Mr. Zafar Masud

Mr. Zafar Masud is a development and social impact focused banker, entrepreneur and public sector expert having around 30 years of proven track record of exceptional success stories in Banking, Development Finance, Energy and Corporate Governance.

He has earned rich banking experience while being at top positions in multinational banks within and outside Pakistan, including American Express Bank, Citigroup, Dubai Islamic Bank, and Barclays Bank PLC, where he had served as Regional Managing Director & CEO for Southern Africa, managing total balance sheet of US$ 3 Billion and 10,000 people.

Mr. Masud has been the Member of the Board of Directors of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), appointed in March 2013 for three years.  He had served as the Member on the most prestigious and coveted Constitutionally Independent Monetary Policy Committee of the Government of Pakistan until his departure from the Board in August 2016.  After successfully completing one three year term on the Board of Directors of SBP, was re-appointed on the Board of SBP for another term of three years in April 2016 - a testament of recognition of his exceptional performance as the Board Member of this most prestigious institution.  He had served as the Chairman of Publications Review Sub-Committee and Members of Human Resources and Investment Sub-Committees of the Board.  His contribution on the Board, particularly in the areas of Publications, Monetary Policy, Foreign Remittances/ Investments, Banking and Human Resources, has been recognized and praised, across the board.

He has contributed in the revitalization & transformation of National Savings, Ministry of Finance (MoF), Government of Pakistan (GoP), where he remained as Chief Executive/ Director General for two years (2016-18). He was instrumental in initiating a digital transformation of the organization with the support of Gates Foundation, Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (formerly, DFID) Government of UK, USAID and the World Bank. During his tenure at National Savings, he had successfully launched welfare products for Differently-abled Persons and Shuhadah’s Families and set in motion the launch of Overseas Pakistanis Savings Certificates and Shariah Compliant Savings Schemes.

Between 2018 and 2020, he has the honor of being the Founding CEO (Interim) for InfraZamin Pakistan (IZP) - a Private Infrastructure Development Group, UK (PIDG) driven initiative - for setting-up first of it’s kind credit enhancement company in Pakistan for social infrastructure financing in local currency, working closely with Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) in framing the necessary rules and regulations to allow entry and functioning of such entities into this very important arena of infrastructure financing in Pakistan.  He’s currently serving on the Board of Directors of IZP as nominee director of the main sponsor - InfraCo Asia Singapore.  

He also rendered his services as Director on the Boards of major public and private sector entities including Port Qasim Authority (PQA), Quaid-e-Azam Thermal Power (Private) Limited, Gadoon Textile Mills Limited, etc.

He has remained a member of the IMF motivated Task Force on Framing State Owned Entities (SOE) Law set-up by the Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan.   

Mr. Masud was earlier appointed as Convener of one of the largest interest free loan programs in Pakistan — an innovative poverty-alleviation and social-safety project of the Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan.  In addition to designing the entire program, he was credited for managing it end-to-end, quickest and smoothest execution, with exceptional success, including getting the program consented from IMF and the World Bank.

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$ 7 Billion in balance sheet size and over 14,000 staff. He is spearheading a strategic transformational drive to steer BOP towards cutting-edge digitally motivated financial institution, to be positioned in industry’s top-tier banks with focus on empathy, compassion and the best in class corporate governance practices.

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 it’s non-executive Chairman.
Mr. Zafar Masud is a certified director.

Earlier in May 2020, he had miraculously survived the PK8303 airplane crash in Karachi.  His colleagues dedicated a book to him called “The Miraculous Survivor”.

He has been decorated with the highest civil award of Hungary in August 2021 for spearheading the initiative to furthering Hungarian-Pakistani cross cultural ties, by restoring ~175-years old subcontinental artwork of Hungarian Artist August Schoefft.

Mr. Masud is an MBA (‘93) with specialization in Banking from the most prestigious Institute of Business Administration, University of Karachi (IBA Karachi).  He’s also an alum of the world renowned business school Insead, Fontainebleau France Campus, qualified in Corporate Governance.

He’s a regular contributor to local and international media, including Tedtalk, etc., on the topics of banking, economics and energy and is also an author of a publication in two volumes titled “Out of the Box” which is a collection of his various newspaper articles, write-up and presentations on these topics.  Co-authored a publication on pension reforms with the DfID/ FCDO consultants for KPK.  Featured, the only one outside Western Hemisphere, in 30 Transformative insights from Greatest Minds by best-seller author Scott Miller in his book "Master Mentors - Volume 2".  

His latest book - Leased Breath - based on his musings as aircrash survivor, is presently under publication.
Mr. Masud has a dedicated website (zafarmasud.com)