrumental in establishing Pakistan’s Ministry of Health. Sania Nishtar’s has in-country and international experience. Internationally, she is a member of many Expert Working Groups and Task Forces of the World Health Organization and is co-chair of the WHO Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity. She is also a member of the Global Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum. She has previously served as a member on the boards of the International Union for Health Promotion, the World Heart Federation, WHO’s Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, the Aspen Institute’s Ministerial Leadership Initiative for Global Health, as Chair of GAVI’s Evaluation Advisory Committee and a member of the Clinton Global Initiative. She also led the Pakistan Lancet Series on Health Reform. She has previously headed many global initiatives, including the award winning Global World Heart Day campaign. She is a regular plenary speaker, chair or moderator at global health meetings and a part of organizing major international conferences. She has chaired or been part of many international declarations and statements of the World Health Organization. Sania Nishtar is a key health policy voice in Pakistan, the author of Pakistan’s first health reform plan, Pakistan’s first compendium of health statistics, and the country’s first national public health plan for NCDs. One of her books, an analysis of Pakistan’s health systems became the blue print for the country’s health policy. She is a member of many boards, advisory groups and task forces and a voice to catalyze change at the broader governance level in Pakistan. Sania Nishtar is the author of 6 books, more than 100 peer review articles and around the same number of Op-eds. Her latest, Choked Pipes, was published by Oxford University Press in 2010. She is the recipient of Pakistan’s Sitara e-Imtiaz, a presidential award, the European Societies Population Science Award, and many accolades of the International Biographical Centre, Cambridge and the American Biographical Center. In 2011 she received the prestigious Global Innovation award, which was given only to four individuals in the world, one of them being President Bill Clinton. Sania Nishtar holds a Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians and a Ph.D from Kings College, London. |
Sultana Siddiqui
Founder of Hum Network Ltd. Ms. Sultana Siddiqui started her career as a producer for PTV, Karachi Studios in 1974 and founded HUM Network (one of the top 25 Companies acknowledged by the Karachi Stock Exchange in 2010) in 2005. Since then, she has been credited as the first woman of South Asia to establish a Television Network and is the recipient of many National and International Awards. Under her supervision, HUM TV’s Serials received numerous awards for Dramas by Pakistan’s prestigious Lux Awards, four years in a row. Ms. Siddiqui has produced countless programmes for youth and adult audiences alike. Her work has covered children’s programming, musical performances, telefilm, serials, and social and professional documentaries. These productions won her the Best Producer of a Drama Serial (‘Marvi’), Best Producer of a music production (PTV), the Silver Jubilee Award (PTV), the Hazrat Khadijat ulKubra Award, Women of Vision Award, Nigar Award, Gold Medal, Sindh Graduates Association Award and Pride of Performance Award. Ms. Siddiqui’s forte and personal passion has always been dedicated to bringing public awareness to social issues, such as female empowerment, and the importance of promoting education. Her emphasis on these topics have in turn, created a more positive global image of Pakistan. She has also represented Pakistan in various workshops and seminars abroad and has worked with reputable NGOs to solve women’s issues. In 1996, Ms. Siddiqui founded a Production House under the name of "Moomal Productions." Since its establishment, the company’s plays have received numerous awards. In 2004, she created "Eye Television Network Ltd" now (HUM Network Ltd) as Chairman and President which spawned three successful Satellite Channels: HUMTV, Masala TV and HUM SITARAY. HUM Network Ltd. In recognition of her outstanding services in the field of Art (TV Production) the President of Pakistan conferred the President's "Pride of Performance" Award to her in 2008. |
Rakesh Khurana Dean of Harvard College Rakesh Khurana, Marvin Bower Professor of Leadership Development, professor of sociology and organizational behavior at Harvard University, and co-master of Cabot House, became dean of Harvard College on July 1, 2014. A distinguished scholar of organizational behavior and leadership, Khurana has written extensively about the CEO labor market and business education. He has co-edited “The Handbook for Leadership Theory and Practice” and “The Handbook for Teaching Leadership,” seminal texts on leadership theory and pedagogical practice. He has been recognized for his commitment to pedagogy, twice earning the Charles M. Williams Award for Excellence in Teaching. Khurana received his B.S. from Cornell University and earned his PH.D from Harvard University. He lives in Cambridge, MA with his wife Stephanie and three children. |