Jury 2020

Commenced my career with Unilever and then moved to SB (GSK), during their merger years. Later, joined Jardine Matheson/Olayan JV in the Middle East, where I handled business development and logistics alongwith Finance. Moved to Pepsi in 1998 and was Country Manager for Pakistan and Afghanistan. In 2005 started Engro Foods as CEO. It became a leading FMCG company in Pakistan. Engro Foods among several performance awards, won the G20 Global Top 15 Companies award. The first Pakistani company to get this award.

In my spare time, I do mentoring and coaching for younger executives and college leavers and give motivational speeches at relevant events.

Khurram has worked in Alkaram Studio, fashion retail business unit of Alkaram Textile Mills since June 2018. He initially began as Senior General Manager Marketing before progressing to Head of Commercial for Alkaram Studio (business unit comprising of fashion retail chain of 47 stores in 15 cities across Pakistan).Khurram currently specialises in leading the marketing, retail, retail operations and e-commerce functions for the business unit. Khurram’s role is focussed on leading the marketing function (including an in-house advertising agency), retail operations, retail function and the e-commerce function. Khurram graduated from the Institute of Business Administration Karachi in 1996 with a BBA (Hons) and MBA specializing in Marketing. As part of the course, he interned with ICI in the industrial paints division, Reckitt & Coleman and Social Marketing Pakistan (NGO focussing on population control). Additionally Khurram also graduated from Cambridge Judge Business School in 2009 with an emphasis on strategy & finance.

Muhammed Amin has over 30 years of experience with reputed FMCGs at senior management positions. He was CEO of Gillette Pakistan Limited till December 2000 and Regional Business Director, Gillette Middle East and Africa from 2001 to 2003. Later, he headed Mondelez Pakistan for over ten years till 2014. Recently, he established Sunridge Foods in 2015 and headed the company till January 2020. He has served on the Board of Directors of Engro Foods Limited and Al Shaheer Corporation (Meat One). He had also served on Boards of Not for profit organizations including the British Overseas School, American Business Council, Pakistan Advertisers Society and Lasbela Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Currently, he is adviser and consultant to some of the top food brands in the country.

Semyne Khan has been an integral part of the advertising industry in Pakistan for over 25 years. She has worked on high level multinational and local accounts, leading and training creative teams that have gone on to excel in their field. After successfully creating memorable campaigns, notably for Lux, Brooke Bond, Sunsilk, Knorr, Engro Foods, and HBL, she went on to direct and produce commercials and content for high profile brands. As creative consultant Semyne created and scripted an award-winning animated series for children sponsored by Knorr. Semyne has served as Jury Member for multiple PAS Awards over the years.

Sarah takes great pride in growing people’s careers, helping them realize their true potential which often means saying goodbye to their first idea. She was an ECD at Interflow & the CD at JWT for 6 years. She has worked on global briefs with creative leaders across the network and has been trained at workshops & programs internationally. The highlights of her journey include being at The One Show, Creative Summit & the 96thADC Awards in NYC & being a fellow speaker at ND2C. For four years, she was also visiting faculty at IVSAA & has been a regular juror at thesis shows at art & design schools.

A Modern Political History graduate from University of Karachi, Mahrukh Shaikh has been in the Advertising industry for over 12 years now. She started her advertising career at Adcom in 2006, later joining Ogilvy & Mather Pakistan in 2011; returning to her roots at Adcom Leo Burnett as the Agency’s Creative Director for the Karachi portfolio in 2013. In 2017, Mahrukh finally decided to venture out into the creative wilderness of ideas and content as the co-founder and idea whisperer for WUNDERNERF.

There are many dreamers in the world and I am one of them, albeit a different kind. I belong to the 'dream wild, live responsible' tribe. And like every sensitive observer of the world, I like to keep my lens on the pulse of this crazy-free world that is rapidly evolving every day at the pace of revolution. So, while in the wake of this on-going chaos, I find peace in the hustle and bustle of traveling, experiencing, orchestrating, capturing and storytelling. But the journey doesn't end here, it only intensifies as every story needs a staunch advocate and that is when my analytical side comes into logical play in the form of critical analysis of the scenario, market and situation dynamics. That is how demanding times trigger my imagination to shift gears. From the realm of abstract to the concrete. The idea is to go responsibly wild.

Uzma has been a part of the wonderful Media industry for 15 years now. Starting her career as an assistant planner in Mediacom for Proctor & Gamble, she worked her way up to becoming an Associate Director handling a portfolio of various local and international clients. She then moved up as the General Manager at OMD Pakistan where she helped setting the overall goals and teams for the business. While her forte has been communication and media, she has also been involved with key research and consulting projects like The National Readership Survey in 2007 and the Media Habits Consumption Survey in 2010. She is currently the Head of Media at Unilever Pakistan, where she leads the media function and continues to deliver brilliant media innovations across brands. On a personal level, she loves traveling, instagramming and is an active Chess player.

A passionate story teller with over 11 years of expertise of traditional and digital advertising, Dawer Bukhari has been part of synergy, Adcom leo burnett and is currently leading DDB's Creative team as a creative director to bring about a revolution in human behavior and perceptions through 360 degree campaigns with a strong focus on cultural insights.

Amena Khan, CEO of DreamTeam Films is an established tier-1 commercial Film Director and a leading brand name in Pakistan’s media, she has been actively working in various fields of media professionally since 1992, in varying roles including director, actor, editor, anchor, voice-actor, producer, colorist. She has deftly handled varying film genres, formats and treatment styles over the years with a unique flair, continues to build image and create communications for leading corporate brands and has launched successful careers of well-known music stars, both within Pakistan & internationally. She has extensive shooting experience with large and small crew strengths in Pakistan, Thailand, Dubai, London, Paris, Melbourne, Singapore, KL. She constantly takes on challenges, loves to experiment and keeps setting new industry standards.

Syed Shahzad Shah is the Executive Vice President, Marketing & Corporate Communications at Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL), the leading ICT company in Pakistan. Being a seasoned marketer with over 20 years of professional experience, he has held various marketing leadership and strategic positions in telecom, banking and advertising industry. At PTCL, Shahzad took the brand to the next level by transforming it from a telecommunication provider to a lifestyle brand. As a result, PTCL was declared the ‘Fastest Growing Brand in Pakistan’ for 2017 by Brand Finance, a UK based brand evaluation authority. In his previous roles, Shahzad held key leadership positions as Head of Marketing in ABN AMRO Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), and Head of Communications at Faysal Bank.

Sumera has worked for Reckitt Benckiser Pakistan, Unilever Pakistan, Ismail Industries Ltd and Hemas Consumer Brands over the past 20 years, in the areas of Marketing, Sales, Supply Chain and general management. Currently she heads the Alkaram Studio division of Alkaram Textile Mills Ltd, balancing the diverse requirements of a fashion house, retail chain and manufacturing business. Bringing order out of chaos is her forte.She still reads printed books.

Nabhan Shah Karim is Head of Media Productions at Institute of Business Management (IoBM). Nabhan, has completed his bachelors in film and television from Indiana University, Bloomington and Masters in filmmaking from Kingston University, London. Before returning to Pakistan in 2013, Nabhan interned at CNN on their show AC360 with Anderson Cooper and was a Field Producer for a sports show on the Big Ten Network. Nabhan has produced and directed TVCs and DVCs for various national and multi-national brands since the past 7 years and has currently launched Pakistan’s first platform for media freelancers, Crew Hire.

I have 12 plus years of experience in marketing and sales with this quest starting with Reckitt Benckiser in 2006 and since then I have worked at GSK Consumer Healthcare, Engro Foods and National Foods Limited, a journey through which I have had the privilege of managing household brands like Olper’s Milk, National Recipe Mixes, Dettol, Horlicks and Omore. I have an MBA from IBA Karachi and an MSc in International Marketing from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. I am currently heading the marketing for the Spice Division for both local and international markets at National Foods.

Over the last 18 years of my career I have worked in a range of agency and client side roles across different markets in Asia, from Pakistan to UAE and then stints in Singapore and more recently in Malaysia. From working with the big global media agencies to managing marketing roles on the client side within the telco and travel sectors, I have helped to deliver increased accountability and value for clients and internal marketing teams. Bringing objectivity into marketing decision making and creating planning frameworks driven by data and consumer insights is what keeps me going!

Adnan dreamed of becoming an architect. Always. Advertising was never on the radar; at best a vague blip on the periphery. Fate obviously had other plans. Passion for Architecture veered off into design territory and, 25 years later, with experience of delivering award-winning communication solutions for top tier local and multi-national brands, he is now Chief Innovation Officer at Adcom Leo Burnett/Zenith. Under his leadership as Creative Director, and then Chief Creative Officer, Adcom built a formidable reputation as a creative powerhouse, winning the highest number of local awards in the past two decades. He has been an active proponent of bridging the academic and professional design fields, teaching communication and architectural design, authoring articles for trade publications, as well as jurying at academic and industry awards. Design craft has been a life-long fascination and as an avid watercolourist, he believes nothing can soothe and inspire the mind better than laying-down the perfect wash!

The Beginning: Nadia Jaffer was introduced to the world of marketing and communication when she entered IBA. When she left with a Master’s degree in hand, she knew she had found her calling for Marketing. Mindshare Chapter: Her stint at Mindshare lasted 6 years. With an aim for focused learning, she grew the ranks in Mindshare from strength to strength. She had joined as an Assistant Media Planner. By the time she left she was a Corporate Business Director and boasted a portfolio that included Unilever, Pepsi, National Foods, Engro Foods and Gillette HBL Chapter: Armed with an insight into consumer habits and behaviors, Nadia launched products for financial inclusion for the unbanked sector of Pakistan which included the payment solution giant Konnect and brought women to the banking fold as well through the HBL Nisa platform. Along with that she spearheaded the customer engagement efforts put behind bringing HBLPSL to life when it began for the first time in Pakistan in 2016.   Every year she leads the team that makes HBLPSL customer engagement bigger and better, where this year all matches will be held on home ground for the nation’s love of cricket. Outside of her career, Nadia is mother to 2 spunky little girls and enjoys travelling. She is a firm believer in the saying “when life gives you lemons, make some fantastic lemonade!”

Naim is an International Marketer with a 16 years experience in Building Brands across North Africa region. He managed reputable brands @ Henkel and The Coca-Cola Company in both Strategy and Communication sides. Naim defines himself as Brand Strategist, Communication Architect, Connections Designer and Content Creator.

A result-oriented Project Manager with over 17 years’ experience in managing multiple campaigns for multi-national advertising and marketing agencies; optimizing processes by employing Project Management and Quality Management principles, as well as managing teams. A specialist in all things involving resource, budget, operations, retail and brand activation; traditional, digital and online campaign management. Clients handled include British American Tobacco, Coca-Cola, Twitter, Apple, Mobily, Etisalat, Unilever, American Express, Colgate and Chevrolet.

He was working at Ammirati Puris Lintas, Saatchi & Saatchi, DDB and he was ECD at JWT. After this, he set up the independent ad agency White Rabbit Budapest where he has been working for more than ten years. His work has been awarded at D&AD, Cannes Lions, One Show, Clio, LIA, ADC, Immortal Awards, New York Festivals, Webby Awards, Epica and he won a dozen Effies – including a Grand Prix. He was jury member at One Show, New York Festivals, Webby Awards, Cannes Young Lions, AdStars, Mobius Awards, Cresta. He is member of D&AD, The One Club and The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.

Farheen joined Unilever as a Management Trainee in 1998 right out of college. She has worked in a number of categories across both Home & Personal Care category leading brands like Lux, Fair & Lovely & Lifebuoy. She then joined the Wall’s Ice Cream business as Head of Marketing & Sales. Farheen spent 2014-15 in Turkey as Brand Development Director Ice Cream North Africa, Middles East & Turkey. She worked with the global team and crafted an innovation & communication program for the portfolio that was instrumental in bringing the NAMET ice cream business back to sustained double-digit growth. She joined the Unilever Pakistan Board upon her return in 2016 as Foods & Refreshment lead. She is also a board member of the Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited. Farheen is a mother to two boys and believes her life is extremely energetic due to having two pre-teens in her life! Farheen prides herself on her purpose of life which is “Unapologetic drive to create a “WOW” balance!”

Ejaz is Head of Media Studies and Sr. Fellow Marketing at the Institute of Business Management (IoBM) since January, 2011. He has industry experience of just over 37 years in the fields of Marketing, Corporate Communications and Advertising, and has worked with leading MNCs and local companies, including Unilever, Gillette, Philips, Orient McCann-Erickson and UBL. He has worked overseas with Gillette in Brazil, and in UAE where he was working as Marketing Manager Gillette Middle-East from 1992-1994. He has contributed articles on Marketing-related subjects to publications such as MAP’s Marketing Review and Aurora – a publication of the Herald Group, over many years. He has also been on the Council of the Marketing Association of Pakistan (MAP) for about 15 years and was its President in 2005. He joined the Jury Panel of PAS at the time of launch of the Awards, and had been on the panel every year.

Imran Afzal is currently the CEO of VOWEL, a full-service advertising and digital communication agency with emphasis on creative & production. Before this, Imran was the CEO of JWT Pakistan from 2015 till 2018. With almost two decades of industry experience of working on brands like Coca-Cola, Unilever, Shell, Nestle, BAT, Pepsi, HBL, Ufone, Honda and many more, Imran is a specialist in the management of brand architecture and brand building, as well as a leading expert in Pakistani consumer psychology. Imran started his career at Publicis in 1999 with HP as his first client, there was no looking back since then and his career steered through McCann, Ogilvy, Evernew and landing him at JWT in 2009. In 2011 Imran was tasked to establish Walter Pakistan a division of WPP where he and his team won Pakistan’s first ever APAC Effie Award in 2013 for a Pepsi Pakistan campaign.

Azam Jalal Khan is a seasoned executive with over 17 years of experience in operations and strategic leadership in the technology and digital media industry. Equipped with Computer Science and Digital Marketing degrees, Azam has worked across multiple web/mobile platforms and IP based technologies. Gaining most of his experience at Rogers Communications Inc. in Toronto, Ontario, he has specialized in developing digital, interactive, social and e-commerce platforms across the North American and MENA markets. Upon moving back to Pakistan, Azam cofounded Digitz and spearheaded the startup to create one of the largest digital media agencies in Pakistan. Digitz has shaped into a full-service digital communications agency with a strong focus on technology. Azam is a tech junkie; a gadget head and a sky diver.

Hira Mohibullah, the most awarded female Creative Director in Pakistan, has been using the power of advertising to impact positive social change in the country. In the last three years, she has won more than 150 International Advertising Awards for her work, including Cannes Lions, Clios, D&AD, APAC Effies, Spikes Asia, Dubai Lynx, and more. Her most notable campaigns are UN Women's #BridalUniform (number 56 on the WARC100) and Berger’s “Truck Art Child Finder” that helped locate 7 missing children. Having previously worked at companies like Ogilvy and Leo Burnett in her 9 year career, Hira is currently working at BBDO Pakistan as Creative Director on brands such as PepsiCo. Besides being one of 15 women selected for the Cannes Lions 2019 See It Be It program, she has also spoken at TEDxLahore, been featured amongst the top industry female talent at The Vowss in 2018 (a Cannes Lions Fringe Event) and been on the jury for Mobius Awards, New York Festivals and Adstars.

An introvert creative thinker and a mom of a 2-year-old, Sarah Yaldram is the Cofounder/Partner and Creative Director at Firebolt63. Her passion to break the norms and take the road less traveled led her to start her own venture with some like-minded individuals back in 2009. She started in the business some 16 years ago, in account management - because of her creative and strategic thinking she was able to establish herself in the management position and found herself leading the Pepsi Account team at JWT. She has worked with some of the most prestigious brands of the industry which includes Pepsi, Tropicana, Aquafina, Warid Telecom, Orient Home Appliances, Tetra Pak, Hardee’s and Dayfresh to name a few. She has also worked for the Afghanistan market and launched Roshan Telecom 3G services. Sarah is always up for a challenge and has a seasoned perspective on delivering innovative and effective ideas. When not keeping busy with her work, you will find her role playing the avengers with her 2 year old and then on other days she loves to dabble in photography, reading and politics.

Yawar is currently at Publicis Media London, as Head of Consulting. Yawar has consulted for some of the worlds biggest brands in areas such as; Advertising Technology, Digital Marketing best practice, Programmatic and Business Management, his portfolio of clients past and present include P&G, Mercedes-Benz, Google, Visa, CitiBank and GSK to mention but a few. Yawar specialises in marketing technology and creating digital media efficiencies.

Aly Mustansir began his professional life with Unilever. He spent a significant part of his career with the company in Pakistan and abroad, and was responsible for major assignments including launch of Wall’s Ice Cream in Pakistan, turnaround of the Sri Lankan ice cream business, and relaunch of the 50-year old Lifebuoy brand. In 2006, Aly joined HBL (Habib Bank Limited) as Head of Marketing & Brand Management where he relaunched the brand with a new positioning and corporate identity, and centralized Marketing for all businesses of the bank across the globe. During his tenure, HBL was awarded the “Buzziest Brand” in the financial industry. In June 2013, Aly joined the Abu Dhabi Group in Pakistan as the Chief Marketing Officer of Bank Alfalah. He relaunched the Alfalah brand and restructured the marketing process and organization. In 2017, Bank Alfalah received a Superbrand nomination as well as other marketing awards including a PAS Award for Best Financial Services Campaign. As a Brand Consultant & Trainer, Aly advises and guides companies on building brands for business growth, optimizing marketing infrastructure and budgets, and using media effectively and efficiently. He also trains marketing teams on developing strong and insightful communication. Aly is also Director and CEO, Medialogic, Pakistan’s leading TAM company. Aly has served two terms as Chairman of the Pakistan Advertisers Society. The PAS Awards – now the Effie Awards – were launched during his first tenure. In addition, Aly serves on the jury of international marketing awards. He delivers lectures on Marketing and Branding to a variety of audiences within and outside Pakistan including countries in South and Far East Asia, Middle East, Africa and Europe. Aly has received various prestigious awards including the MAP Excellence Award for ‘Contribution to the field of Marketing Management’ in 2011, and ‘Asia’s Most Influential CMO’ by the World Brand Congress in 2015.

Mr. Mustansir is Head of Marketing of the Dabur Pakistan (Asian Consumer Care Pvt. Limited). He is currently responsible for the West Asian businesses of Pakistan and Afghanistan. He has led diverse teams across Middle East and West Asia. He has worked for some of the world’s most respected brand building companies including Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser and now Dabur International, over the last 18 years. He has driven businesses and brands to growth in categories as diverse as Margarine, Edible oils, Hair Care and Consumer Health. During his service at Dabur, mainly in International markets, he has played an instrumental role in spearheading many of the company’s significant milestones such as entering categories like oral care and Shampoo in the middle east and growing West Asian business with brands like Hajmola, Dabur Amla Hair oil and Vatika.

Being a part of the industry of Marketing and Communication for over 17 years, Raheel Yousuf is currently working as the Head of Marketing at Bank Alfalah. Prior to joining Bank Alfalah, Raheel has worked as Head of Corporate Brand, Digital Marketing & Research at HBL and before that as Head of Strategy & Account Management at Group M. A storyteller by nature, Raheel has brought brands to life through brand innovation and creativity on multiple fronts. With an experience flavor from both brand and advertising agency side in communication, strategy and digital architecture, he is a thorough Marketeer who possesses the ability to convert marketing ideation into revenue generating results.

Currently managing the business portfolio for Ogilvy in Karachi and Islamabad. It was 13 years ago when Naved began his adventures in Advertising. The journey started with an internship at Contract Advertising (a WPP Company) and quickly realized that he had stumbled upon what he was destined to pursue. The big bad world of advertising is where he belonged. Completing over a decade in this industry, working for agencies such as Mullen Lowe and Adcom Leo Burnett, on Multinational and local brands such as Unilever, Engro Foods, EBM, Mondelez, Bank Al Falah, Shan, Telenor and many more, his passion for building brands, nourishing teams, seeing campaigns roll out and helping brands grow is just as strong.

Nadeem Farooq Paracha is a historian, author and cultural critic. He writes for Pakistan’s largest English language daily, DAWN. Paracha has authored four best-selling books on the social history of Pakistan. He also heads the Ideas department at Adcom Leo Burnett. This department works as a bridge between the strategy and creative departments. His association with Adcom began in 2005 and continues to this day.

Rashna believes that creativity is based on two things: empathy and perspective. And so, everything she does is imbued with both. She actively seeks out creative energy, be it people, experiences or places. In her own words “Nothing drains my soul more than repetition, so switching up my day to day also helps to keep my gears turning.” She has worked with some of the biggest and favorite brand names in the industry; doing everything from giving the creative direction to some of the most memorable (and business building) campaigns over the last two decades, to concept writing and overseeing productions, from styling shoots to building websites and creating brand books. In between all of that she collaborated on a hit feature film screenplay, learnt French and discovered yoga. She strives to drive contemporary and progressive ideas though the agency creative team she heads across three offices – the largest in the country. Rashna's ideal client is a tastemaker and thought leader in their industry – with a clear-cut vision of their brand identity but also willing to tell their story in new ways and push the envelope.

He started his career in advertising by chance and worked as an Account Manager in an ATL agency for 18 months, then moved to a BTL agency for just over another year. He spent his good 3 years in JWT as an Account Director and over 4 years in Lowe and Rauf and last 4 years and over again in Manhattan International as a General Manager. Currently, he is expanding his personal portfolio and invested in an international fast food franchise and opening outlets around the malls in Pakistan.

As a seasoned Strategic Marketing & Media Specialist, I am currently involved in a leadership role where I am devising business strategies, directing teams and leading key strategic initiatives. My career spans over 15 years within the marketing, media and advertising fields. Throughout my career, I have maintained an excellent track record in gaining market share, optimizing profitability and transforming an underperforming business into a profitable one. During this period, I have earned a reputation for exceeding annual business targets, and have accomplished unprecedented growth while spearheading Pakistan`s three leading media agencies (Mindshare, MediaCom and MSix) for more than a decade. I have proven abilities in leading various business-related negotiations with sound expertise in winning contracts and closing deals with major clients on favorable terms. I have also been instrumental in the design and implementation of innovative solutions that resulted in increased business performance whilst simultaneously delivering significant cost savings. From launching brands to executing strategies and taking initiatives to meet the desired targets, I have developed a strong portfolio with many accomplishments and some of the industry`s top awards and accolades.

Khurram is a passionate marketing professional with 11 plus years of sound experience across MNCs and local conglomerates in handling marketing functions, consumer marketing strategies, in-depth 360 degree marketing plans, product development & consumer insights. From strategic thinking to innovation, he has driven exponential growth in businesses ranging from personal care, food and nutrition. Has a strong business acumen to optimize business performance delivering top line and bottom line growth creating profitable brands. He started his career with Abbott in the Consumer Healthcare segment looking after brands like Mospel and has since worked at various positions in the marketing functions of Abbott Nutrition (METAP region) and Al Shaheer Foods. Currently, he is the Head of Marketing & Strategy at ICI Pakistan and Morinaga Japan Nutrition JV, NutriCo, which operates in the business of manufacturing and marketing of the international nutrition brand MORINAGA. Beyond work, Khurram is a food lover and has a zeal for travelling. He is passionate about improving the nutrition needs of underprivileged children. By education, Khurram attained a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Institute of Business Administration (IBA) in 2008.

Ali has cross-functional media experience working across markets, agencies and a wide variety of sectors (FMCG, energy, automotive, consumer electronics, telcos, e-commerce, and more). He believes in work that delivers business results and is passionate about mobile, right-data (not big-data) and marketing automation. He led Optimedia from being a conflict house into the fastest growing agency brand in Malaysia with 10 new biz wins in 2 years. Then, cloned that success for P1 clients by leading Strategy & MarTech functions at Publicis One Malaysia winning GSK, Nestlé, Campbell’s and Mondelez in 2018. Now, he leads Media Investments and Digital Acceleration for Nestlé in Pakistan.

Working as both the Executive Creative Director & the Head of Strategy at Ogilvy Pakistan, Assam Khalid is one of the most prolific advertising award winners in the region, having won more than 300 international industry accolades in the last 4 years alone - including 2 Gold Cannes Lions. He is the #1 Strategic Planning Director in Pakistan & MENA and is one of the top 3 in the world as ranked by the Big Won Report in 2015. Armed with a Masters degree in Advertising from the University of Texas at Austin and over a decade of experience in creative communication, Assam has a real passion for creating disruptive ideas. His projects include “Beat Me”, “The World’s First Billbed” and ”Not A Bug Splat," that is displayed at the Tate UK and was recognized as one of the top 100 marketing campaigns by Warc in 2016. He has served on Juries for a number of international advertising award shows such as Spikes Asia, New York Festival, Mobius Awards, etc. and has been a speaker at the Dubai Lynx and the Spikes Asia Interna-tional Festivals of Creativity. He has also been a speaker at the University of Oxford and the London School of Economics and frequently guest lectures at various universities across Pakistan. He has also been an instructor at the Lahore University of Management Sciences’ Rausing Executive Development Centre and has been invited to give many talks including 2 TEDx talks.

Asif is Chief Commercial Officer of Jazz, Pakistan’s leading telecom operator with over 60 million subscribers. Asif led the rebrand of Mobilink to JAZZ, which was a more customer focused brand. He was then instrumental in the merger of Jazz and Warid, having successfully transferred the brand equity of Warid to build a new, reinvigorated Jazz brand. Asif has over 25 years of experience in telecom organisations across Europe, Africa and Middle East. He is a specialist in launching services in technologically challenged & emerging markets. Asif is a British national, with master’s degree in business Administration from Ashridge Management School, UK. Additionally, Asif is a Chartered Marketer having gained his certification in 1997. He is a global citizen having lived in multiple countries. He is fluent in English, Urdu and has a basic proficiency of Arabic and French.

Usman Muneer is the Managing Director at Beiersdorf Pakistan Ltd, makers of the iconic cosmetic brands Nivea and Eucerin. Usman has a rich experience managing FMCG businesses in Pakistan, Middle East and Africa over the last 15 years. Till 2018 he was the Managing Director at Mondelez Pakistan Ltd, before which he worked for P&G in Pakistan, Dubai and South Africa, managing iconic brands like H&S, Safeguard and Pampers. He has also served on the ExCom of the American Business Council Pakistan. He is a graduate of LUMS and GIKI. He is a keen contributor to talent development and has contributed to top business schools through seminars on Marketing, Advertising and Career Management.

With a major in Philosophy, Farah started her career as a banker. But when she moved to Chicago in the 90s, the dot com boom was in full swing. She switched industries and hasn’t looked back since. Passion and innovation are the driving factors in all Farah does - to look at brands and see potential where none existed, or to make them the best that they can be. Be it rebranding exercises, traditional marketing campaigns, app creation, social media strategy or simply trend-spotting - these are the drivers of a perfect daily diet for Farah. Currently obsessing over ‘disruptive innovation,’ Farah lives in Karachi and has run her own brand consultancy with a rich array of clients based in the US, Singapore, Malaysia, the UAE and Pakistan. Currently, she is working as Group Head – Marketing & Communications, TPL Group.

With 16 years of experience in marketing with leading companies (The Coca-Cola Company, Procter & Gamble) across diverse markets (Pakistan & Middle East). Always curious to discover and learn. Change leader with strong business acumen. Passionate practitioner of achieving results through strategy and disruptive thinking. Committed to helping people to fulfill their potential.

A prominent, sought after entrepreneur, consultant trainer, and marketing researcher, Maryam Wazirzada is dedicated towards helping organizations unleash the untapped potential of their teams since the past 20 years. Her current strategic focus is on her marketing research business and along with that Maryam and her business partner, also happen to be the only women in Pakistan who also own a brand activation firm. Besides being a marketing consultant, Maryam has been passionate about corporate training for the past 18 years. She is also one of the Managing Partners for FranklinCovey Pakistan, which is a franchise for the largest brand in the world of human and organizational development. Maryam is a senior consultant for FranklinCovey Pakistan where her expertise allows her to make a difference in the training and HR world.

Khadija Hashimi is currently Head, Corporate Affairs and Brand & Marketing with Standard Chartered Bank, Karachi, Pakistan and is a member of the Bank’s Country Management Team, responsible for driving commerce and prosperity through the Bank’s unique diversity. Khadija’s career with Standard Chartered Bank over the past 21 years has been one of progressively increasing responsibilities built around Brand, Communications incl. internal and external focused on crisis, media and public affairs, Change Management, Coaching, Culture, Diversity & Inclusion, Governance, HR, Learning and Development, Operational and Reputational Risk and Team Dynamics. In her current role, Khadija builds narrative internally and externally with stakeholders including media, community, clients, regulators and government, and profiles the Bank through marketing the Bank’s products, services and business segments through disruptive and client focused interventions. Khadija is additionally a Member, D&I Council as well as the Chairperson of the Sexual Harrassment committee at the Bank. She represents the Bank on the CSR committee of the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce & Industry and is a certified facilitator for IFC’s Women on Boards training programme.

Sohail Ansar is Vice President of Omnicom Media Group Pakistan and Manhattan International (Pvt.) Ltd. A veteran of the media and marketing world, Mr. Ansar comes with a wealth of experience from the FMCG and Media Industries. He served as the CEO and Executive Director of GroupM Pakistan for the past 14 years and was associated with Unilever Pakistan for 18 years prior to that.

Ms. Raeda Latif has 20 years of experience in the areas of Strategic Marketing, Brand Building, Corporate Communications and Digital Strategy. Ms. Raeda has held senior positions at various corporates including Faysal Bank, UBL Fund Managers, PMEX, IGI Financial Services, Union Bank, Cyber Internet Services and Habib Oil Mills. She holds an MBA (Double Majors in Marketing and IT) and a Master’s Degree in English. She is a Certified Director from PICG and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (MCIM), UK. Ms. Raeda is also a Visiting Faculty Member (Marketing and Brand Management) at Karachi University, IBA, SZABIST and Greenwich University.

Ehtisham is the General Manager at Candyland Pakistan. Being the head of marketing of Pakistan’s leading confectionary, he oversees a diverse portfolio of more than 50 brands spread across 10 categories. Ehtisham has a versatile commercial background with a forte in marketing strategy and innovation management at several multinational and local companies like J&J, Abbott Consumer, Tapal and Engro Foods. During the course his career, he has had the opportunity to lead marketing functions for different markets in the MENA region. His credentials also include experience in retail excellence and revenue growth management. Ehtisham is passionate about giving back to the community through his teaching efforts at different business schools. He is a keen golfer and an avid reader.

Currently the Managing Director & CEO of L’Oréal Pakistan, Junaid is the youngest Country Managing Director in the L’Oréal world. With an accelerated professional career in sales and marketing spanning over 12 years between Unilever and L’Oréal, Junaid is an avid marketer with strong experience of brand communication & strategy, digital marketing, product development and business modelling and has won Marketing campaign accolades locally and internationally. He has worked in Pakistan and the global headquarters of L’Oréal in Paris France, heading brand development for 24+ countries. Apart from his day job, Junaid is a filmmaking and photography enthusiast and believes in the power of brands and businesses with purpose. His obsession is to bring Pakistan and its people to the global stage with their immense potential!

Narmeen Khan joined Mondelez in Pakistan in 2005 from Unilever where she successfully developed and grew the chocolate business by 25% CAGR, 2005-2013 and led Cadbury Dairy Milk to its current market leader status of one of the most loved brands within the country. In 2014 Narmeen moved to Dubai in a regional role looking after Cadbury Chocolate portfolio for the MEA region. Her notable contributions include development and introduction of chocolate innovations namely Bubbly, Marvelous Creations, CDM Oreo, Share bags and 5Star in the MEA region. She progressed through a number of senior category positions before taking on her current assignment where she moved back to Pakistan in Oct 2018 as Managing Director for Mondelez Pakistan business.

Amna Khatib Paracha is a veteran of the media industry and has been part of the communication world since the last 18+ years. She started he career with Interflow moving to Joining Mindshare in 2001. Where she joined as a Media planner and then climbed the ranks to Head of Corporate Planning Business. From MS, in 2008 Amna moved to MediaCom (now Starcom). In 2009, she joined Universal McCann - the media arm of Orient McCann in the capacity of COO and started and led the media business. In 2011, Amna shifted careers from Traditional communication planning to Digital planning when she joined Converge Technology and led the digital business in the capacity of Vice President of the company. Under her leadership the company rose to one of the top Digital agencies of Pakistan working on Unilever, Nestle and Mobilink digital businesses. Amna re-Joined GroupM in 2014 and established the Digital arm for GroupM. GroupM works across all the group agencies in Pakistan, and is now the leading Digital agency in Pakistan. For their achievements in 2016 & 17, they also won Campaign Asia "GOLD" Digital agency of Pakistan along with outshining the SAF GroupM agencies by being crowned the New ME award winner. Amna's expertise is spread across Brand and Communication Strategic planning, Innovation and Ideation in Traditional and Digital media. Setting up successful business operations, Trainings and business development.

An optimist at heart and an entrepreneur by choice. After graduating from LUMS with an MBA, Saad spent most of his career working with large multinational corporations namely ICI Pakistan, Shell Pakistan, Telenor and Mobilink before jumping onto the entrepreneurship band wagon! Saad founded Activemedia in 2010. The company experienced exponential growth since its inception and is now perceived by many to be the leading activation and events agency in Pakistan. In his personal life, he loves to play with his two kids and rides a motorcycle with friends on the weekends.

As EBM's Head of Marketing, Ayesha Janjua takes the lead in managing a portfolio of 16 brands. As part of the executive leadership, she is also involved in critical decision-making processes, business growth strategy, innovation, planning and implementation. She has over 15 years of expertise in core marketing functions with a focus on brand building and development. From personal care to food brands, Ayesha has led marketing functions at several multinational and national companies.

Ahsan Shamim is Head of Digital & Business Operations at MSD Norway (www.msd.com). MSD (referred as Merck in the United States and Canada) is one the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Ahsan is part of leadership team at MSD Norway and is responsible for the digital transformation agenda at the company. Ahsan is an enthusiastic global digital practitioner, with strong marketing and digital expertise from different industries. Ahsan started his career in the FMCG industry before moving to Telenor Pakistan where he worked for 5 years in both its GSM & financial services businesses. Later he moved to its headquarters in Norway to work for Telenor Digital as Global Brand Manager. His last stint before moving to MSD was at Ekornes ASA, one of the largest home product companies in the world, as Head of Digital Marketing & eCommerce. Over his career, Ahsan has built a strong track record of developing marketing & digital strategies, based on strong consumer insights and leveraging data and analytics.

A business-first strategist with cross-functional media and digital experience who has worked across markets, agencies and a wide variety of businesses. A strong believer of mobile, data and marketing automation. In my 15+ years of professional career, I have worked on 75+ top brands and campaigns across Pakistan and Middle East. My core expertise include Integrated Comms Planning, Digital and Performance Marketing. I have invested my past two years heavily on driving business results through media and communication for one of the most challenging region on the world map.

Hassaan Sherwani has over 12 years of brand management, Business Development and Corporate strategy experience. He has worked with leading MNCs and national conglomerate, where he has lead brand team and strategy teams. He is currently working in Pak-Elektron as Head of Marketing, E-commerce and corporate strategy, E-commerce platform his rated amongst top 5 nationally. Previously his team re-aligned Engro Corporation vision 2025 that led to formation of JV on Engro-Foods and diversifying corporation energy footprint. Hassan serves as executive council member of PAS and Board of Director LUMS Alumni Association.

Azim is an international marketing expert who has successfully build profitable brands/businesses across Asia, Central Eastern Europe & Nordic region. Currently on special assignment from Telenor Group HO, he is heading marketing for Telenor in Myanmar. In specific context to Pakistani marketplace, he has been the man behind launch of Ufone & later Telenor. In a career spanning almost 25 years, Azim has successfully served on multiple global positions & launched multiple startups in different countries covering telecom, entertainment, banking, and retailing industry. Passionate about building brands and people, Azim is driven by new challenges and change! Azim has been part of Effie Jury since 2018.

Rifat Sabzwari has been one of the very few research professionals in Pakistan servicing top end multinationals and national companies with an impeccable service record. Rifat has over 22 years of experience of working with top companies and experts and as a lead researcher for renowned research companies of Pakistan. During her career she has had the opportunity to work with almost every major research agency of the country as well as some agencies from outside Pakistan. Her area of expertise is customized research, primarily on the qualitative front, and she has provided qualitative research solutions to clients such as Pakistan Tobacco, Unilever Pakistan, Colgate Palmolive, Coke, Pepsi, Social Marketing and Nestle. She has serviced major sectors including FMCGs, Automobiles, Edibles, Financial, Pharmaceutical, Social Marketing, Petroleum, Tobacco and Media. Besides research she is also responsible for developing/executing the company’s business strategies, ensuring company’s policies, overseeing the financial performance investments and other business ventures. She also acts as the public speaker and public relations representative of the company in ways that strengthen the profile.

Umair Anwar is an award winning creative and video artist based in Lahore. He has more than nine-year experience of working at Ogilvy, handling the Coca-Cola portfolio for Pakistan. With expertise in both visual storytelling and design, he is now running his own company called “We Are Transmedia” and he is working as a design consultant for Coca-Cola MENA region. Umair is also the first award winning GIF artist of Pakistan; showcasing his work in New York, San Francisco, Japan, Brazil and Dubai.

A progressive man with a decorated career, rearing the advertising landscape into the digital era; Junaid is the personification of “new age”. He has experienced and enabled, first-hand, the transformation of conventional to digital media in the span of his 18-year-old career. Junaid has a strong instinct when it comes to the business vision. Constant vigilance over evolution and a keen understanding of its impact make him the ideal individual to do what he does best; transform and empower organizations with talent, tools, and technology. Countless successful ventures have taken off under his wing; He is the co-founder of IO Digital under which he has won several distinguished digital businesses; Nokia, Zong, and Engro Corporation are just a few of them. He also managed to globalize the business by successfully expanded operations in key markets. Prior to IO, he represented Isobar, a full-service digital agency, Posterscope, a Digital OOH company, and D2D, an econometric modeling specialist brand under Dentsu Aegis Network, to build client’s footprint across capabilities due to ever-changing consumer convergence. In 2012, he won Carat affiliation and successfully managed to retain an integrated media business of Global clients like Nokia & Philips in the market. His efforts and achievements were recognized across the board and earned him the honor of winning two distinguished network awards for Best Strategy & Best Productivity, by Nokia Global Management Team at Carat. Junaid has a strong focus on the strategy, innovation, and business value that brands are looking for across markets. He has an in-depth understanding of the everchanging digital landscape and he ensures that it is permeated through IO’s work in the market. Openness to adapt new things and enthusiasm to learn makes Junaid what he is today. He is constantly exploring new territories, in business and in the physical world too, his love for travel sparks his inspiration. Despite having a notorious reputation for being a workaholic, Junaid is most content when he is surrounded by his family and loved ones. His business acumen and passion for professional growth is reflected in his accomplishments and has established his position as a thriving entrepreneur.

With a professional career in marketing and digital market spanning over 16years and having worked in the Asian sub-continent, the Middle East and Europe, Adeel has vast knowledge of Digital content understanding that ranges from social media platforms and ecommerce to new eBuisness start ups and storytelling.

Mohammad Jerjees Seja, also known as JJ, is one of the most prominent figures in the television and media industry of Pakistan. A business graduate from Greenwich University, he has been passionate about media from the start. Highly motivated and with an entrepreneurial spirit, he began his career over two decades ago as Head of Research and Media at Interflow Communications (an Ogilvy and Mather affiliate). Progressing to Head of Media at Orient Advertising (a McCann Erickson affiliate), working with major brands both local and international. Yet it was during his tenure at Evernew Entertainment that JJ found his true passion for Television. Producing and Marketing some of the most successful and groundbreaking drama serials in the history of the industry. Productions such as Kabhi Kabhi Pyar Mein, Chandni Raatein and Mehndi. Which went on to make record breaking sales and winning multiple awards. With the arrival of satellite television in Pakistan, JJ transitioned to ARY Digital Network, a union that proved to be a monumental success story. Here he oversaw the complete operations for ARY Digital Network, and after proving his mantle, he was promoted to CEO. During his tenure, JJ has brought together a versatile team of professionals, who under his leadership have played a vital role in making ARY Digital Network a powerhouse and the largest media enterprise in Pakistan, at the forefront of which is the highly successful flagship entertainment channel ARY Digital. JJ’s contributions to the network’s growth and record breaking revenue has been exponential. Backed by research driven programming his successes in the industry has been unmatched. As an expert in the Media Business, JJ also spearheads three production houses, which develop majority of the quality content for ARY Digital today. Among his many successes in the television industry, some of the most well-known are Jeeto Pakistan, Good Morning Pakistan, Bulbulay, Pyaray Afzal, Qudusi Sab Ki Bewa, Do Bol, Chup Raho, Dil Moam Ka Diya, Shan-e-Ramadan Transmissions and mega events like ARY Film Awards, The Musik Awards, ARY Feast etc. Expanding on his success in the television industry, JJ played an instrumental role in developing the ARY Film’s division for the network, whereby he led the team into the recent growth in the film industry. ARY Films has been at the forefront in the rebirth of cinema in Pakistan and its subsequent success. Under the banner of ARY Films, JJ has brought forward record breaking films such as Jawani Phir Nahi Ani (1&2) and Punjab Nahi Jaungi, as well as overseeing the marketing of various well known films.

Faisal Sheikh is a Director with Z2C Pakistan and prefers anonymity because of rare genetic mutation, resulting in strong propensity to be opinionated about changes in consumer behavior and media landscape. When clearer thoughts prevail, tries to lead the Digital & Data practice for his employer. He can be found on LinkedIn under the title Jack of Digital. Tweets once in a while, usually related to irritation caused by national politics.

With a career spanning over 25 years in advertising, journalism, development, government and the corporate sector - Anjum is a strategic communication expert and sustainability champion with unique insights into campaign design, execution and stakeholder engagement. Selected experience Telebiz (CNBC-Asia), Lowe, CNN, Express News, the Canadian High Commission, Telenor, the Worldbank, Jazz and Khaadi.

With over 15yrs of Global consumer goods experience, Umar is one of the top marketing leaders globally and in Pakistan. He has lived and led marketing teams in Pakistan, Singapore, London, Istanbul and South Africa, globally leading businesses in south asia, Europe, Central Asia, north and latin America and developing markets in africa, managing brands like Lifebuoy, Dove, Axe, Rexona, Cif, Huggies, to name a few. His last corporate role was sr global director for Rexona and Axe at Unilever Plc. Passionate about ideas, technology, problem solving and brands with purpose, Umar founded ctt.agency in 2018, in a very short time, today, it’s the top choice agency for multiple blue chip brands.

With an interest in theatre and films, advertising as an option seemed like a great adventure for Shakeel Hasan. Shakeel started his career with JWT in 2003 as an intern, after dropping out of both IBA and LUMS, and stayed on for around 7 years to win numerous clients for JWT, which included brands like Pepsi, and Mobilink. After heading the most prestigious portfolio with brands Pepsi, Mobilink, Engro Foods, Unilever, Shell etc., Shakeel parted ways with JWT to lead Red Communications, a local partner agency to Publicis worldwide, as National Creative Director. A two year hiatus and successful client wins like PSO, Tetrapak amongst others at Red Communucations, Shakeel Hasan rejoined JWT in the capacity of ECD Karachi and led the complete portfolio of the agency in Pakistan with the best creative minds as part of his team. Shakeel’s last rendezvous was an idea and production camp which he founded with likeminded partners to focus on an end to end communication solution while spreading the creative wings to other art forms like feature films and television content. Shakeel’s current assignment includes heading the creative portfolio for M&C Saatchi Pakistan for the past 3 years where the agency has grown to cement its position as a truly global network agency in the Pakistan’s advertising scape. An avid traveller, Shakeel is a people's person by nature with observation being his favorite pass time, Shakeel has a keen understanding of his surroundings, the people in it and how to mould their perception.

Naveed has over 24 years of experience in Marketing, Market Research, BTL & Management Consultancy. He has strong leadership, analytical, interpersonal, team management and team building skills and has worked with leading companies like Unilever, HBL, Nielsen, Philip Morris, Gallup International - as both research supplier & Research user, across Pakistan, UAE & Egypt. He has led & Completed different types of large scale, multi country and challenging projects. Naveed has also worked on wide range of FMCG products (tobacco, foods, beverages, chocolates, detergents, oil n ghee, skin care, hair care, oral care, ice cream, etc.), banking n finance, telecom, tourism, Government n NGOs, Automotive, Advertising, Healthcare, etc.

The Cofounder and Managing director of Alavi.ai. Alavi is a leading AI platform that helps companies scale by better targeting and optimization.20+ years in Tech, Marketing, Analytics and digital transformation. Holds a Msc in Information technology. World prize winning lecture for Digital strategy. An active participant in the digital marketing community speaks at Digital marketing workshops and conferences.

Islam has been the driving force behind some of Coca-Cola's most successful and impactful campaigns ever produced in the region, including 3 of the 4 most viewed Coke films of all time, globally. His obsession with creating genuinely clutter-breaking work has seen him rise through the ranks at Coke, from Brand Manager on Sprite and Fanta to his current role as Integrated Marketing Communications Manager across The Coca-Cola Company's entire portfolio of brands. He is driven by ideas that achieve results, an approach that has seen his work awarded both creatively and strategically, in the region and across the world.

Qashif Effendi has over 24 years’ international experience of working at CEO, Director and General Management positions in multinationals in the MENA and South Asia regions. He has worked with Chevron, Philips, Unilever, Tetley, Abu Dhabi National Industrial Projects Co., UAE and currently as CEO at Reem Rice Mills (Pvt.) Ltd, a 100% multinational JV of Al Ghurair UAE and Al Mohaidib KSA. Brands like Philips Whirlpool, Dalda Cooking Oil, Brooke Bond Supreme, Tetley and Reem achieved tremendous growth during his stewardship. He is an alumnus of IBA with a passion for learning. He has been a visiting faculty at IBA, Szabist and CBM for over 13 years teaching Brand Management, Marketing, Advertising and Technopreneurship. Voted as one of 100 top performing company CEO’s in 2017 by CEO Club Pakistan, he is an advisor to the Board of WE-NET (Pakistan Women Entrepreneurs Network for Trade).

A communication planning and strategic management expert with over 16 years of experience, Umair is the Chief Operating Officer at Blitz. He has been a Blitz Man for over 10 years and has worked with an array of multinational and local clients for creative, digital and conventional media, content, activations and public relations. As a firm believer in knowledge sharing, he mentors future leaders through School of Leadership, trains young marketers as a subject area expert at British Council’s DICE, and also works with top business schools as an adjunct faculty for Marketing, Advertising & Media Science programs. Umair has previously been associated with Hip Media, Leo Burnett and DDB in Pakistan.

15 years of solid experience with shaping top bands like Mountain Dew, 7up, Kurkure, Pepsi, Nestle, Engro Foods, Warid, Coca Cola, Candy land and many more Ali Zaidi has also steered top campaigns which have left their mark on the industry. He belongs to a rare breed of project managers who have command over creative and strategy too. "Mana lo food ka Love", "Dew Moto extreme", " Remake the boxer", "Launch of Nido Bunyaad", "Re Launch of Pepsi Battle of the Bands" are some of the well-known projects Ali has delivered. With a habit of launching new projects Ali is right now a managing partner at a production house that deals both in branded and none branded content. "

Curiosity is my fundamental trait and I continue to learn. This quotation by Da Vinci is with loads of humility is also the definition of my life, with the slight change he studied environment and nature I focus on people.

"I roamed the countryside searching for answers to things I did not understand. Why shells exist on the tops of mountains along with imprints of plants usually found in the sea. Why thunder lasts longer than that which causes it. How circles of water form around the spot which has been struck by a stone, and how a bird suspends itself in the air. Questions like these engaged my thought throughout my life" Leonardo Da Vinci

After spending 27 years in market research in various roles took and early retirement from the role of chairperson Kantar. Now I am focusing on social research and learning to teach; loving this phase of life as I did my previous one and hope to do something new everyday.

Sarwar Khan has been in the media/advertising industry for almost 20 years and is currently heading Maxus Pakistan, a GroupM company. He started his career in 1999 with MullenLowe as a media planner and after five years left them as Director Media Services. In 2004, he joined Mindshare as the Head of Corporate Business where he spent a year and a half and had the opportunity to work on some of the leading brands in the country. In late 2005, he joined Maxus Pakistan as Managing Director and today, after 14 years, Maxus is one of the leading media agencies in the country, serving its clients across media, content, technology, precision and commerce.

Qaiser is an industry veteran and comes with over 18 years of strong and varied emerging & developed markets experience. In this current role at Bayer Consumer Health Care as Global Director Digital Media, Qaiser oversees Digital Media Transformation including the Precision Marketing practice and is part of Digital Excellence organization based out of Basel, Switzerland. Prior to joining Bayer Consumer Health Care, Qaiser spent 5 years with GSK Consumer Healthcare in Asia Pacific and was driving GSK’s Digital Media agenda with specific focus on Programmatic, Ad Tech, Search Marketing and Social media. Prior to moving to client side, Qaiser spent nearly 13 years working with world class Media Agencies across Asia. His notable assignments have been with media agencies such as Mindshare, Mediacom, Initiative Media and Starcom MediaVest Group China where he was the Comms Planning & Operations lead for agency’s biggest client, Procter & Gamble. In addition to China, Qaiser has worked in markets such as Middle East, Malaysia and Pakistan.

An avid storyteller dedicated to decoding chaos in search for knowledge and gift it to the world!! Humayun Shaikh is a passionate and accomplished fortune 500 marketing practitioner with proven track record of 17+ years in leading large countries and multiple categories across home care, personal care and foods. Experience of directly heading multiple functions including marketing, sales, supply chain and R&D while driving end to end value creation for stakeholders.`

Babar Sheikh is an internationally acclaimed filmmaker, ad film director, musician and audio-visual installation artist. A graduate from the Indus Valley school he works comprehensively for the development of film education in the country, he is based in Karachi and has directed and produced numerous commercials, music videos, genre defying documentaries and short films, his main focus is with Ad films with top producers for the Pakistani, regional and International markets, including Pakistan, India (South Asia), and South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia (African region) in addition to which he is currently co writing and directing his debut feature length film, set for a 2020 release!

Yasir is a Brand Marketing guru with 14 years of corporate experience and currently heads Marketing at Telenor Pakistan. His sharp insight has shaped Telenor’s marketing into a strategic, agile and customer-centric force. Yasir is on a quest to transform, disrupt and stir up the marketing landscape in Pakistan which has resulted in many innovative Pakistan-first campaigns. These game changers have been the foundation for Telenor’s consistent performance at the Effies- being crowned “Best in Telco” for 3 years in a row! Never one to sit idle, Yasir strives to further hone his design perspective exploring art, design and dabbling in sketching himself

Zulfiqar Ansari is Vice President Marketing – Dalda Foods Limited. An consummate FMCG marketing professional, he has the experience of working on some of the most innovative, largest and most successful brands in Pakistan in companies including Unilever Pakistan Limited, Tapal Tea Pvt Ltd, EBM and Engro Foods Limited. He is an avid motorsport and automobile enthusiast.

Nobody in Pakistan has worked on bigger global brands or won more awards than Ali Rez. Ranked amongst the Top 10 Creatives in the world by The Directory, and named South Asia Creative Person of the Year by Campaign magazine, Ali Rez has won more than 400 international awards, which include Grands Prix, Golds and several other metals across Cannes Lions, Clios, D&AD, Effie, One Show, Dubai Lynx, Spikes and many more. In 2019, Rez led BBDO Pakistan to win the inaugural Grand Effie at Effie Pakistan. In a 20- year career spanning across USA, MENA, and APAC, Rez has handled global clients such as the 150-billion-dollar ChevronTexaco brand, PepsiCo, Mars, Adobe and Visa. Rez currently is the Regional ECD at BBDO for MENAP, where his work has been instrumental in helping BBDO win Network of the Year Asia Pacific, in addition to leading BBDO Pakistan to be named No.1 agency in South Asia on the Cannes Lions Global Creativity Index 2019. Rez has been a member of the prestigious Glass jury panel at Cannes Lions, in addition to juries at Effies, Clios, LIA, Loeries, and President of the Design Jury at Spikes Asia and Adfest. Rez is also part of the D&AD Impact Council, has lectured at Oxford University, exhibited at Tate UK, spoken at Tedx, captained a cricket team in California, and - being a firm believer that curiosity leads to creativity - has traveled to 129 countries.

Akbar is an experienced brand professional and disruptive marketer with a demonstrated experience in brand building, business intelligence, thought leadership and strategic management. Currently Head of M&C at PSDF, Akbar has held senior leadership roles at Ogilvy and Mather Pakistan as Director Strategy and Planning for Nestle and at Viral as Commercial Director. Prior to taking expansive roles in strategic management, Akbar held eminent marketing positions at Phillip Morris Pakistan as Manager Marketing Services, Manager Future Offers and Brand Manager Marlboro. With proven marcom expertise including spearheading creative, disruptive campaigns has reflected in international awards like Sustained Success Effie for Nestlé. Akbar’s forte lies in his understanding of human behavior reflected in his hunger for consumer intel and a penchant for research. Akbar is a regularly called upon to speak at industry events and universities, where he enjoys talking to audiences on the criticality of effective communication.

Aejaz Basrai is a seasoned executive with over 25 years of professional experience in the FMCG industry including the last 18 years in senior marketing and General Management / CEO roles. He has worked with some of the leading global multinational companies such as P&G, Henkel and Colgate Palmolive across various geographies such as Pakistan, Middle East, North Africa and United States. Recently relocating to Pakistan after twenty years he has joined National Foods as the COO of their International Business and Director of National Foods Strategy & Marketing. Aejaz holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Bucknell University in Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Olin School of Business, Washington University.

Being one of the pioneers of Digital Marketing in Pakistan, Adil is a seasoned digital entrepreneur playing a pivotal role in the growth and evolution of the industry. With over 17 years of professional experience from companies including Symmetry Group, Yahoo, Maktoob & ESPN in South Asia, MENA & other regions, he puts forth the expertise of diverse digital verticals and has a reputation of being a visionary with a constant quest of introducing trends and launching successful tech ventures.

Farhan joined Starcom Pakistan in March 2017. He was with Starcom MENA for 10 years and worked on industries like Automotive, FMCG, Telecom Technology, Healthcare & Fashion. He is a dynamic & performance driven professional with 19 years of media and research experience across different geographies at both multinational and local conglomerates. He has an entrepreneurial leadership style with the passion, tenacity and vision in directing core management activities to drive business growth with key focus on Digital media. Farhan is a “disruptor” who has the innovative strategic planning skills to create “Meaningful Human Experiences” that lasts long term brand & consumer relationship. He believes focusing & investing in Data & Technology to become future ready agency. He also believes that nothing is impossible if you have the will.

Saad is a strategy and marketing leader with an MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School and a B.Eng. from National University of Singapore. He has more than 13 years of experience building winning teams at companies like Uber, Coca-Cola, Accenture and SAP, spanning geographies including the US, Singapore and Pakistan. Saad is a Beta Gamma Sigma recipient and is also a Fulbright alumnus. His passion is developing and nurturing high performance teams. Currently, Saad is General Manager, Uber Pakistan.

At various points in time (and sometimes concurrently) Ali has been an actor on stage and television, a singer and songwriter, a voice artist, a producer of features and a director of ad films. He’s the proud father of two exceptional children. He’s won an APAC Effie, several Pakistan Advertising Society Awards and has been nominated as "Upcoming Lyricist of the Year" at the Mirchi Music Awards in 2013. Somewhere in there is a gaggle of in-house Pepsi awards. He’s been an AdMan for over two decades and lives in mortal fear of an unauthorized biography.

Quratulain has over 20 years of marketing research management and training experience. She is the Managing Director of Nielsen Pakistan. Quratulain is a passionate Information Consultant and has spearheaded the development of the Wealth Index (Socio-Economic classification, living standard measures) of Pakistani households. She also represents Pakistan at ESOMAR (Global society which promotes and regulates market research practices worldwide) and is a regular speaker at various industry fora.

Advertising veteran of 20+ years. CEO and founder of MCS (Manghi Communication Solutions), a full-service communications agency with a focus on communication strategy, human insights, storytelling and augmented reality. Prior to leading his own agency, Manghi was General Manager for Adcom Leo Burnett, General Manager and Executive Creative Director for Publicis Groupe, Creative Director for Ogilvy and Creative Director for JWT.

Kiran is an eternal optimist who refuses to get jaded even after two decades in the advertising industry. She has come a long way from her days at JWT, which she joined fresh out of the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture in 1999. She then took a break and went for her Masters to Academy of Art University, San Francisco. Upon her return she joined Mullen Lowe and Rauf and swiftly climbed the ladder to Executive Creative Director. Her stellar career has seen her market everything from cars to tea, detergent to instant noodles, cooking oil to dairy. Currently, Kiran is working as a Consultant and enjoying playing with the kids in the house, both of the four and two-legged kind.

An accomplished brand leader with over 15 years of experience working for top companies such as Procter & Gamble, ICI (Azko Nobel) and has recently joined Tapal. Salman has the experience of leading global multi-billion dollar brands such as Pampers, Always, Gillette, Oral-B, Duracell, and Braun. He has the experience of leading P&G brands within Pakistan and has also served as a Regional Head for Middle East region based out of UAE. He is a growth hacker and has turned around multiple brands during his career through strong strategic thinking and sharp business acumen.

Sonya holds an MBA with dual majors in Marketing and Finance and has over 17 years of overall experience in marketing and communications across diverse industries such as Banking, FMCG and Oil & Gas. Her efforts have enabled Total to win Four Brand of the Year Awards which are endorsed by the Government of Pakistan and based on evaluations and surveys by A.C Nielson under the supervision of World Bank consultants to reward the 100 most acclaimed brands of the country. In addition to this, Sonya has also won the prestigious Ideas Award for Innovation which is an award program run across 163 countries within the Total Group Affiliates.

Shehryar Ahmad is Byco Petroleum’s Head of Communication. With over two decades as a storyteller, Shehryar is an innovator. Creating and building brands across diverse verticals, Shehryar has global experience in marketing, finance, media, entertainment, non-profits, fundraising and entrepreneurship. Shehryar managed South Asia’s biggest rock band, Junoon. He pioneered digital marketing by creating junoon.com, the first website for a Pakistani artist in the year 1996. Shehryar got Junoon its first international recording contract to EMI. Shehryar has been responsible for conceiving ad campaigns which have won awards from the Pakistan Advertisers Society, from the Herald magazine, and from Aurora. Shehryar was Chief Marketing Officer of the Aman Foundation, and developed the marketing function at BMA Capital, Shehryar has a Master’s Degree from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and received a Bachelors in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Shoaib currently working as a Director Marketing – Jazz, with experience of more than 21 years, is a true Young at Heart professional who approaches his day to day life through a very unique lens. He believes living in the NOW as that will ensure a good and positive future. He believes in experiences and doesn’t shy away in imparting the knowledge gained with his colleagues and teams. After spending a significant tenure in the Telco industry, he likes to portray himself as a true telco ambassador. He has successes of major projects to himself including the opportunity to launch the first and top two MFS brands in Pakistan. As a person who constantly challenges the status quo, he believes that there is still much to do within the marketing sphere of Pakistan!

Having over 20 years of work experience in marketing and advertising in various organizations, Syed Usman is currently in charge for developing and implementing optimal marketing and communication strategies for Jubilee Life. Prior to joining Jubilee Life, Mr. Qaiser had notably worked as Senior Manager Marketing at Bank Alfalah Limited for more than 9 years and as Manager Advertising at Standard Chartered Bank after gaining considerable marketing and brand experience at advertising agencies including Lowe and Rauf (formally R- Lintas), Manhattan Pakistan and Evernew Concepts. He started his career from Commercial Union which is now Jubilee Life insurance in the Corporate Services Unit in 2000.

Usama Qureshi is a young corporate leader having 19 years of experience with a track record of business turnarounds in FMCG and Energy sector organizations. He served as Managing Director & CEO of Hamdard Pakistan and also held various C-Level positions in K-Electric Limited and Pakistan State Oil Limited. Mr. Qureshi is currently the Chief Executive of Oasis Energy (Pvt.) Ltd., a management consultancy & solution provider company, which specializes in electricity generation, transmission & distribution. OE operates in several countries including Nigeria, Ghana, Kazakhstan, Iraq, and Pakistan. Mr. Usama Qureshi is also Co Founder and Chairman of BOLTS (Pvt.) Ltd., a company which specializes in manufacturing of high quality switch-gears. As the MD & CEO of Hamdard Laboratories Pakistan, Qureshi’s influence has been significant in organization’s unprecedented growth and increment in revenues. Qureshi’s instrumental contribution to the company was evidenced when he successfully re-branded Hamdard, bringing a 110-year-old organization at par with modern FMCG companies all around the world. During his 2.5-year tenure, Hamdard products were made available in numerous countries. Mr. Usama, also served as the Chief Marketing Officer & Chief of Staff to CEO of K-Electric Limited, the only vertically integrated utility company in Pakistan. At K-Electric he played a vital role in rebranding of K-Electric from Karachi Electric Supply Corporation - KESC, leading to changed brand image and overall perception of the organization. Mr. Qureshi and his team are credited with turning a loss-making organization into a profitable company. Qureshi is a member of the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) where he served as Chairman, Standing Committee on Energy for 3 years and currently serving as Senior Vice Chairman of Pakistan – UK, and Director of Pakistan – UAE Business Councils

Zeban started his advertising career with Evernew Concepts Karachi in 2004 and in the last 16 years has worked for various agencies including Interflow, JWT, Ogilvy and is currently RD for Synergy Lahore. He has worked for leading global & local brands including but not limited to Nestlé, Unilever, Reckitt, HSBC, Shan Foods, Haleeb Foods, United Nations, Tapal, Lakson, GSK, Cupola – KFC, Nishat, Haier, Silkbank & Servis.

Working as a Creative Director at Adcom Leo Burnett Pakistan, Zain is (possessed) with extensive experience in creative ideation, communication strategy and integrated marketing spanning over a decade. In 2010, Zain was handpicked by Saatchi & Saatchi Pakistan as a creative associate before joining hands with Leo Burnett Pakistan – keeping a successful track record of very effective relationship and people management, both inside the organization and within the operational eco-system. With his growing interest in reading, be it books or the sarcastic roll of an eye, searching for insights has become a fascination. Zain doesn’t like to be called a narcissist, so he talks in 3rd person. He is left-handed and right brained by birth, that makes him creative, passionate and free spirited. For him, striking a balance between logic and nonsense is strictly optional.

Sadia Dada is Director Communications at Philip Morris (Pakistan) Limited and is part of the Company’s Country Management Team. After a brief stint in media, she stumbled upon a career in Communications that now spans 15 years. During this time she has worked on the corporate image of some of the biggest businesses in the country directly – Mobilink, Nestle, Unilever and, until most recently, K-Electric. During her versatile and multi-sectoral career, she has also launched and driven various Sustainable Community Development Projects that contribute to the bottom line while building brand love. Sadia is also the Founder of Women in Numbers, a platform focusing exclusively on increasing and enhancing the representation of women working in the corporate sector in Pakistan through advocacy, sensitization, mentoring and capacity building. Additionally she runs a sustainable grassroots initiative called Maid to Shop that engages domestic maids in Karachi’s Shirin Jinnah Colony while supporting them in sending their daughters to school. A fan of travelling solo, Sadia recommends it at least once a year.

With overall 12+ years of working experience. Sabir is a dynamic and highly adaptable Senior Executive with global and local brands background. He carries a strong track record of business and organizational results by leading several areas, alongside business management, integrated communication, connection planning, portfolio growth strategy, innovation, commercial and digital architecture. Sabir also authored Strategic Long-term Business Plans for Continental Biscuits Limited (Affiliate of Mondelez International) and launched the biggest global biscuit brand in Pakistan ‘Oreo’.

Ruchi Sharma is the CCO, Chief Creative & Culture officer, of Brands For Humans, an independent digital & integrated agency in Bangkok, Thailand. It’s a unique role with a dual focus on the Creative product and building a Creative Culture. Before this, Ruchi worked in Sri Lanka. Her work was instrumental in winning the country’s first Cannes Finalist, setting Sri Lanka on the global map for other agencies to follow. Recently, she won the only Spikes metal for Sri Lanka. And the only local Effie Gold medal, proving that her work resonates equally on both scales. Ruchi has served on many Creative and Effectiveness international juries. She was on the Creative Effectiveness for Spikes Asia 2018, Glass & Film/Print/Audio/Direct jury for Dubai Lynx 2019, Executive Jury for New York festival 2019, Grand Jury for AME 2020, VOWS 2018 and Ad Star 2010. She is also on the advisory board for New York festival and jury for WARC prize for Asian Strategy 2020. Ruchi’s career spans more than two decades, working in New York, Bangkok, South East Asia, India and Sri Lanka. She is a frequent speaker at industry events, mentoring and encouraging the young talent of the industry, especially the women, to tap into their tremendous potential. She is a staunch supporter of inclusion, diversity and equality. She co-created the first digital global campaign on Human Rights for the UNHRC and volunteers as a Personal Growth Officer with Women Empowered Global. Recently, she was a speaker at the inaugural Spikes Asia, See It Be It initiative to mentor female creative leaders. And will be speaking at the women leadership panel in Thailand for Creative Talk conference 2020.

Omer's expertise spans 20 years, across both B2C and B2B strategic marketing, sales, product management and marketing communications. Omer has a solid advertising background, having worked as a group account manager with Prestige communications, early in his career. His diverse professional journey includes experience in key leadership roles across global organizations. Omer has previously worked with Samsung Consumer Electronics, British American Tobacco and Tetra Pak as a Global Marketing Manager on a long-term international assignment based in Modena, Italy which he also considers as the highlight of his career. During his global assignment, Omer launched the world’s first beverage carton package made entirely from renewable, plant-based materials. His academic qualification includes a Masters in Business Administration from IoBM, Karachi and professional level certification in Product Management from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK. He is also a fellow of The Leadership Trust UK and has done multiple leadership courses internationally. At present, Omer heads Marketing, Product and Channel Management for the global lighting leader Signify (formerly Philips), based in Karachi.

Javed has been a Resource Investigator with 18 years of Communication Management experience on Fortune 500 Brands. He has demonstrated Visionary leadership by leading the Digital transformation & worked across digital Savvy, digital driven industries and functions. Javed has a strong background in crafting strategies for new ventures, and re designing the business model. He is a Media Specialist with growth mindset, believes in “team work – can do wonders” constantly leading, mentoring and bringing together diverse team across multiple markets.

Hmm…is it award winning? Will it generate buzz? Is it a first thought? Is it worth pursuing? Has it been done before? Faced with these questions day in and day out, we are often led to a state of inactivity. So, Kartik simply does. Following his instincts and choosing not to predict the outcome has only resulted in more conviction and taken every client a step further towards bravery. Driven with this mindset, Kartik is humbled to have won a plethora of awards across major award shows, such as Cannes, One Show, Clio, D&AD, New York Festivals, AdFest & Dubai Lynx, and most recently, a stellar show with 2 Golds, 2 Silvers and a Bronze at the MENA Effies 2019. From handling India’s biggest biscuit brand (Parle G), to being one of the first writers to have worked on Western Union, Kartik has lived and worked in Mumbai, Doha and Dubai over the last 16+ years. His experience spans across global brands such as Volkswagen, Pfizer, Clorox, Mastercard, Lipton & Western Union to local brands such as Emirates NBD, Dubai Properties and Babyshop.

A seasoned and award winning marketing and communications professional, Madiha’s portfolio encompasses over 16 years of experience, with 08 years dedicated to the banking sector alone. Almost 03 years with Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF) as the Head of Marketing and Communications. PSDF is the largest skills development fund in Pakistan. Prior to moving to PSDF, Madiha was affiliated with Faysal Bank as Vice President – Manager Communications (Corporate Brand & Product Marketing); where she was spearheading the Marketing Strategy as well as managing the Corporate Brand. She spent two years with the Royal Bank of Scotland, as the Head of Market Research & Planning. Before entering the banking sector, Madiha has served as Brand Manager for Motorola, Pakistan and handled the Marketing & Communications accounts of Unilever, Nestle, Reckitt Benckiser and United Brands Limited. With such diverse experience, Madiha has become adept in the areas of Brand Management, Corporate Communications, Integrated Marketing Communication, ATL, BTL, Product Launch, Event Management, Digital Marketing, CSR, PR, Brand Guideline & Architecture Development, Budgeting and Research.

Khalid Ahmed Farid is Gillette Pakistan's Chief Executive Officer and Commercial Director for Procter & Gamble (Pvt.) Ltd., Pakistan. He has proven track record of business turnarounds having spent 13 years across various P&G's core categories and markets. He grew up in the marketing function where he learnt the old school marketing from some of the gurus at P&G. He is a true believer of the "consumer is boss" mantra. Khalid holds an MBA from Lahore University of Management Sciences.

Shariq is a career marketing professional with proven record of achievements in business development and brand management across industries. He has served in various positions both in Telecom as well as FMCG sector locally and internationally. He prides himself as a consumer champion with expertise in marketing best practices. He is skilled at leading multi-functional & multi-cultural teams acquired through his diverse experience spanning various organizations and positions. Currently, he serves as VP Commercial North at Telenor Pakistan.

Javaid Ahmed is Sr. Fellow Strategy and Innovation and has been Chairperson of the departments of Marketing and Management at IoBM from 2003 to 2015. He is a (IFC) Certified Board Director, FCIM-Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (UK), FCMI-Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute (UK), Member of Mensa and a UK Chartered Engineer. He has a MBA with Distinction from Lancaster University Management School where his empirical research was awarded 1st prize by the now Chartered Management Institute, and a BSc Engineering from King’s College, London. He brings to academia over 28 years of a successful top management career with the multinational health care industry including over a decade in Switzerland, Malaysia and the Philippines. He is the recipient of the 2013 Faculty Excellence Award of the International Association of Universities Presidents and has served on the Jury of the Prime Ministers’ Corporate Award of Excellence. By invitation, he was admitted in 2016 to the Academic Union, Oxford.

A true professional with a fearlessly non-conformist attitude, Imran can be characterised as a workaholic, restless, passionate and a fearless leader. Throughout his 28-year career, Imran has been an agent of change while working on various global, regional and local brands. He has served over 15 markets while working with Saatchi & Saatchi Middle East. Imran founded PIRANA- a premium boutique agency brand in 2006 with offices in Pakistan, UAE and UK. Imran also spearheaded the operations of M&C Saatchi World Services (a specialized division of M&C Saatchi Worldwide) in Pakistan. He built his impressive career in Pakistan by working with leading communication agencies including MNJ, Prestige, IAL/Saatchi, Orient McCann, Evernew Concepts and Interflow. Imran thrives in complex, fast paced, high-pressure environments where he brings in a healthy mix of experience, strong work ethics, humour and irreproachable integrity. Imran led his team to win the first international awards from Pakistan and was also a part of the team that launched Procter & Gamble in Pakistan, and the team that continues to challenge the norms and stereotypes in Pakistan. Imran is presently heading M&C Saatchi in Pakistan as CEO.

Marketer by passion and a food connoisseur outside work, Humayun Farooq is the current Marketing Director for the Health portfolio at RB Pakistan. Post his Masters degree from the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Farooq has an extensive marketing experience spanning over 15 years. He has been the mastermind behind several breakthrough campaigns both locally and internationally in the beauty, healthcare, personal care and food industries. As a marketer, he believes in driving brands by finding their emotional connect in addition to their functional benefit. He is a strong propagator of leading brands with a purpose to ensure social impact over and above the commercial gains. Beyond work, Farooq is a food lover and is always up for experimenting food and sharing his experiences through his blog. He has a zeal for traveling and adventures in addition to him being a fitness freak in his daily routine. Work, eat, travel (staying fit!) – and repeat!

Avid Storyteller – Ideas ATM – Strategy Advocate Jumped deep into the bad, bad world of advertising more than 15 years ago and never looked back. With award-winning work under her belt, Faiza remains a woman on a mission- to create and curate great advertising. Always in a state of evolution, she combines ingenuity and innovation, fostering a deeper resonance on all platforms.

Asim is an expert in advertising and brand strategy. He is currently Chief Executive of Ogilvy in Pakistan. Asim has been with the agency for nearly 10 years and has worked across the company’s Advertising and Digital businesses. In these years, Asim helped Ogilvy Pakistan to become the largest and most effective agency operations in Pakistan, with 250+ people, 3 offices and all agency clients leading in their categories. Asim has enjoyed over two decades in the communication business. He has the dexterity to lead integrated teams across multiple agencies and is experienced at managing relationships on a regional basis. With impeccable leadership skills and a reputation of a great leader, he is known to create a high performing team environment. Asim is an award winning agency leader who takes great pride in building and nurturing talent. He also manages some of the key businesses directly – looking after their relationship management and strategic planning. Ogilvy Pakistan, under his leadership, has been acknowledged as amongst the best operations in the region and has also won many international awards including Effie APAC, Creative Agency of the Year by Campaign Asia, Digital Agency of the Year by Campaign Asia and Agency Network of the Year by Effie Pakistan. Asim is a regular speaker at industry events and universities, where he enjoys educating audiences on the invaluable uses of advertising in business.

Haroon Qureshi is a seasoned Content & Consumer engagement specialist with 12+ years of multi-dimensional experience across local & global clients. In 2007, he started his career with MAXUS as content specialist and was given the opportunity to launch GroupM ESP (Content & Activation division of GroupM) in MAXUS, Pakistan. In 2013, he was given the opportunity to head GroupM ESP where he spent a year and half and had the opportunity to work on the leading local & international companies of the country. During his tenure in GroupM ESP Pakistan, he has brought home multiple awards, both local and international for various local/MNC campaigns and transformed ESP into one of the most creative, full-service consumer engagement agencies in the country. Currently, he is working in Mindshare Singapore as Partner Content & Partnerships for Unilever Globally. He is also driving Unilever Content as Centre of Excellence Globally. During his 4+ years, he has developed some innovative multi-market content strategies, partnerships & digital content best practices across pop culture passions.

Atiya is a creative who loves to create. She has over eighteen years of experience in the advertising industry working on an array of local and international brands. She is the first Pakistani woman to be selected for Cannes Lions See it Be it program, D&AD’s Rare creative program and also the Pitch magazines’ 100 Superwomen list 2019. She also wrote the film Chalay Thay Saath which is available on Netflix.

Having had a multifaceted career at P&G and now with Lotte with over a decade of experience of building brands & engaging with consumers; I believe in the power of single-minded focus on fundamentals. We build powerful brands on superiority of functionality or via ‘disruptive’ differentiation. Mom to 2 high energy kids, I am a creative problem solver. Whether it’s combining expertise of a research agency with that of a media house for national retail measurement or innovating with first of its kind cookie - I love challenges! My passion is fueled every day when I see consumers interacting with our brands in store, online or at home knowing I have the ability to influence them; when I see young marketers strive to improve the life of an average Pakistani consumer with superior communication & innovations. I feel lucky to have learned from some of the best at P&G and Lotte, & I continue to grow under their mentorship.

Fawaz is the Chief Operating Officer for the Snackcity Division at Ismail Industries Limited, one of the largest FMCG companies of Pakistan. Previously he was Head of Marketing for all the food divisions in the company, i.e. Candyland, Bisconni and Snackcity where he was responsible for the strategy development and execution of the company’s 45 brands spreading over 4 food categories. Under his leadership the company developed communications that were more creative, consistent and impactful resulting in a marked improvement in brand perception and growth. Fawaz has around 20 years’ experience developing brands in the FMCG and Consumer Durables sectors. He has actively worked in promoting and building brands in a variety of cultures and has traveled to over 30 countries as part of his brand assignments. He has a proven track record of effectively developing and executing strategy that deliver business results.

Farhan Ahmed is the Head, External Communications and Public Affairs at Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) Ltd. In this role he leads the function with a view to create opportunities and provide strategic insight to all the business lines in order to achieve an increased share of voice in the minds of external stakeholders. Farhan is a seasoned communications professional with over 19 years of diverse experience with renowned FMCG and banking organisations in Pakistan. Before joining Standard Chartered, he was the Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications at HSBC Bank Middle East Limited. He started his professional career with Nestle Milkpak Limited and worked in the sales and marketing function of the organisation for 5 years in various capacities; last as the Manager Food Services business for South (Sind and Baluchistan). Farhan holds a Master in Business Administration degree with majors in marketing from the College of Business Management, Karachi. He is very passionate about promoting education and has facilitated courses on Personal Selling and Sales Management at his alma mater. He is actively involved with the Pakistan Innovation Foundation and is a member of the advisory board of the Executive Committee of Entrepreneurship and Management Excellence Centre (EMEC) at IoBM. A disruptor at heart he enjoys training and mentoring young entrepreneurs across the country. He is an ardent social worker and is associated to the Kashif Iqbal Thalassemia Care Centre. He also works closely with the CSR association of Pakistan and other reputed charitable organisations. He is an avid reader and a weekend cyclist with a keen interest in a number of sports including cricket and football. Farhan is married to Nadia and has three children, two sons and a daughter.

After a decade of being part of Pakistan's Digital Marketing community, Farzana is currently serving as a Digital Strategy and Creative Consultant to multiple agencies. In her 10 years career span, Farzana has worked at Symmetry Group, Orient m McCann, Adcom Zenith, and Unilever giving her a chance to work across multiple verticals, namely, Telecom, Mobile, FMCG, Beauty, OMC, Automotive, Food, Retail, Foundations, and Banking. With a strong background in digital strategy and content, Farzana has had the opportunity to lead a team of 37 individuals spread across strategy, planning, social media, creative, and tech. Together they built a portfolio of 30+ brands, including the complete portfolio of L'Oreal; which she personally headed, Atlas Group, Engro Foods, and Reckitt Benckiser. During her time at Unilever, Farzana was managing digital agency relationships for Beauty & Personal Care and was part of the company’s digital transformation team.

Alfiya Halai is a seasoned academic and designer with more than fifteen years of experience in advertising and creative design practices. Early in her career at Adcom Leo Burnett, she worked on leading brands such as Pizza Hut, Cadbury, and Tapal. Thereafter, in 2002, she established O2 Communications with two other colleagues. ABN AMRO, Dadex, MCB, Liberty Books were some of the brands she handled as the Head Creative at O2 Communications. Three years later, Alfiya formed her own design firm, Hue Creatives which undertook the launch and subsequent promotions of Al Khubz flour products, Mima Industries and Amreli Steels. Understanding the importance of the relationship between academia and the professional design practice, Alfiya strives to bridge the gap between the fields. As an Assistant Professor at Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, her expertise lies in concept development, strategy development and design.

Graduated in 1998 Ali has over 20 yrs. of experience in management, marketing communications and advertising with leading advertising agencies and is credited for turning around 2 agencies from years of operating losses to positive earnings within the first year of taking over operational reigns. Ali focuses on building communication strategies that lead to work that is effective because it is fresh, entertaining and intelligent. He has extensive experience at senior management level working in top agencies on clients both multinational and local conglomerates, be it repositioning for a global brand, media buying and planning for telecom giants, Strategic Communication for international donors, experiential marketing for single largest activation project. He has worked closely in sectors ranging from airlines, beverages, confectionary, dairy, energy drinks, Pharmaceuticals, FMCG, telecom, tobacco and others. He spent close to 2 years working on public relations for global brands such as P&G, Toyota Indus, Emirates Airlines, TCS and others. Ali has extensive experience of telecommunications industry and led the creative and media team that relaunched telecom leaders Mobilink, Telenor & Ufone in Pakistan and Banglalink in Bangladesh along with launching iconic brands like Indigo, Jazz, Talkshawk, djuice & easypaisa. In 2006 Aurora Awards his agency team won 9 awards for Telenor’s ad campaigns and PAS award for Ufone communications in 2012 & 15. He is a prominent writer in leading marketing magazines and has been part of the jury for PAS Awards for last 3 years.

Aliya Ahmed has worked in leading Multinational and local organizations as Head of Marketing for 18+ years and has proven herself as a seasoned marketer in Digital space as well as conventional marketing. Currently she is the Head of Digital Communications & Customer Analytics at United Bank Limited. Before joining UBL she was based out of Dubai – leading MESA region for Western Union Financial Services. She has won several awards by thinking out of the box and coming up with creative ideas. She always strives to do things differently and has been exposed to both B2B and B2C environments and proved herself as a person capable of adapting to the requirements of any challenging situations. Aliya has attended several management programs and trainings in USA, Germany, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Bangkok, Singapore which has kept her knowledge updated about the recent marketing trends and concepts. She was also invited by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan for a 15-day visit to Japan Besides being a thorough professional, she loves to travel in her spare time and has discovered more than 63 countries. She loves to explore new restaurants and has a taste for Italian and French cuisine.

Farhan specializes in Growth and Transformation. He has a diversified cross-country experience in General Management, Marketing and Sales with proven success across FMCG and Consumer Healthcare sectors. He has a strong track record of developing and launching new brands, turning around and transforming mature businesses and creating new competitive benchmarks within the respective industries and geographies. Farhan is a strong leader who believes in developing people, building highly engaged teams and creating high-performance cultures. He has developed an expertise in managing Organization and Cultural Change having lead many of these transitions successfully including Mergers, Acquisitions and Joint Ventures. He has led various organizations including Novartis Consumer Health in Pakistan and Iran, GSK Consumer Health Saudi Arabia, Shield and held leadership roles in Rafhan Bestfoods, Unilever and Pakistan Tobacco Company. Farhan is a practical innovator. He is assertive, open-minded and humorous. He is at his best when driving performance. He asks thought provoking and perspective changing questions and encourages teams to step out of their comfort zones.