The board of Engro Corporation Limited, one of the country’s largest business conglomerates, has appointed Ahsan Zafar Syed as the company’s President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Designate.

The company, a subsidiary of Dawood Hercules Corporation Limited, shared the development in a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday.

“As recommended by the board of Engro Corporation Limited, we are pleased to announce the appointment of Ahsan Zafar Syed as the ‘President & CEO – Designate’ of the company,” read the notice.

“The BoD has also expressed its deepest gratitude towards the existing President & CEO, Ghias Khan, whose leadership and dedication has helped in the substantial growth of the company,” it added.

The notice read that Ghias shall continue to hold the office as the ‘President & CEO’ till the end of his term.

“Ahsan Zafar Syed shall assume the position of President & CEO of the company, subject to board approval after the election of the Board of Directors in April 2024,” added the notice.

Ceasing operations in Pakistan: Engro Corporation rejects ‘false’ assertion

Zafar is currently serving as the CEO of Engro Fertilizer (EFERT) and “will remain actively engaged in managing the affairs of the company as the CEO of EFERT till further notice”, read a separate notice at the bourse.

As per information available on Engro’s website, Zafar started his professional career with Engro (then Exxon Chemical Pakistan Limited) more than 30 years ago.

He played a key role in the construction of the $1.1 billion EnVen Project, the world’s largest single-train urea plant, for Engro Fertilizers.

Since 2011, Zafar spearheaded the operations of Pakistan’s largest rice processing facility in Muridke for Engro Eximp Agriproducts. Since 2014, Ahsan has been the bedrock of Engro’s Energy vertical, responsible for taking the Thar project to its commercial operations in 2019 and developing a path for the company to operate in a liberal market using renewable fuels as the source.

Additionally, Ahsan is Chairman of the Board of Elengy Terminal Pakistan Limited and serves on the Boards of Tenaga Generasi Limited and Engro Elengy Terminal (Pvt) Limited.

Engro Corporation is one of the largest conglomerates in the country with a business portfolio spanning across four verticals including food and agriculture, energy and related infrastructure, petrochemicals, and telecommunication infrastructure.