Lakson Investments’ Board of Directors guides the overall philosophy and direction of the organization. Our board members are experienced professionals from diverse business sectors of domestic and international markets.
- Mr. Iqbal Ali LakhaniChairmanMr. Iqbal Ali LakhaniChairman
Mr. Iqbal Ali Lakhani is the Chairman of the Lakson Group of Companies, five of which are listed on the Stock Exchanges of Pakistan covering a diversified range of businesses such as paper & board, soap, detergents and toothpaste, printing & packaging, food and insurance. Three Funds of a Group Investment Company are also listed and traded. American franchises/affiliation includes Colgate-Palmolive Company & McDonalds Corporation. The spectrum of unlisted Companies includes textiles, surgical instruments, media (T.V. & Print), software development & consultancy, travel & tourism, investment & mutual funds, ISP-broad band & data centre, business process outsourcing house into call centre & I.T. The businesses of the Lakson Group provide gainful employment to over 12,000 persons.
Mr. Lakhani has over 39 years experience of Senior Management in consumer marketing, finance, manufacturing, industry and government relations. Areas of special interest cover marketing, total quality management and leadership. He is a Charter Member of The Indus Entrepreneurs and Director of Pakistan Business Council. In addition, he is also on the Board of Trustees of the Layton Rahmatullah Benevolent Trust. Previously he has served as the Chairman Cigarette Manufacturers Association of Pakistan, Chairman Aga Khan Economic Planning Board for Pakistan and Vice President American Business Council of Pakistan.
Mr. Lakhani received his B.A. from the University of California – Berkeley. He was a member of the PSI-National Accounting fraternity; Honor Student’s Society, member of Phi Beta Kappa and received the departmental award for outstanding undergraduate achievement.
Mr. Lakhani has travelled widely and has attended international seminars, meetings and conferences in several countries of the world.
- Mr. Babar Ali LakhaniChief Executive OfficerMr. Babar Ali LakhaniChief Executive Officer
Mr. Lakhani has over 13 years of investment and portfolio management experience in domestic and international equity and fixed income markets. Mr. Lakhani most recently served as the Chief Investment Officer of Century Insurance, a Public Limited Company listed on the Karachi and Lahore Stock Exchanges of Pakistan. He was an Investment Associate at High Street Advisors and a Research Analyst at Credit Suisse Equity Group (formerly Credit Suisse First Boston). Mr. Lakhani brings extensive investment experience, globally practiced portfolio management discipline, and a comprehensive understanding of the global asset management industry to Lakson Investments Limited.
Mr. Lakhani received his BA in Finance from Bentley College, and his MBA from Brandeis University.
Mr. Lakhani is a member of the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP), the Society of Financial Service Professionals and the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO). Mr. Lakhani is a member of the Alumni Trustee Committee of Brandeis University and is the school’s representative in Pakistan.
Mr. Lakhani’s passions include Philanthropy, Ironman and Marathons, Family activities and holidays, Technology (AI, IOT, Machine Learning, Disruptiveness), Kindle books, and watching movies.
- Mr. A. Aziz H. EbrahimMr. A. Aziz H. Ebrahim
Mr. Ebrahim has over 46 years of varied experience in financial management in Private Industries in Pakistan. After qualifying Chartered Accountancy Examination, (at present fellow member of Institute of Chartered Accountant of Pakistan) Mr. Ebrahim started his career in 1967 as Finance Manager with ARAG Industries dealing in various businesses such as Pharmaceuticals, Cosmetics, and Biscuits Manufacturing etc. He left the ARAG Group in 1977, as a Financial Advisor.
In 1977, Mr. Ebrahim joined Lakson Group of Companies. Mr. Ebrahim is as Director on Board in many Companies of the Group. He has been instrumental in running the Hasanali Karabhai Foundation providing educational, medical, and helping other social activities, besides handling the finances of five other Group Companies.
- Mr. Mahomed J. Jaffer(Independent)Mr. Mahomed J. Jaffer(Independent)
Mr. Jaffer offers over 51 years of far reaching professional experience in law and financial law and an intimate understanding of corporate Pakistan. Mr. Jaffer has served as Chairman – ICI Pakistan and has in the past been SECP nominee Director of the Karachi Stock Exchange.
Mr. Jaffer has authored several articles, including Arbitration Law in Pakistan 1980, Yearbook Commercial Arbitration; "Islamic Banking in Pakistan", Euromoney, 1988-1989; "Enforcement of Islamic Laws”, Corporate Law and Related Topics in International Construction Law Review etc.
Mr. Jaffer is a Member, Advisory Board, HSBC Bank Middle East Limited, Pakistan Branch; Member, Supreme Court Bar Association and Sindh High Court Bar Association and LAWASIA. He has also spoken at international legal conferences. He is also a visiting faculty of Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance. He has also served as an alternate member, ICC International Court of Arbitration.
Practice areas of Mr. Jaffer include corporate law; banking and finance; insurance; arbitration; construction law; foreign investment, international trade; mergers and acquisitions and competition law.
Mr. Jaffer received his B.A. (Mod) L.L.B. in 1952 from University of Dublin, Trinity College and Barrister-at-Law in 1954 from Middle Temple, London.
- Mr. Amin Mohammed LakhaniMr. Amin Mohammed Lakhani
An MBA in Finance and International Business from The Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania (USA) and holder of Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University (USA), Mr. Amin Mohammed Lakhani is part of the Executive Leadership Team of Lakson Group of Companies.
Mr. Amin Mohammed Lakhani is Chief Executive of SIZA Foods (Private) Ltd., the franchise holders of McDonald’s restaurants in Pakistan, a world known Multinational Corporation serving fast foods. Under his dynamic leadership, SIZA has succeeded in a short period of 14 years in making McDonald’s almost a household name in Pakistan, expanding the network of its restaurants to 26 in key cities of the country. He has also won “Golden Arches Award” 2011 from McDonald’s Corporation.
His rich experience in finance, marketing, management and production spanning over 29 years has enabled him to serve as CEO of 16 unlisted public and private limited companies, Director on the Corporate Boards of 5 Lakson Group Companies listed on Stock Exchanges in Pakistan and Director in 9 other private companies of the Lakson Group.
Mr. Lakhani is the Honorary Consul General of Singapore in Pakistan since July 1992. Previously he served as Singapore’s Honorary Consul since April 1989. Acknowledging his services the Republic of Singapore awarded him Public Service Star.
Mr. Lakhani actively participates in social activities. He is a Founder Member of Pakistan Chapter of Young Presidents’ Organization, and served as the local Chapter’s chairman for the 2006-07 term. He is a Member of Stanford Alumni Association as well of The Wharton Alumni Association. He is an ardent sport enthusiast and his favourite sporting activities include riding, playing polo, tennis and golf. He has widely travelled around the globe and takes interest in international/current affairs.
Mr. Lakhani strongly believes in Lakson Group’s philosophy of paying back to the society. He is a Trustee of Hasanali and Gulbano Lakhani Foundation, a Lakson Group welfare trust. The Foundation provides educational and medical facilities to the deserving and needy persons and helps people in other areas.
- Mr. Jacques John Visser(Independent)Mr. Jacques John Visser(Independent)
Jacques Visser is presently the Chief Legal Officer of a UAE Government related agency and has more than 20-year experience as a financial services lawyer in a variety of jurisdictions.
He specialized in multi-jurisdictional investment structures, funds, asset management and regulatory matters with particular focus on alternative and emerging markets investment strategies and related M&A transactions. He was the lead adviser on a number of landmark funds and investment structures and deal emanating from Middle East, Asia and Africa over the past number of year.
Prior to taking up his current position, Mr Visser was a National Partner at Dechert LLP in Dubai where he co-headed the firm’s Financial Services Group practice. In that capacity he was listed by The Legal 500 as one of the top three most notable legal practitioners in the Investment fund industry in the UAE and recognized by MENA Fund Manager as one of the top 50 most influential individuals in the investment funds industry in the MENA region. Dechert LLP is globally known for its investment funds and regulatory legal practice in 27 offices around the world and is ranked in the top-tier in both the US and Europe in this regard.
Mr. Visser was also one of the Funding Partners and Managing Director of DIFC-based Algebra Capital, which was sold to Franklin Templeton Investments in January 2011, subsequent to which he served as Executive Managing Director at Franklin Templeton Investment (Middle East) Ltd.
Mr. Visser presently also serves as an advisory board member of a technology start-up in the Middle East and as a director in a healthcare services company in the United Kingdom.
He holds a Master’s degree in Banking and Capital Markets Law and is admitted to practice law in his native Africa since 1995.
- Mr. Daniel Scott Smaller(Independent)Mr. Daniel Scott Smaller(Independent)
Dan built and led sales and marketing teams for Citibank, Lehman, UBS and Deutsche Bank where he worked in Bahrain, London, Switzerland, Australia, Singapore, HK and Dubai. Since the early 1980s he identified and focused on investment opportunities in Emerging Markets and especially Pakistan where he introduced the first Equity Fund for the Country followed by orchestrating the first investor trips to Pakistan working to open the Capital markets for foreign institutional money mangers. He was also the first to introduce Public Equity investors to markets across Asia, the MENA, Latin America and Africa. In 2002 he moved to the buy-side with Deutsche Bank where he built and led the distribution effort for Deutsche’s Asset Management arm in the MENA responsible for the region out of Dubai. Instrumental in establishing the MENA region’s first truly independent asset management firm - Algebra Capital where he was a Founding Partner. Shortly after the latter’s successful sale to Franklin Templeton, Dan built and led the distribution efforts globally for different Asset Managers in London before joining Homestrings, the oldest and largest dedicated EM and Frontier Market Crowd Funding firm where he was responsible for Partnerships. He helped to initiate and grow Lakson Investments from inception. He is also a Board Member of Media, Fin Tech and Consumer Companies based in the UK and the MENA and a graduate of University of Chicago Business School (MBA) and American University in Washington DC.
- Mr. Zahid Zakiuddin(Independent)Mr. Zahid Zakiuddin(Independent)
Mr. Zakiuddin has over 30 years’ experience in corporate and investment banking.
He started his career in corporate banking with Bank of America in 1978, in Dublin and subsequently worked with them in London and Karachi.
Mr. Zakiuddin has spent most of his career with Investcorp Bank in Bahrain which he joined in 1987, soon after the Firm was established. Investcorp is a global alternative investments provider specializing in private equity, real estate and hedge funds. It has offices in London, New York and Bahrain with approximately 350 employees and $16 billion in assets under management. Mr. Zakiuddin’s initial position was as a Principal in the investment analysis and banking relationship group. In 1995, he was promoted to Managing Director, elected as a Member of the Management Committee and moved to the investment placement team. Within the placement team he served in various capacities including Chief of Staff and Head of the Institutional Placement group. His last position before his retirement in 2008 was as the Head of the Placement and Relationship Management team which was responsible for raising client funds totally $2.3 billion in 2007 and $3.5 billion in 2008.
Mr. Zakiuddin has a B.A. in Economics from Columbia University and an MBA with double majors in Finance and Multinational Enterprise from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
