My Professional Experience
In my 12+ years of professional career, I have been working within Financial Services, TMT and Public Sector space, where I have worked with some of the largest organizations in the region. I have been a Management Consultant for past 7 years, with two of the global ‘Big-4’ firms. During this time, I have provided advisory to clients in financial services, media, telecom, government organizations and regulators. I have made an impact by bringing my expertise to the table and delivered multiple high value and multidisciplinary projects to clients. My expertise of digital, analytics, payments, performance & process improvement, operations excellence, transformation, strategy and customer experience development has enabled me to service a wide array of clients.
I have worked with multiple project teams consisting of people from different backgrounds, geographies, and experiences. This diverse environment has contributed a lot to my learning curve.
Prior to moving to consulting, I spent 5.5 years working for one of the largest Telecommunications service provider in South Asia, where I was tasked to launch a Digital bank with full suite of Digital Financial Services in the country, from scratch. I was part of Mobile Financial Services (Branchless Banking) industry since its inception in Pakistan, and I feel proud to be amongst the pioneers of this industry in the country. Being a part of this project since its infancy stage, gave me the opportunity to touch each and every aspect of that project, from strategic to operational level.
The learning curve was exponential, which I believe was never possible anywhere else. With this rich experience, I strongly believe that I have requisite knowledge, skillset and hands-on experience to lead such a project anywhere in the world. I was deeply involved in technical, commercial, operational, financial and regulatory/legal aspects of Mobile Financial Services in Pakistan. The outcome was jazzcash (www.jazzcash.com.pk) which was commercially launched in 2012. I am fortunate and proud to be amongst the brains behind this success story.
I am a strong believer in team effort. Having managed people at all 3 organizations, I take responsibility for my team’s learning, development and growth. I have strong communication, negotiation, relationship and persuasive skills. I have this strong ability to manage multiple tasks at a time by effectively managing my team and efficiently utilizing the time and resources.
Below are the details of my professional experience at these 3 organizations.
I have worked with multiple project teams consisting of people from different backgrounds, geographies, and experiences. This diverse environment has contributed a lot to my learning curve.
Prior to moving to consulting, I spent 5.5 years working for one of the largest Telecommunications service provider in South Asia, where I was tasked to launch a Digital bank with full suite of Digital Financial Services in the country, from scratch. I was part of Mobile Financial Services (Branchless Banking) industry since its inception in Pakistan, and I feel proud to be amongst the pioneers of this industry in the country. Being a part of this project since its infancy stage, gave me the opportunity to touch each and every aspect of that project, from strategic to operational level.
The learning curve was exponential, which I believe was never possible anywhere else. With this rich experience, I strongly believe that I have requisite knowledge, skillset and hands-on experience to lead such a project anywhere in the world. I was deeply involved in technical, commercial, operational, financial and regulatory/legal aspects of Mobile Financial Services in Pakistan. The outcome was jazzcash (www.jazzcash.com.pk) which was commercially launched in 2012. I am fortunate and proud to be amongst the brains behind this success story.
I am a strong believer in team effort. Having managed people at all 3 organizations, I take responsibility for my team’s learning, development and growth. I have strong communication, negotiation, relationship and persuasive skills. I have this strong ability to manage multiple tasks at a time by effectively managing my team and efficiently utilizing the time and resources.
Below are the details of my professional experience at these 3 organizations.
Management Consultant @ Deloitte & Touche Middle East
January 2016 to Present
Core Expertise: Transformation | Automation | Process Improvement | Digital | Feasibility | Market Research | Strategy | Revenue Growth
Industry Focus: Financial Services | TMT | Public Sector
Functional Focus: Payments | Currency Management | Regulatory Regime | Retail & Corporate Banking | Digital Banking | Digital Customer Experience
Primary Responsibilities
- Develop the digital agenda within the Middle East practice of the firm
- Assist and steer the engagement teams working with priority clients for digital and operations transformation projects
- Assist the leadership in pursuing the digital agenda with clients, with focus on FSI and TMT clients
- Assist the firm in people development for specific competencies and expertise
- Lead projects and streams within projects, including client relationship managementAchieve sales, revenue and utilization targets
Major Projects Undertaken
- Large scale transformation of core banking system for the largest banking regulator in GCC, while working closely with the technology provider. Managed major workstreams including Payments, Currency Management, Government Accounts, Letter of Credit and Investments.
- Digital Operating Model design for a large payments service provider in GCC, under the umbrella of central bank. The objective was to revamp its product for mass adoption, including the customer experience and journey design.
- Operating Model design of a large Telecommunications service provider in GCC, for its mobile money project, covering the processes, technology, organizational aspects, regulatory landscape, alliance options, B2B opportunities and long-term strategy.
- Feasibility study for a multilateral financial institution to establish a global Islamic bank, including the macro-economic and micro-economic study of multiple countries and domicile study of shortlisted countries to establish the bank.
January 2016 to Present
Core Expertise: Transformation | Automation | Process Improvement | Digital | Feasibility | Market Research | Strategy | Revenue Growth
Industry Focus: Financial Services | TMT | Public Sector
Functional Focus: Payments | Currency Management | Regulatory Regime | Retail & Corporate Banking | Digital Banking | Digital Customer Experience
Primary Responsibilities
- Develop the digital agenda within the Middle East practice of the firm
- Assist and steer the engagement teams working with priority clients for digital and operations transformation projects
- Assist the leadership in pursuing the digital agenda with clients, with focus on FSI and TMT clients
- Assist the firm in people development for specific competencies and expertise
- Lead projects and streams within projects, including client relationship managementAchieve sales, revenue and utilization targets
Major Projects Undertaken
- Large scale transformation of core banking system for the largest banking regulator in GCC, while working closely with the technology provider. Managed major workstreams including Payments, Currency Management, Government Accounts, Letter of Credit and Investments.
- Digital Operating Model design for a large payments service provider in GCC, under the umbrella of central bank. The objective was to revamp its product for mass adoption, including the customer experience and journey design.
- Operating Model design of a large Telecommunications service provider in GCC, for its mobile money project, covering the processes, technology, organizational aspects, regulatory landscape, alliance options, B2B opportunities and long-term strategy.
- Feasibility study for a multilateral financial institution to establish a global Islamic bank, including the macro-economic and micro-economic study of multiple countries and domicile study of shortlisted countries to establish the bank.
Management Consultant @ EY Middle East
November 2014 to December 2015
Core Expertise: Transformation | Digital | Performance Improvement | Product Design | Strategy | Market Research | Customer Segmentation | Customer Experience | Regulatory
Industry Focus: Financial Services | TMT | Public Sector
Functional Focus: Business Planning | Financial Planning | Regulatory Regime | Retail Banking | Insurance | CRM
Primary Responsibilities
- Align the sector and competency strategy with organizational strategic goals, both short-term and long-term
- Develop the competency of digital finance within the firm
- Provide exceptional client service and highest quality projects by utilizing all available resources
- Ensure highest quality standards for all client engagements
- Achieve sales, revenue and utilization targets
Major Projects Undertaken
- Large scale digital transformation for one of the biggest global events and media company, including global requirements gathering from all business units, end user workshops around the world to establish client requirements, formulation of transformation strategy and ‘Growth Acceleration Program’, organizing vendor demonstrations, formulation of RFPs and RFQs for vendors, devising vendor selection criteria, devising launch and rollout plan globally.
- New business setup for a government FS entity in UAE, including the formulation of regulatory business plan, definition of product, distribution and segment strategy, development of launch plan, assessment of governance and risk framework and development of financial model.
- Market assessment for a global insurance provider in GCC countries and formulation of expansion strategy within the region. The project also covered primary research with customers, brokers and insurance providers, along with a multi-year plan for expansion, rollout and diversification.
- Business plan development for an African bank for entry into Middle East, covering regulatory business plan, product, distribution and segment strategy, operational build out plan, governance and risk framework, financial model, processes and policies.
November 2014 to December 2015
Core Expertise: Transformation | Digital | Performance Improvement | Product Design | Strategy | Market Research | Customer Segmentation | Customer Experience | Regulatory
Industry Focus: Financial Services | TMT | Public Sector
Functional Focus: Business Planning | Financial Planning | Regulatory Regime | Retail Banking | Insurance | CRM
Primary Responsibilities
- Align the sector and competency strategy with organizational strategic goals, both short-term and long-term
- Develop the competency of digital finance within the firm
- Provide exceptional client service and highest quality projects by utilizing all available resources
- Ensure highest quality standards for all client engagements
- Achieve sales, revenue and utilization targets
Major Projects Undertaken
- Large scale digital transformation for one of the biggest global events and media company, including global requirements gathering from all business units, end user workshops around the world to establish client requirements, formulation of transformation strategy and ‘Growth Acceleration Program’, organizing vendor demonstrations, formulation of RFPs and RFQs for vendors, devising vendor selection criteria, devising launch and rollout plan globally.
- New business setup for a government FS entity in UAE, including the formulation of regulatory business plan, definition of product, distribution and segment strategy, development of launch plan, assessment of governance and risk framework and development of financial model.
- Market assessment for a global insurance provider in GCC countries and formulation of expansion strategy within the region. The project also covered primary research with customers, brokers and insurance providers, along with a multi-year plan for expansion, rollout and diversification.
- Business plan development for an African bank for entry into Middle East, covering regulatory business plan, product, distribution and segment strategy, operational build out plan, governance and risk framework, financial model, processes and policies.
Manager Commercial & Channel Development @ Jazz Pakistan (previously Mobilink)
April 2009 to October 2014
Core Expertise: Greenfield Project | Strategy Design | Mobile Wallet | Mobile Financial Services | Mobile Payments | Digital | Financial Inclusion | Channel Development | Pricing Strategy | Product Design | Customer Segmentation | Customer Experience | Customer Support | Policies & Processes Design | Regulatory | Marketing & Communication Strategy
Industry Focus: TMT | Financial Services | Development Sector
Functional Focus: Payments | Digital Banking | Digital Customer Experience | Cash Management | Customer Retention | Microfinance | B2B, B2C, C2B, P2P, G2P, P2G Payments & Transaction Flows
Primary Responsibilities
- End-to-end launch of digital bank and mobile financial services (branchless banking) in the country, including M-Wallet & OTC
- Developing the strategy, policies and processes for product, channel, pricing & operations
- Designing the procedures for complete life cycle of the project, including product flows, customer support, channel support, cash management, customer experience & journey design, pricing, communication, new product development and synergies
Major Tasks Undertaken
- Establishment of a new digital Microfinance bank as a subsidiary of Telecom company
- Product design for all the Payment products, including but not limited to B2B, B2C, C2B, P2P, G2P and P2G payments
- Product Development in collaboration with the solution provider
- Development of cash management processes, procedures and policies
- Customer Segmentation based on extensive market research and global best practices
- End-to-end customer support setup for the new function
- Customer experience and journey design for all products and interactions
- Channel Strategy development and implementation including selection and due diligence of partners, formulation of partner induction model, formulation of incentive programs and expansion of partner network to 5,000+ agents in first month and to 30,000+ agents in first year.
- Pricing Strategy development and rationalization of the pricing with market benchmarks, competition pricing and consumer dynamics. Also developed the partners compensation structure and revenue sharing model with the partner bank.
- Communication Strategy development after extensive research for brand strategy and product positioning. Was responsible for designing all branding and POS material, including instruction manuals, product brochures, POS material, agent launch-kit, outdoor branding material, audio & video tutorials and product website. Also assisted in designing of the ATL campaign.
- Product & operational SOPs development for internal & external stakeholders, including finance, sales & distribution, customer support, legal, IT & technical, correspondent banks and logistic partners
- Business analysis, planning & budgeting
- Product management for some of the high-volume and successful products of the company, including mobile commerce products, international airtime top-up products and SMS banking products. Majority of these products achieved YoY revenue growth of more than 100% over the course of 5 years.
April 2009 to October 2014
Core Expertise: Greenfield Project | Strategy Design | Mobile Wallet | Mobile Financial Services | Mobile Payments | Digital | Financial Inclusion | Channel Development | Pricing Strategy | Product Design | Customer Segmentation | Customer Experience | Customer Support | Policies & Processes Design | Regulatory | Marketing & Communication Strategy
Industry Focus: TMT | Financial Services | Development Sector
Functional Focus: Payments | Digital Banking | Digital Customer Experience | Cash Management | Customer Retention | Microfinance | B2B, B2C, C2B, P2P, G2P, P2G Payments & Transaction Flows
Primary Responsibilities
- End-to-end launch of digital bank and mobile financial services (branchless banking) in the country, including M-Wallet & OTC
- Developing the strategy, policies and processes for product, channel, pricing & operations
- Designing the procedures for complete life cycle of the project, including product flows, customer support, channel support, cash management, customer experience & journey design, pricing, communication, new product development and synergies
Major Tasks Undertaken
- Establishment of a new digital Microfinance bank as a subsidiary of Telecom company
- Product design for all the Payment products, including but not limited to B2B, B2C, C2B, P2P, G2P and P2G payments
- Product Development in collaboration with the solution provider
- Development of cash management processes, procedures and policies
- Customer Segmentation based on extensive market research and global best practices
- End-to-end customer support setup for the new function
- Customer experience and journey design for all products and interactions
- Channel Strategy development and implementation including selection and due diligence of partners, formulation of partner induction model, formulation of incentive programs and expansion of partner network to 5,000+ agents in first month and to 30,000+ agents in first year.
- Pricing Strategy development and rationalization of the pricing with market benchmarks, competition pricing and consumer dynamics. Also developed the partners compensation structure and revenue sharing model with the partner bank.
- Communication Strategy development after extensive research for brand strategy and product positioning. Was responsible for designing all branding and POS material, including instruction manuals, product brochures, POS material, agent launch-kit, outdoor branding material, audio & video tutorials and product website. Also assisted in designing of the ATL campaign.
- Product & operational SOPs development for internal & external stakeholders, including finance, sales & distribution, customer support, legal, IT & technical, correspondent banks and logistic partners
- Business analysis, planning & budgeting
- Product management for some of the high-volume and successful products of the company, including mobile commerce products, international airtime top-up products and SMS banking products. Majority of these products achieved YoY revenue growth of more than 100% over the course of 5 years.