Aamir Ahsan Khan

telecom professional at Ericsson

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Aamir Ahsan Khan is the CEO and president of Ericsson Pakistan. Khan applied to become a teaching assistant at GIK, and he was also preparing for the CSS exam. He says he never wanted to be a corporate employee.

Early life and background

Khan grew up in a village in Attock district. He still lives in the village where he grew up, and he commutes daily from the village to a corporate job in a city. His family has lived in the same house for seven generations. He comes from a family of farmers. His mother tongue is Hindko. [1]

His father sold land to pay for his education. Khan attended the Air Force School in Kamra, and the school van ride from his village took about an hour and a half. He had heard that his grandfather had been a teacher. [1]

Education

After Khan could hardly secure 60 percent, he lost his motivation. At that point his only target was to secure 60 percent and sit the exam. He applied to NUST, FAST and GIKI. He was told that children like him did not go to GIKI. [1]

Khan had visited three institutes and found GIKI to be different. He chose GIKI, partly because it was close and inspired him. He studied Computer Systems Engineering. His interest in computer science began during his FSC years. He says logic and algorithms drew him to computer science. [1]

He says he enjoys understanding concepts. He says GIKI's annual fee was about 1.5 lakh rupees. He says four years cost about six lakh rupees in total. [1]

Early career

Khan applied to become a teaching assistant at GIK, and he was also preparing for the CSS exam. He says he never wanted to be a corporate employee. He decided to return to the field he had studied, which led him to move to Islamabad. [1]

He came to International Islamic University in Islamabad and started teaching there. He worked as a lecturer at the Islamic University. He applied for a grade 18 job in the Department of Communication Security. He had sent a CV to Ericsson. [1]

Ericsson

Khan joined Ericsson as a business developer on 9th January 2007. His first Ericsson role was a junior sales role. He handled the exchange portfolio and enterprise business at Ericsson. He has been with Ericsson since 2007. [1]

He said he wanted to become CAM for Warid, and he held the CAM Warid position for three years. He says Warid was the only customer where the network went from 2G to 4G directly. He later served as customer engagement director for Iran, Sudan, Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey. [1]

Time in Iran

Khan says the 2015 lifting of the embargo made Iran a big market. He went to Iran and stayed there for three and a half years. He says he was always curious about Farsi and Iranian culture. He says he did not need cash during his three and a half years in Iran. [1]

Khan made a commitment to be the last foreigner to leave Iran after sanctions returned. He says an organisation of 700 people had to be brought down to a very low number. He says he declined options to move to Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Europe. [1]

Views on Ericsson and telecom

Khan says Ericsson has been present in Pakistan for about 60 years and was a pioneer of managed services in Pakistan. He says Ericsson recently acquired a global company. He says Ericsson's global strategy now includes enterprises, while Ericsson in Pakistan is predominantly focused on telecom. [1]

He says about 60 percent of Ericsson's revenue still comes from hardware. He says Ericsson has bought companies that specifically target the needs of enterprises. He says Ericsson has a 5G factory in Texas. He says radio hardware will stay needed as long as coverage is needed. [1]

Khan says Ericsson believes upholding human rights is the most important value. He says Ericsson has sometimes chosen not to enter areas that could intrude on human rights or privacy. He says Ericsson stands behind the security of its products. [1]

He says telecoms will eventually go the same way as IT. He says that if you are not buying a product, you are the product. He says operators earn less revenue per subscriber than advertisers such as Facebook do. He says Ericsson's estimate is that a 10 percent rise in connectivity adds 1 percent to GDP. He says connectivity is a basic right in today's world. [1]

Khan says Pakistan's telecom industry is really struggling right now. He says unlimited packages have helped cause the telecom industry's problems. He says data in Pakistan is perhaps the cheapest in the world. [1]

Views on life, reading and inspiration

Khan sees Iqbal as a man on a journey of self-discovery. He compares poetry to recursion, which he studied as a computer engineer. He recommends the book Stray Reflections by Iqbal. He also recommends the book Muhammad the World Changer and the book Road to Character. [1]

He names Qadeer Khan and Ghulam Ishaq Khan as two inspirations. He says Ghulam Ishaq Khan became one of his inspirations. He says he researches one personality in depth each year. [1]

Views on Pakistan

Khan says he could become anyone but will always be a Pakistani. He sees a great deal of polarisation in society. He says Pakistan is a young nation, comparable to a teenager, and that Pakistan's resilience is its greatest asset. [1]

He sees Pakistan in a very good state by 2050. He decided to come back to Pakistan because watching from abroad only goes so far. [1]

Personal life

Khan says he was 11 years old in 1992. He says three people came out and fired on him and others with Kalashnikovs. He says the jeep was hit by more than 90 bullets. He was hit by a bullet in the right shoulder. [1]

Timeline

2007
Joined Ericsson as a business developer on 9 January.[1]
2015
The lifting of the embargo made Iran a big market, according to Khan.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2022-10-17 The Ericsson CEO who still lives in his village Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

What does Aamir Ahsan Khan do?

Aamir Ahsan Khan has been with Ericsson since 2007. His first Ericsson role was a junior sales role, and he handled the exchange portfolio and enterprise business. He later served as customer engagement director for Iran, Sudan, Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey.[1]

Where is Aamir Ahsan Khan from?

Aamir Ahsan Khan grew up in a village in Attock district. He still lives in the village where he grew up. His mother tongue is Hindko.[1]

Which company does Aamir Ahsan Khan work for?

Aamir Ahsan Khan has been with Ericsson since 2007. He joined as a business developer on 9th January 2007. He says Ericsson has been present in Pakistan for about 60 years.[1]

What other roles has Aamir Ahsan Khan held?

Aamir Ahsan Khan worked as a lecturer at the Islamic University and applied to become a teaching assistant at GIK. At Ericsson he later served as customer engagement director for Iran, Sudan, Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey.[1]

How long did Aamir Ahsan Khan spend in Iran?

Aamir Ahsan Khan went to Iran and stayed there for three and a half years. He says the 2015 lifting of the embargo made Iran a big market.[1]

What does Aamir Ahsan Khan think about Pakistan's future?

Aamir Ahsan Khan sees Pakistan in a very good state by 2050. He says Pakistan is a young nation, comparable to a teenager, and that its resilience is its greatest asset.[1]

References

  1. The Ericsson CEO who still lives in his village . Thought Behind Things , 2022-10-17.
Show the source passages (92 statements)
  1. He grew up in a village in Attock district. Uh meri jo buniyaadi tarbiyat aur saara mera bada hona tha woh tha ji zila Attock ke ek gaon mein, Wargachti.
  2. He still lives in the village where he grew up. Aur surprising baat yeh hai ke main abhi bhi wahin pe rehta hoon.
  3. He commutes daily from the village to a corporate job in a city. jo din ko toh apni corporate life ek shehar ke andar guzarta hai aur shaam ko main gaon waapis chala jata hoon.
  4. His family has lived in the same house for seven generations. Lekin, uh it's actually the same house that we have been living for last seven generations.
  5. He comes from a family of farmers. toh I come from a family which is family of farmers.
  6. His father sold land to pay for his education. ke mere waalid sahab ko uh che lakh rupaye ki zameen bechni padi for my education.
  7. He attended the Air Force School in Kamra. So, I went to Air Force School in Kamra.
  8. The school van ride from his village took about an hour and a half. jo humara gaon hai, that was at the most farthest point from Kamra. Toh humein gaadi sabse pehle uthaya karti thi subah aur sabse aakhir mein drop kiya karti thi, toh it used to take like one and a half hour.
  9. He was told that children like him did not go to GIKI. unhone kaha tumhare jaise bacche GIKI nahi jaate.
  10. After he could hardly secure 60 percent, he lost his motivation. I hardly could secure 60%, I lost all motivation that was there.
  11. At that point his only target was to secure 60 percent and sit the exam. So, my only target was just to secure 60% and sit in the exam.
  12. He applied to NUST, FAST and GIKI. phir uske baad maine NUST mein apply kiya, I applied in FAST, I applied in GIKI.
  13. He chose GIKI, partly because it was close and inspired him. I chose GIKI, uh it was close, frankly, aur uske sath sath at that point in time, it was a source of inspiration for me.
  14. He had visited three institutes and found GIKI to be different. I had visited three institutes, lekin I found GIKI to be bit different.
  15. He studied Computer Systems Engineering. Computer Systems Engineering.
  16. His interest in computer science began during his FSC years. So, I think it actually goes back to when I was in FSC.
  17. He says he enjoys understanding concepts. I have to understand concepts, I enjoy understanding concepts.
  18. He says logic and algorithms drew him to computer science. that was uh logic, and linked with it is algorithms.
  19. He says GIKI's annual fee was about 1.5 lakh rupees. Toh mujhe abhi bhi yaad hai ke uh dedh lakh fees thi ek saal ki.
  20. He says four years cost about six lakh rupees in total. And that actually means chaar saal ke andar che lakh rupiya, theek hai?
  21. He applied to become a teaching assistant at GIK. So the first thing I did was I applied for becoming a teaching assistant in GIK.
  22. He was also preparing for the CSS exam. In parallel I was preparing for CSS as well.
  23. He had heard that his grandfather had been a teacher. mere dada jo the maine suna hua tha ki he used to be a teacher.
  24. He says he never wanted to be a corporate employee. So I never actually wanted to be a corporate guy.
  25. He decided to return to the field he had studied, which led him to move to Islamabad. And that I think that is where I decided ki nahi I should go back into the field what I have studied and that is when I decided ki mujhe shayad Islamabad mein aana hai.
  26. He came to International Islamic University in Islamabad and started teaching there. And that is when I actually came to International Islamic University. I started teaching here.
  27. He worked as a lecturer at the Islamic University. Over here I was a lecturer in Islamic University.
  28. He applied for a grade 18 job in the Department of Communication Security. there was a government position or a government department called Department of Communication Security. And that was a grade 18 job directly.
  29. He had sent a CV to Ericsson. Maine kaha ji wo Ericsson ke andar maine ek CV phenki hui hai shayad wahan se koi jawab aa jaye.
  30. He joined Ericsson as a business developer on 9th January 2007. So this is 9th January 2007. Theek hai? When I started as a business developer in Ericsson.
  31. His first Ericsson role was a junior sales role. So the role was primarily uh sales. Theek hai? But at a junior level.
  32. He handled the exchange portfolio and enterprise business at Ericsson. To I was taking care of the exchange portfolio and enterprise.
  33. He has been with Ericsson since 2007. 2007. 2007 mein. And you've been with them ever since? Mhm. I've been with them since.
  34. He said he wanted to become CAM for Warid. maine kaha ji main I want to become CAM Warid.
  35. He later served as customer engagement director for Iran, Sudan, Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey. Then I did uh customer engagement director uh for Iran, Sudan, Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey based out of Pakistan.
  36. He held the CAM Warid position for three years. And then I stayed in that position for three years
  37. He says Warid was the only customer where the network went from 2G to 4G directly. Warid was the only customer where we actually leapfrogged the technology. So, we went from 2G to 4G directly.
  38. He says the basic concept is to capture Pakistan's human capital and provide services to clients outside the country. Jahan pe jo bunyadi hamara concept hai wo ye hai ki hum Pakistan ki human capital ko kaise capture karke we provide services to outside the country as well.
  39. He says Ericsson has been present in Pakistan for about 60 years. So Ericsson I mean has been present in Pakistan for last 60 years, right?
  40. He says Ericsson was a pioneer of managed services in Pakistan. So from that sense Ericsson was pioneer of managed services in Pakistan.
  41. He says Ericsson recently acquired a global company. So recently we have acquired a company called Vonage which is a global company.
  42. He says telecoms will eventually go the same way as IT. eventually telecoms will go the same way as IT.
  43. He says Ericsson's global strategy now includes enterprises. Globally Ericsson ki jo strategy hai that is to now start looking into enterprises as well.
  44. He says Ericsson in Pakistan is predominantly focused on telecom. No, we are predominantly focused on telecom at least in Pakistan.
  45. He says about 60 percent of Ericsson's revenue still comes from hardware. from Ericsson perspective, hamari abhi bhi 60% revenue stream is coming from hardware.
  46. He says radio hardware will stay needed as long as coverage is needed. Kyunki as as long as aap ko radio coverage ki zaroorat hai, you need that hardware and people need to provide it as well.
  47. He says Ericsson has bought companies that specifically target the needs of enterprises. companies like Cradlepoint which Ericsson has bought as well come into play. So they specifically target the needs of enterprises.
  48. He says Ericsson believes upholding human rights is the most important value. we actually believe ki upholding human rights is the most important thing.
  49. He says Ericsson has sometimes chosen not to enter areas that could intrude on human rights or privacy. So in some cases we have decided to not even go into areas where we believe eventually it might lead lead into intrusion into human rights or someone's privacy.
  50. He says Ericsson stands behind the security of its products. that is something that we uphold and we say ki hamara product jo hum aap ko provide kar rahe hain that is really secure.
  51. He says that if you are not buying a product, you are the product. if you are not buying a product, you are the product.
  52. He says operators earn less revenue per subscriber than advertisers such as Facebook do. operator utna revenue subscriber se nahi bana rahe jitna advertisers like Facebook aur baaki log bana rahe hain per subscriber.
  53. He says Ericsson has a 5G factory in Texas. So, we have a 5G factory in Texas in US.
  54. He says Ericsson's estimate is that a 10 percent rise in connectivity adds 1 percent to GDP. Hamari calculation ye hai ke on average any increase of 10% for connectivity, and it doesn't have to be 5G, has a result of 1% on GDP.
  55. He says connectivity is a basic right in today's world. Connectivity in today's world is a basic right.
  56. He says Pakistan's telecom industry is really struggling right now. plus also realizing ke is waqt Pakistan ke andar telecom industry is really struggling.
  57. He says unlimited packages have helped cause the telecom industry's problems. Aaj agar hamare is waqt industry suffer kar rahi hai, us ki ek wajah ye bhi hai ke hum ne bahut zyada hi unlimited packages provide kar diye hain.
  58. He says data in Pakistan is perhaps the cheapest in the world. Duniya ke andar is waqt shayad data Pakistan mein sab se sasta hai
  59. He says the 2015 lifting of the embargo made Iran a big market. 2015 embargo lift hota hai Iran ke upar se and Iran becomes a big market.
  60. He went to Iran and stayed there for three and a half years. So, I went to Iran, I stayed there for three and a half years.
  61. He says he was always curious about Farsi and Iranian culture. and I always was curious about Farsi aur Iranian culture, Iqbal is another inspiration.
  62. He says he did not need cash during his three and a half years in Iran. Iran mein during my three and a half years, I I did not had to use cash.
  63. He made a commitment to be the last foreigner to leave Iran after sanctions returned. And so sanctions came back and now suddenly you have to leave like Yeah, exactly. So I made the commitment ke I will be the last foreigner to leave in the country.
  64. He says an organisation of 700 people had to be brought down to a very low number. we were a organization of 700 people and we had to bring it down to a very low number.
  65. He says he declined options to move to Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Europe. So there were options at that time even to move to Dubai or Abu Dhabi or Europe as well. I actually declined that.
  66. He sees Iqbal as a man on a journey of self-discovery. Iqbal in my opinion was on a journey of self-discovery.
  67. He compares poetry to recursion, which he studied as a computer engineer. Uh being a computer engineer I studied recursion. And poetry is very much like a recursion for me.
  68. He recommends the book Stray Reflections by Iqbal. And he writes book called Stray Reflections. And it's something that I actually encourage everyone to read.
  69. He recommends the book Muhammad the World Changer. Or the World Changer, sorry, Muhammad the World Changer. That is really good.
  70. He recommends the book Road to Character. Another book is and I can give you the list so you can post it in comments as well is uh Road to Character.
  71. He says a purpose of life is to preserve life so that it continues. So, at the very root of it is preserving life and the life should continue.
  72. He says human life is the most precious thing. Aur isi liye insani zindagi sabse keemti cheez hai.
  73. He says questioning and doubt are part of life's purpose. you should discover and you need to ask questions. It is okay to doubt.
  74. He has developed a five-element model for finding meaning. I have boiled it down to what I call my five elements model.
  75. He says the depth and quality of one's beliefs is the first element of meaning. the depth of your beliefs and the quality of your beliefs.
  76. He says the quality of relationships is the second element. The second one is quality of your relationships.
  77. He says he could become anyone but will always be a Pakistani. I could become anyone, but end of the day I will be a Pakistani.
  78. He says he was 11 years old in 1992. So, when I was 11 years old, this is 92.
  79. He says three people came out and fired on him and others with Kalashnikovs. three people come out and they started firing on us with Kalashnikovs.
  80. He says the jeep was hit by more than 90 bullets. So, the jeep got hit by more than 90 bullets.
  81. He was hit by a bullet in the right shoulder. I felt something touched me on my right shoulder. And that was a bullet.
  82. He says he researches one personality in depth each year. Main har saal koshish karta hoon ki main ek personality ko uthaoon aur us personality ke upar research karoon.
  83. His mother tongue is Hindko. hamari madri zaban Hindko hai.
  84. He names Qadeer Khan and Ghulam Ishaq Khan as two inspirations. One was Qadeer Khan Mhm. And the other one was Ghulam Ishaq Khan himself.
  85. He says Ghulam Ishaq Khan became one of his inspirations. So that was one of the reasons ki he became my inspiration.
  86. He says he came to question whom he was dressing up for. And I think I actually reached a point ke yaar, who have I been dressing up for?
  87. He says people will judge you whatever you do. So, and I think that taught me a lesson ke irrespective of whatever you do, people are still going to judge you.
  88. He sees a great deal of polarisation in society. mujhe jo cheez muashre mein nazar aa rahi hai woh bahut zyada polarization hai.
  89. He says Pakistan is a young nation, comparable to a teenager. Lekin Pakistan is one of those countries jo kaafi young hai. Theek hai? And I can only compare it with a teenager.
  90. He says Pakistan's resilience is its greatest asset. Toh mera khayal hai sabse bada asset toh hamara hamari resilience hai.
  91. He sees Pakistan in a very good state by 2050. Toh main uh 2050, right? Ke upar Pakistan ko bahut achchi halat mein dekh raha hoon.
  92. He decided to come back to Pakistan because watching from abroad only goes so far. And the reason I decided to come back was also kyunki mera yeh khayal hai ki hum agar bahar se baithe sirf Pakistan ko dekhte rahenge toh Facebook aur Instagram ke upar toh ek had tak hi hum kar sakte hain na.