The World CIO 200 Summit-Pakistan Edition was held on 29thof August 2024 in the Expo Center Karachi, gathering top tech leaders of Pakistan. This was the second event under Global CIO Forum in collaboration with ITCN Asia which is Pakistan largest IT exhibition, providing opportunities to have leadership excellence program, platform for top IT experts to engage in meaningful discussions and share new insights with each other.
The event started with the recitation of the Holy Quran. After National Anthem of Pakistan, the welcome note for the event was read by Mr. Shafaat Ali, a well-known Host & Actor, Master of Ceremony for the event, accompanied by Ms. Maryam Kousar, co-host of the event kickstarted the day with the agenda which included speeches, key notes, panel discussion & networking.
The contributions of P@SHA, Tech Destination Pakistan & Huawei were appreciated as Strategic IT Industry Partner for contributing to the maximum in conducting this roadshow in Pakistan.
Special thanks were conveyed to Solarwinds, Sangfor, Cekino, TrendMicro, Server4Sale, NextGenIT, NETs International, StrataG Consulting, TAJMAC, S2 Value Driven & Axis Digital for giving their full support as Key Sponsors in this event.
And lastly, three driving force behind the event, who became the catalyst for The World CIO Forum, were appreciated namely The President Global CISO forum Mr. Erdal Ozkaya, CEO of ITCN Asia Mr. Umair Nizam & Mr. Syed Abdul Qadir, Executive Director of A. F. Ferguson & Co. who brought The World CIO 200 Summit & Awards to Pakistan.
Dr. Erdal then set the stage with an introduction of the World CIO Awards & shared his thought-provoking note on the evolving role of CIOs in the current era. His address highlighted the critical contributions of CIOs in driving technological innovation and strategic growth within organizations.
He was followed by Mr. Umair Nizam who gave his two cents on the event & discussed the potential Pakistan’s IT industry could bring to Pakistan resulting in technological advancement & growth of IT industry providing new opportunities which in return bring prosperity in Pakistan. He also discussed the challenges faced by industry nowadays.
Syed Abdul Qadir came on stage and gave a powerful speech on how the World CIO 200 Summit event was brought to Pakistan after conducting it virtually for four years. He also briefed that every year Global CIO forum organises WORLD CIO 200 SUMMIT which is the biggest IT and Leadership Excellence Program and that it is a multi-country technology leaders felicitation ceremony that recognises the achievements of the ‘Digital leaders’ of today & tours more than 50 countries every year. He then left the podium for other IT experts to enlighten the audience & share with them their deep understanding and experiences regarding the challenges faced by IT industry & their remedies.
The event was then continued with the keynote speeches from various IT experts, local and foreign, on various topics related to IT, Cyber Security, Digital Transformation, IT landscape, Artificial Intelligence followed by discussion on challenges faced by IT industry nowadays. Mr. Azfar Ahsan (Chairman – Nutshell Group) emphasized that there should be consistency in policies related to IT and more IT friendly measures be taken to provide ease to those involved with this industry. Similarly, Zohaib Khan (Chairaman – P@SHA) focused on the youth and advised them to get into IT fields with a purpose to serve the nation and become ONE NATION in true sense. Other Key speakers included Mr. Abdul Rehman (Regional Director – UAE- SolarWinds), Muntaqa Peracha (Chief Executive – Foodpanda Pakistan), Faisal Mamsa (Chief Executive – Axis Digital), Syed Muneer Bakht (Head of Product and Strategy – NETS International), Mr. Like (Huawei), Ms. Frances Leung (Cloud Engineer- Google), Salman Popatya (Co-Founder and COO – S2 Value Driven Technology Distributor), Junaid Mansoor (CEO – TAJMAC), Hussein Hassanali (President – ISACA Karachi) & Ahmar Azam (CEO – TriFit Fitness Clubs). Speakers explored the transformative effects of technology on organizations and the national economy. They provided valuable insights into the integration of AI and other technologies, illustrating their potential to drive progress and competitive advantage while also acknowledging the hurdles that come with rapid technological change. A notable insight from Ms. Frances Leung emphasized that while AI cannot replace humans, individuals equipped with AI tools will outpace those without. Panelists also shared their personal experiences and strategies for overcoming contemporary challenges through technology, reinforcing its critical role in shaping the future of industries and economies.
A Fireside Chat with Zainab Hameed session was moderated by Ms. Zainab Hameed (CEO StrataG Consulting) on “Agility and Adaptability” sharing thoughts of Mr. Shaukat Ali Khan, Global CIO- Aga Khan University and Hospitals with a major discussion on how CIOs are enabling organizations to pivot and innovate rapidly to stay ahead of the curve. The panelist shared his experience in promoting agility and adaptability within their organizations. The discussion emphasized the importance of creating a unified vision within organizations to drive technological advancement and achieve strategic objectives.
After the Fireside Chat session, awards were distributed to 63 Tech Leaders from Pakistan who were selected by the Global Jury out of the total nominations from which 150+ profiles were fulfilling the eligibility criteria of short listing.
Note of thanks from the master of ceremony, Shafaat Ali Khan was provided highlighting the significance of such events in Pakistan as “The World CIO 200 Summit -Pakistan Edition” was a remarkable success of whole IT industry reflected from the presence of all attendees’ enthusiastic participation and insightful contributions. With the laud of applause, it was endorsed by the leaders and audience that this event will continue its journey of innovation and excellence in future editions of the summit.
The summit was followed by a memorable group photo, networking lunch & concluded with the announcement of the Huawei Launch event in which various latest technologies from Huawei were displayed to the audience. This initiative aims to promote innovation and support the next generation of technology leaders to nurture future technological advancements.
