Dr. Jawad Syed is professor of Organisational Behaviour and Leadership at the Suleman Dawood School of Business (AACSB accredited), Lahore University of Management Sciences. Prior to LUMS, he worked at the University of Kent as a Reader during 2007-14 and University of Huddersfield as a Professor during 2014-16.

Professor Syed obtained his PhD in Business from Macquarie University and completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education at the University of Kent. Prior to that, he received Masters of International Business from the Western Sydney University. He also attended Institute for Management and Leadership in Education (MLE) at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, and Global Colloquium for Participant Centred Learning at Harvard Business School (HBS). He is a Programme Co-Chair of European Academy of Management’s (EURAM) Gender, Race, and Diversity in Organisations (GRDO) Special Interest Group. He is a director of the Global Centre for Equality and Human Rights (GCEHR) and President of the South Asian Academy of Management (SAAM). In academic leadership roles, he has served as Dean of the Suleman Dawood School of Business (AACSB accredited), Head of People, Management and Organisations group (University of Kent), and Director of Talent, Diversity and Development Research Group (University of Huddersfield).

Professor Syed has edited and authored eight books and written more than 85 journal articles and book chapters.

Wahaj is CEO and cofounder of Nayatel, the first company to start fiber broadband in Pakistan in 2005 from Islamabad and then expanding to Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Peshawar, Gujranwala, Lahore and six more cities. Earlier, Wahaj cofounded Micronet Broadband that launched Pakistan’s first DSL broadband in 2002. Wahaj has also been part of team that launched Pakistan’s second country wide ISP in 1996. Mr. Siraj worked with the Government of Pakistan for 14 years before switching his career as entrepreneur.
Wahaj was ranked as second top Pakistani influencer on LinkedIn in August 2024 and is a member of Board of Governors/Directors of some leading Pakistani universities and government organisations.
A founding member of ISP Association of Pakistan (ISPAK), Vice Chairman of Telecom Operators Association of Pakistan, and strong activist for reforms in the IT and telecom sector, Wahaj holds a Masters Degree in Engineering from University of Melbourne, Australia and a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering from UET, Lahore.
Wahaj is regularly invited as guest speaker in universities and national and international forums to speak on entrepreneurship, self-development, character and competence led success and related topics. Wahaj is hafiz-e-Quran and leads Juma and Traveeh prayers at Al-Huda Mosque, F-7, Islamabad.

Dr. Siddiqui currently serves as a Dean at the University of Central Punjab Business School, which is one of the largest private sector business schools in Pakistan.
Prior to joining UCP, Dr Siddiqui served Karachi School of Business & Leadership as an Associate Professor of OB&HR, where he held various senior leadership positions during his decade long tenure. He started his post-PhD career as an Assistant Professor at SDSB LUMS. Dr Siddiqui's research interests are in management learning and critical analysis of employment relations. His research on equality in HRD has been presented at global international conferences. His recent published work has explored the concept of Green HRM in hospitality sector and its implications in the post-Covid world.
Dr Siddiqui is an acclaimed public speaker and has addressed keynote sessions at several HR forums and industry networks. He has unequivocally challenged taken for granted assumptions in management knowledge, and has called for fairer, nurturing and people-supportive organizational practices. He has run several leadership and team-building corporate programs for big names such as Fatima Group, K-Electric, Novartis, Indus Motors, United Energy Pakistan, Hubco, AKUH amongst others. He has special interest and expertise in novel pedagogical techniques including experiential learning and simulations.
He continues to learn more about human-work challenges through reading, teaching, traveling, and public space interactionse.

Dr. Asfia Obaid is a founding member of the NUST Business School (NBS) and has been  associated with it for the last 25 years in various capacities including academic administration. She is passionate about curriculum development and design and quality assurance initiatives. Currently, she heads the Department of Management and HR and various committees at the School.  She has taught courses in the areas of Human Resource Management, General Management and Organizational Behaviour and Design in the undergrade, graduate and post-graduate programs and has supervised over 70 Research Projects and theses.  Her research interests include Strategic HRM, HRM System Strength, Performance Management Systems and Reward Management.
She has contributed towards knowledge creation through publications, funded research projects, consulting projects and training programs for notable national level, public and private organizations. She represents NBS at various academic forums at the university (NUST), several Committees at HEC and the National Business Education Accreditation Council (NBEAC-HEC).

Dr. Umar Ruhi is the Vice-Dean of Undergraduate Programs and an Associate Professor at the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa. He teaches various undergraduate- and graduate-level courses in Information Systems Strategy, Digital Transformation, and Cyber Security Management. His courses comprise an integration of themes and topics related to business strategy and technology applications. Umar’s research lies at the intersection of Information Systems and Knowledge Management, and his current research interests include human-AI collaboration, enterprise gamification, consumer health informatics, user-experience design, and digital disinformation. Umar’s research has been applied in industry contexts by various organizations, and it has also been recognized through commercial patents, and best paper awards in several conferences. His PhD dissertation on online communities also won the best dissertation award from the German Society for Online Research (DGOF). Umar has also been involved in consulting, advisory, and analytical roles with initiatives related to online communities, government portals, user experience design, web usability engineering, web analytics, and knowledge management systems. In addition to his regular research, Professor Ruhi is actively involved in pedagogical research on learning analytics and generative AI through his Telfer Education Excellence Fellowship.

Dr. Shaukat Brah is a Management Consultant and a retired Professor of Management. He has a PhD from the University of Houston, USA. One of his assignments included assisting the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan as a consultant to set up a “Research Intensive” University with a public private partnership.
Dr. Brah has served as a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Karachi Education Initiative and founding Rector and Dean at the Karachi School for Business & Leadership (KSBL), Karachi, Pakistan. Also, he served as a Professor and Dean at the Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan, and Al Ghurair University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Moreover, he has taught at NUS Business School, National University of Singapore, Singapore, (consistently ranked among the top three in Asia and among top twenty business schools globally) for over sixteen years. Moreover, during his graduate studies he worked on a research project on the Space Shuttle Program of NASA.
Dr. Shaukat Brah has over twenty international refereed papers, three thousand one hundred citations of his research work in the Web of Science, refereed papers in international book series, case studies, and other academic contributions.

Nadeem Abdullah has been the Chief Executive Officer of Sapphire Textile Mills Limited for the last 20 Years. Sapphire Textile Mills Limited is conglomerate having business interest in Textile, Power and Fashion Retail. He is also Board member of Sapphire Group Companies, Chief Executive Officer of Sapphire Renewable Projects and Chairman of Sapphire Brand company. Sapphire Group at present has a team of more than 40,000 people young men and women.

He has vast experience of business establishment and management. He led the business growth of the Group, introduced new product lines, formulized strategic alliances in international market and managed the development of value-added products. He was involved in the development of the Group’s Textile operations, Renewable Energy operations and launching of Fashion Retail Brand which provided him an in-depth understanding of the business. Nadeem Abdullah has expertise in multiple disciplines including sales and marketing, supply chain management, product development and management.

Nadeem Abdullah graduated from McGill University Canada and also served on Board of Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) Limited, Habib Asset Management (Pvt) Limited, Kidney Centre, Port Qasim Authority and Karachi Cotton Association. He is presently also on the Board of Hunar Foundation..

Prof. Dr. Beenish Malik is a pioneer in women’s empowerment and education in Balochistan. Since 2002, she has led the Institute of Management Sciences (IMS) at the University of Balochistan, transforming it into a center of academic excellence and inclusivity. As one of the few women in leadership in a male-dominated society, Dr. Malik has championed initiatives to provide equal opportunities, particularly for female students and professionals. Her innovative programs and research-driven approach have helped bridge educational and employment gaps, especially for marginalized groups.

Dr. Malik has mentored numerous MS and PhD scholars, contributing to the region's academic and research development. In addition to her academic work, she has collaborated with international organizations like the UNDP and ILO on projects focused on sustainable development, capacity building, and gender equality in education and the workplace.

Her contributions have not only impacted the academic community but have also strengthened women’s role in the professional landscape. Dr. Malik is widely recognized for her efforts in breaking barriers and promoting social change. Her dedication to education and women's empowerment has made her a symbol of hope and progress, inspiring future generations in Balochistan.

Dr. Geoff Perry is a member of the AACSB Executive Team, leads the Global Membership Team and the Asia Pacific Team. With senior management experience in the university sector, having served as business school dean, pro vice chancellor, and deputy vice chancellor at Auckland University of Technology—a 28,000 student, research-intensive university—he has strong strategic, financial, and people management capabilities. He has mentored, advised, and evaluated many higher education business schools across the Asia Pacific region and North America. He co-chaired the Business Accreditation Task Force, which was mandated by AACSB’s board of directors to work with the association’s community to develop the 2020 business accreditation standards.

Geoff has a significant portfolio of peer-reviewed journal articles, commissioned reports, and presentations. He has academic and private sector experience and has worked, consulted, and researched in his home country of New Zealand as well as more broadly in the Asia Pacific region. He holds degrees in the arts and the humanities as well as a PhD in economics with a focus on labor and international economics.

As the Chief Data Science and Technology Officer and Co-Founder of Data Pilot, I have spent the last seven years turning data into actionable insights that drive transformative business growth. My journey began with an ETL/BI consultancy, where I developed end-to-end BI and DWH solutions for banks and insurance companies. Later, I joined Modemetric as part of the predictive analytics team, where I spearheaded the creation of a predictive analytics module for their BI product, Lantern, uncovering hidden insights to help clients stay competitive. My passion for data led me to earn a Master’s in Data Science from the University of Illinois. I then took on the role of Lead Data Scientist at NETSOL Technologies, guiding an AI and ML team to build a robust data architecture for OTOZ, powering Drivemate, a top car-sharing platform in Thailand. I also had the opportunity to develop AI and ML models for captive finance giants like Nissan Finance, Hyundai, and CNH.

In 2021, I founded Data Pilot, which quickly became a global force in the data analytics industry, collaborating with clients from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia. My expertise spans predictive modeling, data storytelling, enterprise data architecture, and more. With a proven track record of helping businesses achieve success through data-driven decisions, I’m excited to share my insights and look forward to building more success stories together.

Ms. Naveda Kitchlew specializes in management of higher education at national, regional, and global scale. Her doctorate in business administration with specialization in higher education management coupled with a vast experience spanning over twenty-five years and covering teaching and administrative roles in Middle East, UK, and the US makes her a conspicuous educationist. In her role as Associate Dean Internationalization & Academics at University of Management and Technology, she led the implementation of Internationalization strategy for creating a global impact. Alongside her role as an Associate professor, she was the Focal person for the National and International accreditations at UMT from 2014-19. During her tenure as Dean of the School of Business and Economics, Dr. Kitchlew reevaluated strategic direction of SBE before implementing initiatives to align and benefit from national and international trends and economic conditions.

Dr. Kitchlew holds a doctorate in Business Administration from the University of Bath, UK. She travels across the globe for her academic and consulting assignments.

Dr. Zahid Riaz is working as an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Business Administration, Lahore School of Economics, Pakistan. He obtained his PhD and MPhil from the UNSW Business School UNSW,  Australia. Zahid Riaz has more than 20 years of research, teaching and corporate experience in national and international settings. Before joining the Lahore School of Economics, he was a faculty member at UNSW, Australia, Coventry University, United Kingdom and Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan. Also, he served as a visiting research fellow at the UNSW Business School, UNSW, Australia. He published several research papers in international journals of high repute and impact. Zahid Riaz has been the first or the second author of his scholarly publications. He is a member of the editorial review board of the Asia-Pacific Journal of Management and Global Responsibility Journal. He served as editor for the Lahore Journal of Business from 2016 to 2023. Previously, he was a guest editor for two special topics for Frontiers in Psychology journal. Furthermore, Zahid Riaz regularly reviews manuscripts in various academic journals such as the Journal of International Management, Socio-economic Review; Asia-Pacific Journal of Management; Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development; Frontiers in Psychology; Journal of Cleaner Production and Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society. His areas of teaching and research interests are Strategic Management, International Business and Organizational Behavior.

Presently working as a CHRO in Airlink, have worked in 7 sectors over 24 years as diverse as Modern Trade (Metro Cash & Carry), Telecom (Warid/Jazz), IT (NetSol), Textile (Kohinoor Maple Leaf Group), Fertilizer (Fatima Group), FMCG (Coke) & HR Advisory (Ernst & Young). I have also worked as an Expat in the MENA region with EY and as Head HR in Indonesia with Metro AG (regional office Singapore). Most recent experience is with Coca Cola Icecek Pakistan as National Head Talent & Capability and Head HR for new Businesses in Fatima Group over the last 6 years.  I have been in HR leadership roles for the last 15 years. I have a postgraduate degree from London Met UK and certifications in talent acquisition, talent assessment and coaching. Also founded Pakistan Human Capital Forum and moderated numerous talks on TV and management forums.