Cabinet approves Board of Directors for SBP

KARACHI: The Cabinet has approved a list of Board of Directors (BoD) for the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) submitted by the Finance Division.

The BoD consists of Dr Ali Cheema, Dr Akbar Zaidi, Tariq Pasha, Najaf Yawar, Fawad Anwar, Nadeem Hussain, Mehfooz Ahmed Khan, Zahid Fakhar ud Din Ebrahim, Secretary Finance Division, and the Governor SBP.

Details of the BoD

Ali Cheema

An Associate Professor of Economics at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Cheema serves as the Faculty Director of the Mahbub Ul Haq Research Centre. He is a co-founder of the Centre for Economic Research in Pakistan (CERP).

Syed Akbar Hussain Zaidi 

Renowned Pakistani political economist, academic, and author, Zaidi is currently serving as the Executive Director of the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) in Karachi. His areas of interest in research include political economy, development, the social sciences, and history. 

Tariq Pasha 

Before his appointment as FBR chairman in 2017, Pasha was serving as Special Assistant to the Finance Minister, Secretary Economic Affairs Division, and Secretary Statistics Division. Spanning a decades-long career, he has served on the Boards of Pak Brunei Investment Company, Aitchison College Lahore, and the Bank of Punjab and served as Secretary, Ministry of Kashmir Affairs, and Gilgit Baltistan.

Najaf Yawar

Director and Chairperson of the Management Studies Department at GC University, Yawar’s teaching interests lie in the fields of Operations Management and Technology. He has more than 15 years of experience in manufacturing and servicing the most distinguished clients in Morocco, Italy, and Pakistan. 

Fawad Anwar 

Managing director of AlKaram Textile Mills, Anwar firmly believes that creativity and thinking out-of-the-box create the foundation for innovation. He is also a Director at Lakeside Energy, Chairman of the Fayaz Anwar Foundation, and Director of Tracker Properties.

Nadeem Hussain 

Both Founder and Coach of his venture Plant N Group of Companies, Hussain is often remembered as the former CEO of Tameer Bank and EasyPaisa. Hussain has also served on the advisory board of the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) and the Institute of Capital Markets (ICM). He is the Chairperson of the Pakistan Microfinance Network (PMN), Mentor & Advisor to Hult Prize Pakistan, TECH Pakistan, and serves on the Board of PlanX. He is married to Senator Sherry Rehman. 

Zahid F. Ebrahim 

With more than 25 years of experience in advising and representing Pakistani and multinational corporations in the superior courts of Pakistan, Ebrahim’s specialties lie in arbitrations, civil and corporate litigation, constitution, and company law. He has been called upon to serve on Arbitral Tribunals in ICC and Pakistan law arbitrations alongside the former Chief Justice of Pakistan. He is also a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Hameed Yaqoob Sheikh 

The current Finance Secretary, Sheikh is also a PAS officer from 20th CTP. He has more than 29 years of experience working in a wide range of organisations both within the public sector as well as outside. Hameed has served in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Punjab and Federal Government in various positions.

Dr. Murtaza Syed 

Syed assumed the position of Acting Governor SBP with effect from May 5, 2022. He has more than 20 years of experience in macroeconomic research and policy making and has worked with the IMF for 16 years before resigning to join the SBP. At the IMF, he was involved in programmes and surveillance of emerging markets and advanced economies. He also served as the IMF’s Deputy Resident Representative in China between 2010 and 2014, and as IMF mission chief to Macao. Syed started his career at the IMF in the Fiscal Affairs Department before moving to the Asia and Pacific Department.

Mehfooz Ahmed Khan