Mr. Zafar Masud

Mr. Zafar Masud is a development and social impact-focused banker, entrepreneur, public sector expert, and an author, with around 30 years of proven exceptional success stories in development finance, energy, corporate governance, and management. He had served at top positions in multinational banks within and outside Pakistan, including American Express Bank, Citigroup, Dubai Islamic, and Barclays (Regional Managing Director Southern Africa).

Mr. Masud was appointed as Member of the Board of Directors of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in March 2013, and a Member of the Constitutionally Independent Monetary Policy Committee until he departed from the Board to join Government in August 2016. As Director General of National Savings, Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan for two years (2016–18), he was instrumental in initiating the organization's digital transformation with the support of the Gates Foundation, the FCDO Government of the UK, USAID, and the World Bank.

Between 2018 and 2020, he had the honor of being the Founding CEO (Interim) for InfraZamin Pakistan (IZP) — a Private Infrastructure Development Group, UK (PIDG) driven initiative — for setting up the first of its kind credit enhancement company in Pakistan for social infrastructure financing.

Since April 2020, Mr. Zafar Masud has been serving as President & CEO of The Bank of Punjab (BOP) — the second largest public sector bank in the Country with US$ 8 Billion in balance sheet and over 14,000 staff. He is spearheading a strategic transformational drive to steer BOP towards cutting-edge digitally motivated financial institutions to be positioned in the industry's top-tier banks.

He is leading the Board of Directors of Oil & Gas Development Company Limited — the largest entity in Pakistan in terms of market capitalization with foreign listing, as its non-executive Chairman. He is the elected Chairman of Pakistan Banks Association, and Member of Pakistan Airport Authority Board, National Institute of Banking & Finance of SBP Board, and the Executive Committee of the National Alumni Association of INSEAD — France.

Mr. Masud was decorated with the highest civil award of Hungary in August 2021 for spearheading the initiative to further Hungarian-Pakistan cross-cultural ties. Earlier in May 2020, he miraculously survived the PK8303 airplane crash in Karachi. His latest book — SEAT 1C, A SURVIVOR'S TALE OF HOPE, RESILIENCE AND RENEWAL — has been launched internationally.