KARACHI: A long-serving champion of public health and the hospice movement, Mark Millar, has been appointed president of ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants). Mark Millar, from Suffolk, England, was named to the global role at ACCA's Annual General Meeting (AGM), which was held entirely online for the first time ever.

Two Pakistanis have also been elected to ACCA's global council. Nauman Asif Mian, who is currently the CFO at Bayt.com Inc, will be serving as council member for the first time. On the other hand, Ayla Majid, managing director of financial advisory at Khalid Majid Rehman, has been re-elected. She's been serving on the council since 2014.

Ayla Majid was the first female to sit on the board of any stock exchange in Pakistan; she is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum (WEF). She was recently invited to the WEF's Annual Meeting in Davos where she led a session on Global Risks. At the Global Future Council for Energy at the WEF, she is working on important initiatives to accelerate energy transition and to define potential actions to positively shape related developments.

For Ayla promoting the role of women in governance is something she is very passionate about. She said: "It is the need of today's forward-looking organisation."

Education is another important area of her focus. Nauman Asif Mian has established himself as a leading figure in UAE's tech sector. He has been nominated for multiple awards, such as the "Young Accountant of the Year" and "Chartered Accountant of the Year" at the Finance and Accountancy Middle East Awards.

Commenting on his role, he said: "I'm excited to see what the future holds within our profession and within ACCA, especially as we see major transformations within our 'world'. As part of my role on the council, I aim to be the voice for all ACCA stakeholders and help shape what it is we need from our professional body."

Millar will serve as figurehead and leader for ACCA's 227,000 members and 544,000 future members in 176 countries. He succeeds the outgoing president, Jenny Gu.

"This is a tremendous privilege, and I am thrilled to have the honour to serve all my colleagues all around the world," said Millar.

"It is humbling that so many talented and dedicated professionals have placed their trust in me to serve as their president, and I look forward to representing them faithfully and well in the coming year."

Orla Collins, interim managing director of Aberdeen Standard Investments Ireland, was appointed ACCA deputy president.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020