Why Al Meezan

Mr. Ariful Islam is a senior banker with over 35 years of experience with various banks in Bahrain and Pakistan. He is a Chartered Accountant from England and Wales and a Fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan. He joined Meezan Bank in April 1999 as the Bank’s first Chief Operating Officer. Currently, Mr. Ariful Islam is Deputy CEO of Meezan Bank Limited. He is a ‘Certified Director’ from IBA, Karachi. He is also the Chairman of the Board of Al Meezan Investment Management Limited – the Bank’s asset management subsidiary, and a Director on the Board of Honda Atlas Cars (Pakistan) Limited.

Mr. Mohammad Shoaib is the founding CEO of Al Meezan Investment Management Ltd, which is the largest Asset Management Company in Pakistan as on October 31st, 2023. His journey spans from setting up Pakistan’s First Shariah Compliant Asset Management Company in Pakistan to making it the Largest AMC in the industry with funds under management of over PKR 351 Billion.

He got an MBA from IBA in 1988 and got his CFA charter from CFA Institute, USA in 1999. He has to his credit setting up CFA Society Pakistan in 2002 and serving it as its founder President.

He has received many accolades for his contribution in promoting Shariah compliant investing as well as CFA program as a tool to improve skillset of Pakistani investment professionals. He was recognized as the “Most Influential CFA Charter Holder” by CFA Institute Magazine, in 2006, and was awarded another accolade of “Volunteer of the Year: Lifetime Achievement Award” in 2019 by CFA Institute.

He has been an active volunteer in many areas in the financial sector and some of his volunteer roles include; Nominee Director of SECP on Board of Pakistan Stock Exchange, Board member of Institute of Financial Capital Markets in Pakistan, Chairman, Mutual Funds Association of Pakistan, Board member Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance etc.

In December 2021 he was recognized by Asia Asset Management as “One of the Top 25 Leaders in Asset Management” in Asia and in the year 2022, he was recognized as “CEO of the Year” by 16^th Consumers Choice Awards.

He has also participated in Advanced Management Program (AMP) at Harvard Business School alongside global business leaders and CEOs, which reflects his commitment to lifelong learning.

He is board member of CFA Society Pakistan and holds the portfolios of Advocacy and GIPS Chair. He is also director on the board of Mutual Funds Association of Pakistan. Additionally, he has been nominated as a Member in the Committee formed by SECP for promoting Islamic Finance in the Non-Banking Financial Sector.

He has participated in various seminars, conferences and workshops across the globe during his 30-year career in managing investments.

Mr. Feroz Rizvi is a Chartered Accountant, having qualified from England & Wales. He has over 43 years of local & international experience in some of the largest companies in the world.

On returning to Pakistan post qualification, he joined ICI Pakistan Ltd, a subsidiary of ICI PLC, one of the largest chemical companies in the world. He left ICI Pakistan Ltd in 1985 and after five years with Petromin Refinery Riyadh, KSA, he re-joined ICI Pakistan. In 1996 he was seconded to ICI PLC’s headquarters in London.

During his secondment, he was involved in ICI PLC’s strategic shift from industrial to consumer & effect chemicals, leading to a major acquisition of four chemical companies from Unilever PLC for USD 8 bln, as part of the group’s major strategic priority. In addition, he was also responsible for a number of divestments of ICI PLC’s major industrial chemical businesses in accord with the group’s strategic move. Back in Pakistan after secondment, he completed the demerger of ICI Pakistan’s Paints and PTA businesses into separate listed companies, leading to the sale of the latter to Lotte (a Korean conglomerate) and the former’s transfer to Akzo Nobel. In ICI Pakistan he also implemented the state -of -the -art SAP ERP system across the group. He retired from ICI Pakistan Ltd as CFO & Finance Director. He has also been CEO of Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance.

Mr. Rizvi has extensive experience in corporate & financial strategy, taxation, corporate governance, restructuring and mergers & acquisitions. Beside ICI Pakistan Ltd, he was a board member of Pakistan PTA Ltd, Faysal Asset Management Ltd, Atlas Insurance Ltd. and Pakistan Oxygen Ltd. Currently, he is on the Boards of Engro Chemicals and Polymer Ltd and 1 Link (Pvt.) Ltd. He is an alumni of INSEAD France and Wharton Business School and lectures on corporate governance, business strategy and related areas to Board members and other senior executives.

Mr. Naeem, Company Secretary at PKIC, is FCMA, Fellow Member of the Institute of Cost and Management Accountant of Pakistan. He has over 22 years of experience in the financial sector. His work experience includes the fields of Accounting, Taxation, Budgeting, and Corporate Secretarial. He has also worked with M/s. A. F. Ferguson & Co – Chartered Accountants.

Mr. Tariq Mairaj is working as EVP & Financial Controller at Meezan Bank Limited. Mr. Tariq is an experienced Finance Professional with more than twelve years of experience in Financial Control function and is a fellow member of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan. Prior to joining Meezan Bank, Mr. Tariq was associated with KPMG Taseer Hadi & Co. (a member firm of the KPMG Network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International).

Mr. Tariq has also conducted sessions on Islamic Finance as Trainer with IBA – Centre for Excellence in Islamic Finance.

Mr. Furquan R Kidwai is the Founder & CEO of Dawaai (Pvt.) Limited. He is a technology entrepreneur who has built the largest health technology company in Pakistan over the past five years. Prior to this journey, Mr. Kidwai was an investment banker for over eight years in London and New York where, in his last role, was the Head of CEEMEA Financing as well as a Senior Vice President in the Fixed Income trading business at the Royal Bank of Scotland. Before joining RBS, Mr.Furquan worked as an Associate at Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers in their London and New York offices. He has also served as a member of the Board of Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London.

Mr. Furquan read International Relations for a Master’s degree at Cambridge University. He also has an MSc in Financial Mathematics with specialization in Risk Management from Imperial College London and BEng in Computer Systems from Bristol University.

Ms. Danish is an Advocate of the High Court and advises corporates and family run businesses on a wide variety of corporate and commercial matters, taxation, oil and gas, competition, arbitration and mediation.

Ms. Danish commenced her career at the premier litigation set namely, Fazle Ghani, Advocates and thereafter established her independent practice. She was the General Counsel of Pakistan Petroleum Limited before taking up a partnership at Vellani & Vellani.

Ms. Danish has been certified by CEDR as a Mediator. She also has a keen interest in human rights law and has served on boards of various non-profit organisations.

Education

• LLB, University of Wales, Aberystwyth – 1994
• Barrister at Law – 1995

Mr. Abdullah is currently Senior Executive Vice President-Group Head of Corporate & Institutional Banking at Meezan Bank. He has over 20 years of banking and treasury dealing experience. He has also previously worked at Bank of America NA, National Bank of Pakistan and KASB Bank before joining Meezan Bank in 2005.

Mr. Abdullah has a Bachelors and Masters in business administration from the Institute of Business Administration, University of Karachi. He is a fellow of the Association Cambiste Internationale (ACI) – The Financial Markets Association, Paris in financial markets trading and a fellow of the Institute of Bankers Pakistan. He is also a certified Financial Risk Manager (FRM) from the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP), USA.

Mr. Abdullah is an active member of the local Financial Markets Association of Pakistan (FMAP) and was elected to the executive committee as office bearer in 2000, 2008 and 2009, his last office being the General Secretary of the FMAP for the years 2009-2012. He is currently a member of the Pakistan Banks Association (PBA) sub-committee on Treasury and Capital Markets since 2010 and of the technical committee of the Financial Markets Association of Pakistan since 2012.

Senior Retail Banking Executive with over 20 years of experience in retail banking business, product development, wealth management, consumer assets, sales and customer experience. Entrepreneurial-minded and motivational leader recognized for consistently exceeding customer expectations and organizational goals through diverse situational challenges while upholding company values with utmost integrity. Notable experience in development of digital products and services.

Mr. Saad Ur Rahman Khan has an extensive banking career spanning more than 30 years in the area of Retail, Trade, SME, Commercial, Corporate, Investment Banking, Financial Institution, International Banking and Risk Management. He is currently serving as Managing Director / Director of Pakistan Kuwait Investment Company (Private) Limited (PKIC). Currently, he is also serving as nominee director of PKIC on the Board of Meezan Bank Limited and National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited. Mr. Saad started his professional journey with MCB Bank Limited in 1993, he has since held numerous senior roles in large local and multinational banks including Citibank, National Bank of Pakistan, Habib Bank Limited and Bank Alfalah Limited. He has also served as a director on the Boards of Alfalah Asset Management Limited, NBP Fund Management Limited, National Bank of Pakistan Kazakhstan, National Bank of Pakistan Tajikistan, Sapphire Wind Power Company Limited and Triconboston Consulting Corporation (Private) Limited. Mr. Saad is a graduate of Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi.

Mr. Muhammad Asad is the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) at Al Meezan Investment. He has over 24 years of experience in the capital markets of Pakistan and has worked in various business areas including investment management, credit analysis and marketing at leading institutions such as State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan, Metropolitan Bank Limited, ANZ Grindlays Bank, and A.F. Ferguson & Company.

At Al Meezan, Mr. Asad plays a key role in investment strategy development and investment management of Al Meezan’s funds and Discretionary/ Non-Discretionary portfolios. He is an integral member of the Investment Committee and plays a crucial role in providing strategic guidance and investment advice. Moreover, he also leads the Product Development team and actively engages with the Shariah Advisor to structure new and innovative new products and investment solutions.

He has served as a nominee director on the board of Al Meezan Mutual Fund Limited (previously a closed-end mutual fund). Further, he has also served on different committees of Mutual Fund Association of Pakistan (MUFAP), Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) and Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP).

Asad is an MBA in Finance & Banking from the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi. He is a CFA Level III candidate and is a Fellow of Life Management, Life Insurance (FLMI). He has previously been a visiting faculty member at the IBA and Bahria University.

Mr. Hussain A. Naqvi, carries over 19 years of familiarity with Mutual Fund Industry, where he has imparted his services to leading Asset Management Companies of Pakistan.

Prior to joining Al Meezan Investment Management Limited, he was functional with NBP Fullerton Asset Management Limited as Chief Operating Officer. He also served as Chief Executive Officer of PICIC Asset Management Limited after taking over the same by NIB Bank Limited.

Prior to this, he had been associated with companies like Atlas Asset Management Limited and National Investment Trust Limited, where he served on higher management position and was nominated as the director on the board of various listed companies.

Mr. Naqvi was actively involved in system developments and automation of various functionalities of business models such as Digital Transformation, Mobile Apps, ATM redemptions, online redemption, conversion, Account Opening and Investment Transactions.

He was also involved in development and implementation of Unit Holder, Investment and Compliance and Deviation Module which is fully integrated with general ledger and produces real reports of transactions.

Mr. Naqvi also served as Assistant Manager Audit and has been associated with Ernst & Young Chartered Accountants.

Mr. Talha is the Chief Sales and Distribution Officer at Al Meezan Investments and is responsible for the development and implementation of the ‘Sales & Branch Network” of the company. He currently leads the Corporate and Retail divisions of Al Meezan Investments.

Prior to this, he was also looking after marketing and alternative distribution network and played a vital role in establishing the company’s brand image as the leading Shariah compliant AMC in Pakistan. He was also responsible for managing Al Meezan’s distribution channels with Standard Chartered Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank and Meezan Bank.

With an experience of over 17 years in sales & marketing Mr. Talha has established Al Meezan’s nationwide Marketing, Corporate & Retail networks. His contributions have been key in establishing Al Meezan as a business leader in the industry.

Prior to joining Al Meezan, Talha has worked with leading financial institutions and advertising agencies in various roles which involved advertising, sales, managing distribution channels, and leading corporate sales teams.

He holds an MBA in Marketing and a Masters in Commerce & Finance along with certifications like CIBE (Certificate of Islamic Banking & Finance) and CFA Claritas Investment Certificate.

Mr. Shahid Usman Ojha is the Chief Financial Officer at Al Meezan Investments. Before being promoted to CFO, he served as Head of Fund Accounting at Al Meezan since 2012.

He is a Fellow member of Institute of Cost & Management Accountants of Pakistan (ICMAP) and has also done Masters in Economics from University of Karachi. He has over 14 years of post-qualification experience in different Financial Institutions. Prior to joining Al Meezan Investments, Mr. Ojha also served at Faysal Asset Management Limited and Dawood Capital Management Limited as Chief Financial Officer.

Syed Owais Wasti is presently working as the Chief Internal Auditor at Al Meezan Investments under the job rotation plan. Prior to that he served as the Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary at Al Meezan Investments for over 17 years. He is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Cost & Management Accountants of Pakistan (ICMA) Mr. Wasti has attended several Executive Training Programs including comprehensive Management Development Program from the Lahore University of Management Science, he is also a certified Director from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan.

Mr. Wasti has an overall experience of over 27 years in Finance and Operations. Prior to joining Al Meezan Investments, he was associated with JS Investments Limited as CFO and Company Secretary and also headed its Operations Department. He has also worked at Jahangir Siddiqui & Co. Limited in Equity Operations and UDL Distributors (Pvt) Limited in Accounts & Finance Department.

Mr. Anas Rehan heads Customer Services and Training department at Al Meezan Investments and has over 22 years of experience in the mutual funds industry. He has previously worked with NIT for 7 years.

He holds an MBA degree in the field and possesses a Post Graduate Diploma in Islamic Banking and Finance from Centre for Islamic Economics- a division of Jamia Darul Uloom, Karachi. He also holds Claritas Investment Certificate by CFA Institute USA.

Mr. Khurram Ali Naqvi is Head of Information Technology at Al Meezan. He holds MBA degree from SZABIST and MSC degree in Statistics from Karachi University.

He has more than 19 years of experience working in the financial sector involving management of information systems and technologies in middle and senior management position. He specializes in IT strategic management, project management, Business application development and acquisition, Information Security and IT Governance and operational risk management.

He joined Al Meezan Investment Management Ltd. in 2006 as Head of Information Technology, his last assignment was at PICIC as an IT Auditor. He has also been associated with Meezan Bank Limited and Pak Kuwait Investment Company in the past.

He also earned Claritas Investments Certificate by CFA Institute USA, ITIL V3 Foundation, Certified Information System Auditor (CISA) and Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE).

Akhtar Munir is a CFA Charter holder and a certified Financial Risk Manager (FRM) from GARP – USA. He holds fellow membership of the Institute of Cost & Management Accountant of Pakistan and has passed ACCA-UK. He did MBA – Finance from Bahria University with honor by scoring silver medal.

Mr. Akhtar Munir has over (12) years of experience related to Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), Market, Liquidity and Credit Risk Management. He joined Al Meezan on March 15, 2021. Prior to joining Al Meezan, he served at HBL Asset Management Limited, Central Depository Company (CDC) of Pakistan and Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) Limited in their respective risk management departments. He has taught with ICMA Pakistan as a visiting faculty since March 2011 till August 2018 and achieved faculty role of honor award in teaching Strategic Management Accounting and Financial Accounting.

Muhammad Ali Khan is a fellow Chartered Certified Accountant with more than 15 years of experience in the mutual funds industry.

He is associated with Al Meezan Investment Management Limited since 2013 and has played a key role in improving customer experience through developing efficient operational processes. He has also been instrumental in various automation projects, launching of new products and services which are being offered by Al Meezan Investments.

Prior to joining Al Meezan, Mr. Muhammad Ali khan served at Central Depository Company (CDC) of Pakistan as Section Head in their Trustee & Custodial operations department.

Faizan Saleem is a highly experienced portfolio manager with over 16 years of success in investment advisory and portfolio management. He possesses in-depth knowledge of managing both conventional and Islamic fixed-income and money markets. Currently, he serves as the Head of Shariah-Compliant Income Portfolios and is a core member of the Investment Committee. In this role, he oversees the company’s fixed-income portfolios, which constitute nearly 92% of the total assets under management across various categories. As the largest Fixed Income Portfolio Manager in Pakistan, he has managed Assets Under Management (AUMs) exceeding PKR 310 billion, making him the only billion-dollar fund manager in the country.

Mr. Saleem actively participates in formulating business strategies, product development, business expansion, portfolio construction, and the trading of various money market and fixed-income securities. Before joining Al-Meezan Investments in 2019, he held positions as the Head of the Fixed Income department at organizations such as HBL Asset Management and ABL Asset Management Co. Limited. He has also contributed as a core member of the investment teams at companies like UBL Fund Manager and Akhai Capital Management Limited.

Mr. Haseeb Ahmed Shah Joined Al Meezan Investment Management Limited in November 2022 as a Head of Compliance and Service Quality. Mr. Haseeb has over 15 years of professional experience in the field of Designing & Implementing Controls, Risk Mapping, Regulatory Compliance and Inspections of Capital Market Institutions. Mr. Haseeb has served Apex Capital Market Regulator – Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan for more than 4 years and have also remained associated with National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited in their Risk Management Department.

Ms. Sana Mesia is the Head of HR at Al Meezan Investments. She is an experienced results driven Human Resources professional having 15 years’ of global, APAC regional and local experiences; responsible to drive & implement overall HR & organizational strategy. Throughout her career span, she acquired critical HR and corporate management skills to develop and operationalize best practices in the areas of Strategy, HR & Administration, Talent Acquisition & Management, Total Rewards & Performance Management, Organizational Development, Training & Development, Employee Relations & Engagement, Diversity & Inclusion, CSR & Compliance Management.”

Sana spanned majority of her career with Japan’s largest conglomerate Mitsubishi Corporation as Head of HR, CSR & Corporate Communications. Sana also worked with Smollan Pakistan Field Services, Feroze 1888 and Oasis Insights in Research and Human Resources arena.

A gold medalist in Psychology & Human Behavior, Sana accomplished her Master’s degree from University of Karachi and is a Certified Human Resource Professional from Pakistan Institute of Management and a Project Management professional (PMP) from LUMS. She has extensive exposure to International Leadership Programs from INSEAD, Ateneo de Manila University and Management and HR programs from USA, Tokyo, Singapore, Dubai, India, Vietnam.

She served as a sub-committee member at OICCI’s Diversity & CSR committee from 2013 to 2020, a task force that brought diversity roadmap and white paper for organizations. Sana is an active Career Counselor at Lahore University of Management Sciences for under graduates corporate grooming.