The Federal Cabinet, through circulation of summary, has granted its approval for the appointment of Directors on Ignite Company’s board.
Ignite-National Technology Fund Company, formerly known as the National ICT R&D Fund Co., focuses on research and development in the field of information and communication technology.
The Board of Ignite Company consists of thirteen Directors, as per the Research and Development Fund Rules, 2006 and the Articles of Association of the Company. Among them, five Directors are ex-officio office bearers in the federal government, two are Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ignite and the Chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), and four are nominees of various stakeholders in the telecom industry.
The three-year tenure of six Directors on the Board had expired in July 2022, leading to the process of fresh nominations. A Selection Committee was formed to scrutinize the candidates and finalize recommendations for the six vacant positions. The committee, chaired by the Secretary of the Ministry of IT & Telecom, held a meeting on January 24, 2023, and recommended a panel of nominees for appointment as Board Members, Independent Directors, Non-Executive Directors, and Corporate Management Executives for a three-year term.
The recommended nominees include prominent individuals from both the public and private sectors. Notable appointments are Irfan Wahab Khan, CEO of Telenor Pakistan, representing Cellular Mobile Operators; Dr. Shahid Farooq Alvi, CEO of Brain Telecom, representing Data Service Providers; Adnan Asdar Ali, CEO of Multinet, representing Fixed Line Operators; Rabia Noor Enam, Director (ORIC) Sir Syed University of Engineering & Technology, and Professor Dr. Bilal Ahmed Alvi, University of Salford, Salford, UK, and Nazeer Hussain University, representing the Scientific and Academic Community.
Furthermore, the Board Nominations Committee also reviewed and found the nominations in consonance with the State-Owned Enterprises (Governance and Operations) Act 2023. Additionally, the committee recommended a panel of candidates for the selection of one Independent Director by the federal government.
The placement of the summary before the Cabinet was authorized by the Prime Minister and received approval from the Federal Minister for IT & Telecommunication.
The appointments on Ignite Company’s board are expected to contribute to its research and development initiatives in the field of information and communication technology, fostering innovation and growth in Pakistan’s tech sector.
