Delivery Associates

♦ Providing strategic advisory to the Prime Minister's Office and Special Investment Facilitation Council in Pakistan, enhancing ministerial capacities and developing decision support systems for effective governance.
♦ Designed and executed the Africa CDC Ministerial Executive Leadership Programme, incorporating simulation exercises, case studies, and strategic foresight.
♦ Led a comprehensive analysis of foundational learning across three countries, leveraging GPE Education Sector Analysis and Deliverology toolkit for dynamic stakeholder engagement, benchmarking strategic effectiveness and harmonization in education, and led mixed-methods research to unearth critical challenges and opportunities, culminating in impactful recommendations for transformative stakeholder behavior in foundational learning.
♦ Provided strategic advisory services to an intergovernmental organization on early childhood education, including conducting a comprehensive capacity assessment to evaluate the ability of its Country Offices to support implementation.
♦ Supported the development of a refreshed strategy for a ~US$2.5B Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF), in collaboration with leading developmental entities such to achieve the Fund's goal of raising the poorest out of poverty.
♦ Developed an investment framework and strategy for a US$200M partnership fund, which financed economic empowerment, agriculture, and climate adaptation projects in Sub-Saharan Africa.
♦ Spearheaded business development, leading four major proposals, significantly contributing to organizational growth.
♦ Streamlined regional business development processes in MESA, including the creation of a comprehensive tracker for past proposals, colleague profiles, and essential resources.
♦ Drove recruitment efforts in the Middle East by conducting thorough interviews and evaluations of 30 potential candidates for open positions, as well as anticipating and identifying future staffing needs.

Delivery Leader (Junior Engagement Manager)

World Bank Group

♦  Effectively worked with the Prime Minister’s Office, three Federal Government Ministries and four Provincial Governments to conceptualize and design the national strategy on regulatory modernization (Pakistan Regulatory Modernization Initiative) that will yield a digital transformation in regulatory services, facilitate investments worth US$150 million and induce compliance cost savings of US$20 million annually
♦ Analyzed ~1400 different laws, regulations, rules and proposed 246 reform recommendations to reduce regulatory burden on businesses
♦ Designed capacity building exercises and training modules for ~200 public officials directly involved in undertaking investment climate and business regulation reforms
♦ Supervised the IFC Deep Dives for automotive and pharmaceutical sectors in Pakistan to unlock investment opportunities

Consultant (IFC Regional Advisory Services - Creating Markets)

Prime Minister's Office, Board of Investment, Government of Pakistan

♦ Co-authored and delivered the national strategy on regulatory reforms targeted at creating a business enabling environment and unlocking US$MM investment opportunities in 7 priority sectors. 

♦ Provided thought leadership and strategic advisory on private sector development and digital governance.

Advisor to the National Steering Committee on Pakistan Regulatory Modernization Initiative

Adam Smith International

♦ Advised Ministry of Planning, Development & Special Initiatives on Public Educations Sector’s response to COVID - 19
♦ Undertook a comprehensive financial analysis of development projects under Public Sector Development Program(PSDP), identifying opportunities for optimization and funds reallocation to critical projects.
♦ Developed an M&E framework and toolkit for scheme under PSDP and provincial ADPs

Consultant

Founder Institute

Co Director

♦ The Silicon Valley-based Founder Institute (http://FI.co) is the world’s premier idea-stage accelerator and startup launch program. Through its proven part-time curriculum, which combines a step-by-step process with mentorship from experienced founders, the Founder Institute has helped launch some of the world’s fastest growing companies. Plus, participants don’t have to quit their day job to participate.

♦ I head the Founder Institute operations and strategy in Islamabad and help vet, assess and enroll technology startup founders. Additionally, I work with the local directors to provide a structured program that helps founders refine their ideas, products, build a team, an advisory board and prepare them for seed funding.

Program Manager

Sixth Road Consulting

♦ Co-Founder: Pioneered a resource and skill sharing platform for a network of individual consultants from diverse backgrounds to collaborate on short-term yet challenging projects. 

♦ Introduced tools and measures to make the firm 100% remotely operational – a move that has and will save the firm PKR 2 Million in annual costs and additional overheads.

♦ Managing a team of spread over three cities and two continents.

♦ Acquired stakes in a development studio to offer Digital Transformation and ERP solutions to our clients.

♦ Built strategic partnerships with other consulting firms to collaborate on complex, multi-dimensional  projects.

♦ Conducted corporate trainings on Data Analysis for our clients.

♦ Projects & Engagements: 

1. Proposed a cyber security solution to a public sector entity.

2. Led a case team of three to advise a client from the Oil & Gas industry with PKR 500 million in yearly revenues on growth and process reengineering. Deliverables included: 
- In House capacity building of a Business Intelligence Unit, including the initial architecture design of data pipelines and development of scrapers to collect data from secondary sources, clean, transform and join it with the internal data to provide critical intelligence on competitors through analysis on data dashboards.
- Created a framework for filling station acquisition and financial model that estimated monthly returns taking operational costs and other factors into account. 

3. Took an independent consulting assignment to design and deliver a social media strategy for a public sector think tank.

4. Successfully led a case team of 3 and delivered an analytics portal to a Multilateral Development Bank.

Co-Founder

Crimson Education

Strategy Consultant

Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qaism Limited

Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim Limited is an entity of Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited, the largest chemical fertilizer producer of Pakistan.

As a Management Associate in the Information Technology Department, I was working on multiple projects. Some of my responsibilities included: 

♦ Evaluating the organization's computer systems and advise on changes to those systems to ensure proper and efficient operation.

♦ Supervising the Technical Support Team, ensuring efficient and smooth logging of employee queries, configuring of computer systems, and troubleshooting of hardware, software and network faults.

♦ Administration of IBM/Lotus Notes application with emphasis on troubleshooting and diagnosing problems, creation of user accounts/user ID in Domino, managing individual mailbox quotas, implementation of company and interdepartmental mail policy, administration of Domino Server, configuration of Domino Cluster and overall monitoring of email infrastructure.

♦ Managing and supporting the IT infrastructure deployed within the company including:
   - Windows Server 2003/2008
   - Windows Domain Infrastructure
   - WANs; including routers and firewalls
   - LANs; including switches
   - Various Operating Systems & Applications
 
♦ Liaising with Human Resources Department & Solutions Providers regarding implementation of a Knowledge Management System within Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim Limited.

♦ Conducting Board Meetings, including testing and troubleshooting of all equipment as well as coordinating with various departments for the same purpose. 

♦ Reporting Directly to the Head of Information Technology Department on policy matters related to the "Go-Green" initiative.

Management Associate

TeReSol Pvt Ltd

♦ Was part of a team developing a live video analytics solution for the defense sector.

♦ Developed kernel utilities in C to support communications with GPIO and i2c ports over ARM 9 system from the Texas Instruments Product Line.

♦ Created custom kernel images (Arago based uImage) for AM1808 (ARM9) based boards.

♦ Partition Optimization for Raw NAND Flash system and flashing a custom boot-loader, kernel image and filesystem (jffs2 based) to it for persistent storage and to eliminate the reliance on ramdisk.

♦ Developed and Tested a Universal Parallel Port (uPP) driver module to work with the custom board. 

♦ Wrote framed source modules for Live555 media server application to read and live stream an H.264 encoded output from uPP device driver.

Software Engineering Intern (Embedded Linux)

Qwexar

♦ Acquired experience in agile development of web based applications using Ruby on Rails 4, MongoDB and Node.js

Software Engineering Intern (Web Applications)

🔸 Seasoned management consultant with over 7 years of experience and a proven track record of advising and working with startups, multilateral agencies, non-profits, and government bodies to deliver public value and drive economic growth across the globe. Expertise in driving strategic reforms in the public sector, particularly in the areas of economic and investment climate reform, as well as digital transformation of government services at scale. Extensive experience in creating pathways to capital and unlocking financing for development projects through pooled funds. 

🔸 Advisory experience includes working with government entities, philanthropies, non-profits, multilateral development banks, and private sector companies on a wide variety of topics including competitiveness, investment climate and business environment reform, economic development planning, organizational and investment strategy design for pooled funds (partnerships and multi-donor trust funds) 

🔸 Industry experience includes public sector, telecommunications & media, engineering, edtech, energy, and consumer goods

🔸 Skilled in strategic management and growth, business strategy, statistical analysis, data science, business intelligence, data visualization, cybersecurity, technology policy formulation, design thinking and programming in Python and R.
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🎓 Former Fulbright Scholar (Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Program; NYU 2016-2018)
⚜️ Former advisor to the National Steering Committee on Pakistan Regulatory Modernization Initiative (at the Prime Minister's Office)
🌏 Broad experience serving clients in North America, Pakistan, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates

I finished Source Code in 2 days and have been reflecting on the question: If Bill Gates had been born in Pakistan, would he still have built Microsoft?

Maybe. But the odds would have been stacked against him.

Reading Source Code was a fascinating deep dive into how Gates’ early life shaped his trajectory. He had:

- Early access to computers—At a time when most universities didn’t have them, his private school did.
- Supportive mentors—He had people guiding him in both tech and business.
- A culture that rewarded risk.

That’s not to take away from his brilliance or work ethic. But it’s a reminder that talent needs opportunity.

In Pakistan, we have no shortage of brilliant minds. What we lack are the same foundational systems—early exposure to technology, strong mentorship networks, and an ecosystem that encourages innovation.

Reading Source Code made me think: How many Bill Gates have we lost simply because they were never given the right start?

Thoroughly enjoyed this book—highly recommend it.

Syed Ali Shehryar

Global Development Leader | Future-Proofing Economies with AI & Policy Innovation | Strategic Advisor on Digital Transformation and Data-Driven Governance | Fulbright Scholar

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Earlier this week, I was grabbing coffee with a friend who’s been making impressive moves. On paper, he had it all. But halfway through his latte, he admitted, “I’m exhausted. What is all this even for?” That moment really struck me, as I’ve felt that same pressure before.

Back in grad school at NYU, a mentor once said, “You can chase more money, a flashier title, or a better car—but there’s always another step. What matters is why you’re climbing, not just how high you go.” It’s too easy to focus on ticking off achievements without asking what truly matters.

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on how our priorities shift between work, relationships, health, and that personal spark we rarely mention. In my 20s, I worked endless hours without a second thought. Now, I prefer a slower start to the day that lets me really consider what’s important. Recognizing your priorities can prevent you from chasing success that doesn’t feel right.

Enter AI. It’s already taking on routine tasks—organizing data, transcribing meeting notes, drafting emails—in moments. With those everyday tasks out of the way, we can spend more time on creative ideas, meaningful connections, and those flash moments of insight that only humans can deliver.

I see AI as a tool that shines a light on what makes us truly human. It may generate reports, but it doesn’t grasp the nuance of human interactions or spark a vision that brings a team together. Working with AI means you can focus on the ideas that really count.

Imagine this:

• A personal career guide: AI that assesses your skills, passions, and even stress levels to help point you toward your next move—whether that’s a change or a pause.

• Real-time feedback: Systems that alert you when you’re overworking or when your daily habits stray from your bigger goals.

• Better opportunities: Platforms that match you with roles or projects based on your interests instead of just current trends. There are already a couple of great ones in the market (shouting out to Movemeon )

To stay on track as work changes, my advice is simple:

• Invest in what only you can offer: your insights, your stories, and your unique questions.

• Let AI handle the routine so you have more time for what really matters.

• Keep close to your personal mission. AI can crunch numbers, but you set the course.

Work isn’t just about stacking achievements—it’s about creating a career that feels right for you. AI is just one tool to help get you there faster.

#WorkSmart #AIRevolution #CareerMoves

Ever wonder why AI governance matters? 

About 3 years ago, I worked on a paper analyzing the Ehsaas social protection programme in Pakistan (it got published as a Stanford CDDRL working paper in June 2022). 

The research reshaped my thinking about how AI can support these vital services. When algorithms help determine benefit eligibility, every decision affects real lives.

And this is exactly why a sound approach to AI governance is needed - to build fairness, protect citizens from unintended errors, and maintain public trust.

But what does it mean in practice? 

I believe there are 3 key tenets. 

First, every citizen deserves equal treatment by AI systems - by design. 

Second, human oversight cannot be discounted as it helps prevent errors that could harm individuals.

Third, mechanisms for establishing trust in the system need to be prioritized. It’s easier said than done. But transparent practices build confidence in public services. Always. 

AI in public service has huge potential, but only if we steer it right! 

#AIGovernance #EthicalAI #TechForGood #PakistanTech #BISP #Ehsaas

What is the purpose behind rethinking AI compliance? For me, it all comes down to placing community values and clear accountability at the center of every decision.

I have observed organizations apply a generic approach to AI governance - not a good move! 

Instead, I choose to start with local policies, engage in honest dialogue with stakeholders, and set accountability at every stage. 

This method has reshaped my view on compliance.

Here’s the approach I follow:
1.	Adopt local policies before applying broader rules
2.	Keep data logs open to maintain clarity
3.	Hold direct conversations with stakeholders early on
4.	Draft accountability steps at every development phase
5.	Merge ethical codes with cultural values

A few guiding principles:

✅Always
• Explore recognized guidelines (EU AI Act, NIST AI RMF, ISO 42001)
• Prioritize clarity whenever AI is used
• Keep accountability strong
• Offer step-by-step policies
• Respect ethical impact

❌Never
• Overlook regional differences
• Expect a universal model
• Exclude the community
• Dismiss local customs
• Downplay AI risks

Cultural insight plays a key role. Global standards offer a broad direction, but local values provide the detail needed to shape effective outcomes.

#AI #AIGovernance #GlobalStandards #EthicalAI #Compliance #AIAct #NIST #ISO42001 #LocalAdaptation

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