Join us for a Startup Grind fireside chat with Shabahat Ali Shah (CEO @ National IT Board Pakistan, Chairman @ Ignite - National Technology Fund) on Tuesday, August 6 / 4 - 6 PM at National Incubation Center.

About the Speaker: Shabahat Ali Shah (CEO @ NITB Pakistan, Chairman @ Ignite - NTF)

He's the CEO of National IT Board Pakistan, Chairman of Ignite - National Technology Fund, Director of Universal Service Fund (USF), National Telecom Corporation (NTC) and Pakistan Telecom Corporation Ltd (PTCL). Silicon Valley entrepreneur, Ex Oracle, holds an MBA from MIT, Public Leadership program from Harvard Business School and Electrical & Communications Engineering from UET Lahore.

NADRA Pakistan (2002 - 2006)

• Chief Architect of the “Computerized National ID Card (CNIC)” process at NADRA that allocates 13-Digit CNIC number Citizens of Pakistan today.
• Project Head of NICOP and POC for overseas Pakistani citizens.
• Chief Architect of Paperless Workflow & Communication process at NADRA.
• Chief Architect of “Data Demographics” for critical policies & planning across government depts.

ORACLE Silicon Valley, California (2006 - 2014)

• Created Oracle Communications line-of-business across ASEAN (South-East Asian) countries.
• Founded NFV/SDN product line global business of Oracle in Silicon Valley.
• Created technology alliances with top Fortune 500 companies of Silicon Valley.
• One of the few leaders from ASIA invited to join Oracle Silicon Valley Telecom Team in California.
• Created Oracle Telecom Appliances business. $18M annual business in the first year

Silicon Valley Entrepreneur (2014 - 2019)

• Founder & CEO: Cronus Digital - A solutions company that brings innovation and creativity at the intersection of Telecommunications and Information Technology.
• Co-Founder: Helioswire Inc. - First Microsatellites powered blockchain and AI/ML solutions company of the World, focused on connecting machines and devices spread across global geographies.
• Founding Member: Spire Global Inc. – Big Data company focused on connecting maritime vessels across the World. Launched 70+ Microsatellites.
• As an Entrepreneur generated $100M+ business globally.
• Holds Executive relationships with the biggest commercial enterprises of the world spread across: ASEAN, EU, North America and Latin America.
• Leveraging executive relationships, propelled technology companies to become next generation Technology Power Houses.

Operations & General Management

• Track record of creating, training and managing large teams.
• Key Asset: Being an Engineer and an MBA, has equal command across Technology, Business & Management.
• Well known for operations management and known to transform distressed organizations into profitable and revenue generating organizations. Widely known in the Industry for his creativity, initiatives & leadership.

Education

• One of the most distinguished alums of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard Kennedy School of Public Leadership.
• MBA from MIT - Sloan School of Management.
• Public Leadership & Corporate Strategy – Harvard Business School & Harvard Kennedy School.
• Electrical and Communications Engineer from UET Lahore.

About the Host: Arzish Azam (CEO @ Ejad Labs, Director @ Startup Grind Islamabad)

Arzish specialises in community building, entrepreneurship, youth advocacy and innovation travel. The youngest global graduate from Founder Institute, a highly celebrated Silicon Valley accelerator, has hosted 35+ leading entrepreneurs, technology experts and investors including Haseeb Awan, Idris Kothari, Ali Mukhtar and others in his talk shows and has directly helped 100+ startups and SMEs in global exposure.

He is the brain behind PAK-US Tech Exchange, the largest private tech exchange program connecting Pakistan and Silicon Valley. His exposure from being Pakistan's youth representative at Obama's Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2016 in Stanford, Organization of Islamic Corporation's Youth Entrepreneurship Forum 2017 and 2018 in Kazan, Russia, Startup Grind Global Conference 2018 in Silicon Valley, Web Summit 2018, Startup Grind Barcelona Conference and SXSW2019 etc. brings the gamut of relevant experiences and rich understanding of the field. He uses this to empower the youth of his nation with similar worthy global exposures, network and experiences.

He further leverages his leadership at the local chapters of international technology communities like Startup Grind and Google Business Group to create a robust and well knitted entrepreneurial ecosystem. He is also an alumnus of Plan9 – Punjab Information Technology Board’s Technology Incubator and the National Incubation Center in Islamabad.