After doing master's in business education from the Punjab University, I had three options. First, to take up teaching at the department of business education which could also get me a scholarship for further studies at the Indiana University (Bloomington). Second, to take up a job in a private enterprise to become an executive. Third, to study for another master's at the Institute of Business Administration, commonly known as I.B.A, at Karachi--1200km away from Lahore where I was living with my family.
I decided in favour of going for another master's in business administration at IBA to strengthen my qualifications for a better start-up in a large organization, preferably a multi-national corporation. The multi-national corporations operating in Pakistan were known for their professional environment, high salaries and perks, foreign training and better career advancement. I took the admission test, appeared for the interview and got the admission. I joined the IBA in 1968 for an MBA degree and put up at the hostel.
In later part of 1968, riots broke out throughout Pakistan. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, formerly foreign minister, had left the cabinet of President Ayub Khan in 1967 and founded his own political party called Pakistan People's Party (PPP) in the same year. He launched a mass campaign to dislodge President Ayub Khan. He was young, dynamic and chrismatic. He could mobilize the people, address them in the language and gestures they could understand and came up with a message the masses needed. Roti, Kapra, Makan (food, clothing and shelter) was the thematic slogan of PPP. As a result of the agitation, the IBA was closed indefinitely.
Around the same time, I got an offer from Industrial Management Ltd (IML). It was a managing agency of several corporations including Karachi Gas Company (now Sui Southern Gas Company), Commerce Bank, Pakistan Chrome Mines, New Jubilee Insurance Company, etc. IML was owned and headed by Mr. Amirali Fancy whose family was counted among the 22 richest families of Pakistan. Mr. Amirali Fancy was also the agent of Aga Khan in Pakistan.
I was appointed in IML as covenanted assistant at a gross salary of Rs. 500 per month and posted in the administration department. It was sort of a management trainee job. I worked in IML for 3 months and then moved to the Commerce Bank which was also owned by the same group. I started my career in Commerce Bank in 1969 as junior officer at a gross salary of Rs. 660 per month. I served in the purchase department, office services department and development department from 1969-1974.
At the purchase dept., I was made responsible for managing the stores and purchasing of the bank under the direct supervision of the General Manager of the bank, Mr. G. M. Ghias. Mr. Ghias was a hard taskmaster, always in high gear and perturbed over the working of the people under him. He was least interactive with his staff and the staff members were too scared to go to him unless called to his office. He was very hardworking, honest to the core and highly authoritarian. Initially, it appeared almost impossible to work with him. However, we developed a good working relationship as the time passed and he probably realized that I was equally honest, hardworking and loyal as he was to the bank. He began to trust me so much that he would countersign bills worth millions of rupees by just seeing my signature on the bills. I did my best to reorganize the stores and purchasing of the bank and streamlined the procedures and performance of the dept. I also worked for a few months in the newly-established office services dept under Mr. Shamim Yazdani, a very nice, friendly and thorough gentleman.
In 1970, I was transferred to the Development Dept. to work under Mr. Rashid A. Nagra. The Development Dept was responsible for business development, opening of new branches and advertising and public relations of the bank throughout Pakistan. Mr. Nagra was a very dynamic and progressive person but a very difficult person to work with. Nobody in the bank was willing to be his No. 2. I worked with him till the end of 1974, probably the longest tenure any officer had with him.
During the time from 1970-1974, the bank opened the largest number of branches as compared to any other period of time. The development dept. conceived and launched deposit mobilization campaigns from time to time to increase the bank deposits and income. An advertising campaign through press and television was launched for the first time in the history of the bank. We organized regular meetings of the zonal heads at Karachi to review past performance and plan for the future. We also introduced an in-house newsletter for the first time carrying articles, news and pictures. The Development Dept. composed of just 3 persons was doing all that work on national basis in coordination with other departments, zonal offices and advertising agency.
Throughout the four years, the Development Dept. worked with great zeal, innovations, and commitment to take the bank to newer heights inspite of the frequent temper tantrums and bad behaviour of the departmental head with the staff for most part of the 4-year period. The bank made a profit for the first time since its inception during these years.
In 1974, the government under Mr. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto nationalized the banks. Commerce Bank was merged into United Bank, the third largest bank in the country with a wide network of branches within and outside the country. The bank was founded by Mr. Agha Hasan Abidi who later became an icon of the banking industry worldwide. He also founded the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI).
The United Bank Ltd, commonly called UBL, opted to take me into the Public Relations Dept at their Head Office. The department was headed by Mr. Mohsin Raza, a very decent, knowledgeable, honest, hardworking and supportive person. We worked together comfortably to conduct advertising and public relations of the bank. The bank had a much bigger advertising budget than any other company outside the banking industry in Pakistan.
My first task every morning was to glance over 14 newspapers, mark important news relating to economy, banking, corporations etc., and get the clippings done, put in a folder and sent to the President of the Bank by 10:00am. I used to reach office at 8:45am while the office work started at 9:00am. I did learn a great deal about advertising and public relations while at the bank. Everything was done in a big way. The dept organized dinners for corporate clients and top banking officials, arranged medical treatment of sick and moneyless writers, singers and artistes, established the UBL Cricket team for the first time, and organized conferences, events and ceremonies on behalf of the bank. We interacted with the media, released news, contradicted news, and kept ourselves well informed about the happenings in the banking industry and the country as a whole. We were also responsible for releasing special advertisements on special occasions of countries where we had bank branches. We were known in the industry as the best PR dept.
I left UBL in 1977 to join Premier Tobacco Industries Ltd. (PTI), an affiliate of Philip Morris, USA., as Sales Manager. Philip Morris owned 49% of the share capital of the public limited company.
Previous episode appears on http://livethylife2.blogspot.com/ and next episode on http://livethylife4.blogspot.com/.
I decided in favour of going for another master's in business administration at IBA to strengthen my qualifications for a better start-up in a large organization, preferably a multi-national corporation. The multi-national corporations operating in Pakistan were known for their professional environment, high salaries and perks, foreign training and better career advancement. I took the admission test, appeared for the interview and got the admission. I joined the IBA in 1968 for an MBA degree and put up at the hostel.
In later part of 1968, riots broke out throughout Pakistan. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, formerly foreign minister, had left the cabinet of President Ayub Khan in 1967 and founded his own political party called Pakistan People's Party (PPP) in the same year. He launched a mass campaign to dislodge President Ayub Khan. He was young, dynamic and chrismatic. He could mobilize the people, address them in the language and gestures they could understand and came up with a message the masses needed. Roti, Kapra, Makan (food, clothing and shelter) was the thematic slogan of PPP. As a result of the agitation, the IBA was closed indefinitely.
Around the same time, I got an offer from Industrial Management Ltd (IML). It was a managing agency of several corporations including Karachi Gas Company (now Sui Southern Gas Company), Commerce Bank, Pakistan Chrome Mines, New Jubilee Insurance Company, etc. IML was owned and headed by Mr. Amirali Fancy whose family was counted among the 22 richest families of Pakistan. Mr. Amirali Fancy was also the agent of Aga Khan in Pakistan.
I was appointed in IML as covenanted assistant at a gross salary of Rs. 500 per month and posted in the administration department. It was sort of a management trainee job. I worked in IML for 3 months and then moved to the Commerce Bank which was also owned by the same group. I started my career in Commerce Bank in 1969 as junior officer at a gross salary of Rs. 660 per month. I served in the purchase department, office services department and development department from 1969-1974.
At the purchase dept., I was made responsible for managing the stores and purchasing of the bank under the direct supervision of the General Manager of the bank, Mr. G. M. Ghias. Mr. Ghias was a hard taskmaster, always in high gear and perturbed over the working of the people under him. He was least interactive with his staff and the staff members were too scared to go to him unless called to his office. He was very hardworking, honest to the core and highly authoritarian. Initially, it appeared almost impossible to work with him. However, we developed a good working relationship as the time passed and he probably realized that I was equally honest, hardworking and loyal as he was to the bank. He began to trust me so much that he would countersign bills worth millions of rupees by just seeing my signature on the bills. I did my best to reorganize the stores and purchasing of the bank and streamlined the procedures and performance of the dept. I also worked for a few months in the newly-established office services dept under Mr. Shamim Yazdani, a very nice, friendly and thorough gentleman.
In 1970, I was transferred to the Development Dept. to work under Mr. Rashid A. Nagra. The Development Dept was responsible for business development, opening of new branches and advertising and public relations of the bank throughout Pakistan. Mr. Nagra was a very dynamic and progressive person but a very difficult person to work with. Nobody in the bank was willing to be his No. 2. I worked with him till the end of 1974, probably the longest tenure any officer had with him.
During the time from 1970-1974, the bank opened the largest number of branches as compared to any other period of time. The development dept. conceived and launched deposit mobilization campaigns from time to time to increase the bank deposits and income. An advertising campaign through press and television was launched for the first time in the history of the bank. We organized regular meetings of the zonal heads at Karachi to review past performance and plan for the future. We also introduced an in-house newsletter for the first time carrying articles, news and pictures. The Development Dept. composed of just 3 persons was doing all that work on national basis in coordination with other departments, zonal offices and advertising agency.
Throughout the four years, the Development Dept. worked with great zeal, innovations, and commitment to take the bank to newer heights inspite of the frequent temper tantrums and bad behaviour of the departmental head with the staff for most part of the 4-year period. The bank made a profit for the first time since its inception during these years.
In 1974, the government under Mr. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto nationalized the banks. Commerce Bank was merged into United Bank, the third largest bank in the country with a wide network of branches within and outside the country. The bank was founded by Mr. Agha Hasan Abidi who later became an icon of the banking industry worldwide. He also founded the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI).
The United Bank Ltd, commonly called UBL, opted to take me into the Public Relations Dept at their Head Office. The department was headed by Mr. Mohsin Raza, a very decent, knowledgeable, honest, hardworking and supportive person. We worked together comfortably to conduct advertising and public relations of the bank. The bank had a much bigger advertising budget than any other company outside the banking industry in Pakistan.
My first task every morning was to glance over 14 newspapers, mark important news relating to economy, banking, corporations etc., and get the clippings done, put in a folder and sent to the President of the Bank by 10:00am. I used to reach office at 8:45am while the office work started at 9:00am. I did learn a great deal about advertising and public relations while at the bank. Everything was done in a big way. The dept organized dinners for corporate clients and top banking officials, arranged medical treatment of sick and moneyless writers, singers and artistes, established the UBL Cricket team for the first time, and organized conferences, events and ceremonies on behalf of the bank. We interacted with the media, released news, contradicted news, and kept ourselves well informed about the happenings in the banking industry and the country as a whole. We were also responsible for releasing special advertisements on special occasions of countries where we had bank branches. We were known in the industry as the best PR dept.
I left UBL in 1977 to join Premier Tobacco Industries Ltd. (PTI), an affiliate of Philip Morris, USA., as Sales Manager. Philip Morris owned 49% of the share capital of the public limited company.
Previous episode appears on http://livethylife2.blogspot.com/ and next episode on http://livethylife4.blogspot.com/.
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Topics: Religion & Spiritualism, Life, Community, Global Issues, General Topics, Governance, Judicial Activism, Media, Politics, International Relations and Professional Services
