Ahsan Zafar Syed has assumed the office of President and CEO of Engro Corporation after Ghias Khan’s seven-year tenure at the Group. He began his journey with Engro in 1991 as a young engineer, accumulating three decades of experience in operations, project management, and strategic leadership across the petrochemical, energy, and food and agriculture sectors.
Before he was appointed President and CEO of Engro Corporation, Ahsan led Engro’s flagship fertiliser business. Under his leadership, Engro Fertilizers became the most valuable fertiliser company on the Pakistan Stock Exchange. The increase in valuation is attributable to portfolio optimisation, where the company divested low-return noncore businesses, improved the market positioning of Engro urea, scaled up speciality fertilisers, enhanced its digital presence to better serve the farmers, and completed one of the largest turnaround activities at the Plant site focused on driving efficiencies and debottlenecking urea capacity. In his earlier role in the Company, Ahsan led the construction of the $1.1 billion Enven Plant, a milestone achievement for Engro and one of the largest projects completed in Pakistan.
During his tenure as CEO of the Energy vertical, Ahsan played a pivotal role in realising Pakistan’s Thar dream by unearthing indigenous coal and operationalising a 660MW power plant at mine mouth. This project has been instrumental in Pakistan’s energy security, achieving import substitution of $1.5 billion to date and providing electricity to 9 million people annually.
On assuming office, Ahsan Zafar Syed said, “I am deeply humbled to assume the role of President & CEO of Engro Corporation. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the Board for their confidence in me and appreciate the contributions of my predecessor, Ghias Khan. I am excited to lead an organisation committed to addressing pressing issues of our time, recognising their dynamic and ever-evolving nature. In this journey, we will adhere to our core values, contribute positively to our communities, and cultivate trust-based relationships with our employees, shareholders, and wider society.”
In recognition of his engineering contributions to Pakistan, Ahsan was awarded the prestigious “National Engineering Excellence Award” by the Institution of Engineers Pakistan in 2024. He was also appointed as Honorary Convenor of the Light Engineering Sector, a committee formed by the Engineering Development Board, a government body under the Ministry of Industries & Production entrusted to strengthen Pakistan’s engineering base.
Ahsan has championed multiple diversity and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives across Engro to increase women’s representation in mid-management roles and nurture them as future leaders. His dedicated efforts in this area have earned Engro several prestigious local and global awards and set a benchmark for inclusive practices within the industry. Further, Ahsan firmly believes that Pakistan’s true potential lies in investing in the upskilling and empowerment of its youth, preparing them to excel in the future. This conviction drives his ongoing commitment to bridge the gap between education and industry needs.