Asif Akram

COO of Systems Limited

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

Asif Akram is the chief Operating officer of Systems Limited. Akram was born and raised in Lahore. His father was a doctor, and his maternal grandfather was a heart specialist.

Early life and background

Akram was born and raised in Lahore. His father was a doctor, and his maternal grandfather was a heart specialist. His great-grandfather was a mathematician and a poet. His mother was president of the Lahore chapter of a women's association. [1]

Education

Akram started school at a Catholic school and completed his matric in 1987. He studied for four years at a college, and he did not get into the engineering university. He earned a BSc in physics and graduated in 1991. [1]

While doing his BSc, Akram took one or two evening courses, and his interest in computers and programming grew from those courses. An uncle suggested he become a chartered accountant. [1]

Akram spent about a year at Indiana University. He took courses in American history, philosophy, psychology and physiology. He was told to get out of the cold and come to Houston, and he completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Houston. [1]

His parents gave him money for a few years, and then he began funding his own education. His first job was at a university cafeteria, and he then worked at gas stations. In the last year of his degree he became president of the international student organization, which made his fees the in-state rate. He stayed president of the organization for three years. [1]

Akram earned an MBA in management information systems. He was drawn to the intersection of business and technology. He graduated with a 3.9 GPA and spoke as valedictorian, and his parents attended his graduation. [1]

Return to Pakistan and Abacus

In June 1997 Akram moved back to Lahore without a green card. He sold his car before the move. He says he does not know exactly why he returned to Pakistan. He found that taking a job would mean moving to Karachi, and he was told about a company called Abacus. His mother delivered his CV to Abacus. [1]

Akram joined Abacus in September 1997. Abacus was a consulting company. He worked on the Abacus Suite ERP, which was built in FoxPro. In his first 18 months at Abacus he implemented the ERP at about 30 to 40 organizations, and his implementations included Johnson and Johnson and companies in pharmaceuticals. Abacus became part of PricewaterhouseCoopers. [1]

PricewaterhouseCoopers

Akram was selected, with four or five others, to go to Saudi Arabia. He moved to Riyadh in July 1999 for about 18 months. His Riyadh work was contracted through PwC UK, and the project ran on three weeks on and one week off. He also worked on another PwC project involving an Aramco B2B space. He spent about four to five months in Jordan. [1]

After Jordan, Akram moved to Dubai, where he worked on a program with Dubai Municipality. In Dubai he was first a developer and system analyst, then a team leader and project manager. [1]

IBM

IBM bought PwC in 2002, and Akram became part of IBM in 2003. He had always wanted to work in a large organization. He was in Dubai with IBM until 2005. In 2005 he decided to return to Pakistan after his second son was born. IBM Pakistan had no Lahore office at that time, so he was offered Karachi or Islamabad. He chose Islamabad over Karachi because the family went to Lahore every weekend, and he rented a third-floor apartment in a tower. [1]

In 2010 Akram moved back to Dubai. He became the Middle East, Saudi and Pakistan country leader for IBM's consulting division. He says the team he led had about 200 people and a couple of hundred million dollars in revenue. He became an IBM partner in early 2011 and COO for IBM's Middle East and Africa operations. He was then asked to run IBM's Middle East and Africa region. [1]

In 2015 Akram was offered the general manager role for Middle East, Africa and Turkey, and IBM then promoted him to vice president. He was part of IBM's global management board for GBS. He was also part of IBM's global transformation team, which he described as a team of 300 top IBMers. [1]

In mid 2017 Akram decided to move back to Pakistan. IBM suggested he do his role from Lahore, but he said that could not work. From 1 January 2018 he worked from Lahore as global sales leader for cloud applications. He left IBM in August or September 2018. He credits his original boss at IBM as a great mentor. [1]

Systems Limited

Systems approached Akram and said it was growing in the Middle East. He joined Systems as a part-time consultant in November 2018. He established a company called Growth Mindset Consulting. Systems asked him to take a COO role, and he joined Systems full time in 2020. He says he joined Systems because the group has a great vision. [1]

Akram describes Systems Limited as a public listed company and as an employee owned public company, not a state company. He describes it as an IT services and BPO company with customers in Pakistan, the Middle East, Europe, the UK and North America. He says Systems has just opened in Saudi Arabia and is expanding into the rest of Europe. He says Systems had 3,500 people, that professional services had 800 to 1,000 people, and that headcount in Pakistan is about 5,000 people. He says about 400 to 500 people are getting trained within the company. He describes Systems as the highest exporter among tech companies in Pakistan. [1]

Views

Akram says growth mindset has been an anchor in his life: think big, do big. He believes processes drive culture, and he says one drawback of IBM and Teradata was that they slow down. He says the aim is to make Systems the next Accenture of Pakistan and that the goal is to be the first 25,000-person tech company in Pakistan. [1]

On talent, Akram says the supply of talent is a huge challenge and that Systems wants to build a systems engineering academy. He says attrition in the industry is above 20 percent and that the talent war cannot last forever. He says Covid created a big opportunity for remote working. He expects a correction in the global market and expects brain drain to return to pre-Covid levels. [1]

Akram says the country's population is its biggest strength. He says businesses should not depend on what government can do for them. [1]

Personal life

Akram married in October 1999. He says his wife has been a great support. His father started getting ill in 2015 and died in October 2018. [1]

Timeline

1987
Completed his matric.[1]
1991
Graduated with a BSc and left for the US in August.[1]
1997
Moved back to Lahore in June and joined Abacus in September.[1]
1999
Moved to Riyadh in July and married in October.[1]
2002
IBM bought PwC.[1]
2003
Became part of IBM.[1]
2005
Decided to return to Pakistan after his second son was born.[1]
2007
Moved back to Lahore.[1]
2010
Moved back to Dubai.[1]
2011
Became an IBM partner.[1]
2015
Was offered the general manager role for Middle East, Africa and Turkey.[1]
2017
Decided to move back to Pakistan.[1]
2018
Left IBM and joined Systems as a part-time consultant in November.[1]
2020
Joined Systems full time.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2022-04-01 The COO who keeps coming back to Pakistan Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Asif Akram?

Asif Akram is the Chief Operating Officer of Systems Limited. He was born and raised in Lahore. He previously held senior roles at IBM, including vice president.[1]

What does Asif Akram do?

Asif Akram is the Chief Operating Officer of Systems Limited. His role covers all delivery and talent. He also established a company called Growth Mindset Consulting.[1]

Where did Asif Akram study?

Asif Akram earned a BSc in physics and graduated in 1991. He spent about a year at Indiana University and completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Houston. He also earned an MBA in management information systems.[1]

Where is Asif Akram from?

Asif Akram was born and raised in Lahore. He left for the US in August 1991. In June 1997 he moved back to Lahore.[1]

What company did Asif Akram found?

Asif Akram established a company called Growth Mindset Consulting. He is also the Chief Operating Officer of Systems Limited.[1]

What is Asif Akram known for?

Asif Akram is known as the Chief Operating Officer of Systems Limited. He was country leader for the Middle East, Saudi and Pakistan for IBM's consulting division. IBM later promoted him to vice president.[1]

When did Asif Akram join Systems Limited?

Asif Akram joined Systems as a part-time consultant in November 2018. He joined Systems full time in 2020.[1]

References

  1. The COO who keeps coming back to Pakistan . Thought Behind Things , 2022-04-01.
Show the source passages (121 statements)
  1. Asif Akram was born and raised in Lahore. So, born and bred in Lahore. Right here.
  2. His father was a doctor. my father was a doctor, my uncles and aunts are engineers and doctors
  3. His maternal grandfather was a heart specialist. my maternal grandfather was a heart specialist
  4. His great-grandfather was a mathematician and a poet. my great grandfather was a mathematician and a poet
  5. His mother was president of the Lahore chapter of a women's association. my mother was the president for Lahore chapter for All Pakistan Women Association
  6. He started school at a Catholic school. started off at a Catholic school here, St. Anthony's
  7. He completed his matric in 1987. did my matric in in in 87
  8. He studied for four years at a college. went to FC College, former Christian College and did four years over there
  9. He did not get into the engineering university. my brother got into the engineering university but I did not
  10. He earned a BSc in physics. physics mein woh BSc kar li
  11. He graduated with a BSc in 1991. Graduated then BSc in 91
  12. An uncle suggested he become a chartered accountant. I had an uncle who was at Ferguson, toh unhone kaha acha is tarah karo kuch chartered accountant ban jao
  13. He took one or two evening courses while doing his BSc. BSc kar rahe the toh us dauran bhi evening mein ek do courses gaye
  14. His interest in computers and programming grew from those courses. Wahan se mera thoda sa shauq develop hua computers ka aur programming ka
  15. An agency had a relationship with a university in Indiana. there was an there was a like an agency who had a relationship with a university in Indiana, US
  16. The agency arranged his admission to Indiana University. Indiana University. Toh unhone admission dilwa diya.
  17. His US visa interview took about five minutes. And five minutes interview and she said, okay, have a seat
  18. He left for the US in August 1991. August 91 mein main gaya tha
  19. He had only one week between getting his visa and leaving for the US. my visa to my travel was a one week only
  20. He reached the university at night, no one came to collect him, and the university was closed. Raat ko 9, 10 baje wahan pohncha toh koi aaya hi nahi lene. University address tha par university toh band ho gayi
  21. He spent about a year at Indiana University. So, I spent about a year in in Indiana
  22. He took courses in American history, philosophy, psychology and physiology. lekin American history, philosophy, psychology, physiology, yeh sab aapko padhne padte hain
  23. He was told to get out of the cold and come to Houston. Unhone kaha ji thand, thand se nikal jao, Houston aa jao
  24. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Houston. moved to University of Houston after that. And actually did my undergrad from there
  25. His parents gave him money for a few years, and then he began funding his own education. parents gave money for a for a few a year or so, but then I started funding myself
  26. His first job was at a university cafeteria. So, pehli job university cafeteria mein ki
  27. He then worked at gas stations. Toh phir gas stations pe kaam karna, woh sab normal raha
  28. He became president of the international student organization in the last year of his degree. in the last year of my degree, I became the president of the international student organization
  29. Being president made his fees the in-state rate. Uski fayda yeh hua ke meri jo fees thi na, woh in-state ho gayi
  30. He stayed president of the organization for three years. I stayed the president 3 years
  31. He earned an MBA in management information systems. I did an MBA in management information system
  32. He was drawn to the intersection of business and technology. I was very much intrigued with this business and technology ka jo interface intersection hai
  33. He graduated from his MBA with a 3.9 GPA and spoke as valedictorian. 3.9 GPA bhi aa gaya and I was the one who went up on the stage and declared valedictorian
  34. His parents attended his graduation. So my parents came to my graduation
  35. In June 1997 he moved back to Lahore without a green card. So in June 97 I packed up without a green card, without all of that and moved to Lahore
  36. He says he does not know exactly why he returned to Pakistan. Now people still ask me and I also think why it happened. I have no idea why.
  37. He sold his car before moving to Lahore. gaadi thi wo bechi, yeh kiya, wo kiya aur pack up karke Lahore aa gaye
  38. He found that taking a job would mean moving to Karachi. Pata yeh chala ke yaar job karni padegi to Karachi jana padega
  39. He was told about a company called Abacus. So he came, unhone kaha yaar ek company yahan pe hai Abacus
  40. His mother delivered his CV to Abacus. My mom went and dropped the CV
  41. He joined Abacus in September 1997. started working there in September 1997
  42. Abacus was a consulting company. Abacus was uh a consulting company
  43. At Abacus he worked on the Abacus Suite ERP, which was built in FoxPro. Abacus ke paas ek ERP system tha uh usko naam Abacus Suite tha uska. Coopers and Lybrand ke sath mein. To ERP FoxPro mein bana hua tha
  44. In his first 18 months at Abacus he implemented the ERP at about 30 to 40 organizations. for the first 18 months I probably implemented 30 to 40 um organizations mein uski ERP
  45. His implementations included Johnson and Johnson and companies in pharmaceuticals. Aero Asia mein kar liya, Johnson and Johnson mein kar liya, pharmaceuticals mein kar liya
  46. Abacus became part of PricewaterhouseCoopers. So Abacus became PricewaterhouseCoopers PWC
  47. He was selected, with four or five others, to go to Saudi Arabia. he selected 4 or 5 of us and kaha ke chalo Saudi Arabia aa jao
  48. He moved to Riyadh in July 1999 for about 18 months. Riyadh I was there for about 18 months. Right. And uh this was uh July of 99
  49. His Riyadh work was contracted through PwC UK. because we were contracted through PWC UK
  50. The Riyadh project ran on three weeks on and one week off. It was 3 weeks on, 1 week off
  51. He married in October 1999. So I got married in uh October of 99
  52. He worked on another PwC project involving an Aramco B2B space. So another PWC project. Aramco ki ek B2B space thi Aragon ke naam se
  53. He spent about four to five months in Jordan. we spent about 4-5 months in Jordan
  54. After Jordan he moved to Dubai. Stayed about 4 months there and from there came to to Dubai
  55. In Dubai he worked on a program with Dubai Municipality. the program we went to and worked with Dubai Municipality
  56. In Dubai he was first a developer and system analyst, then a team leader and project manager. At that time I was more of a developer, a system analyst, you know, during that time became a team leader and a and then I became eventually the project manager for that account
  57. IBM bought PwC in 2002. so IBM bought PWC in 2002
  58. He became part of IBM in 2003. 2003 mein we became IBM. I became IBM
  59. He had always wanted to work in a large organization. always wanted to be on a in a large organization
  60. He was in Dubai with IBM until 2005. I was in Dubai till 2005
  61. In 2005 he decided to return to Pakistan after his second son was born. I had my second son um at uh in 2005. So phir khayal aaya ke yaar ab kya karein? Chalo wapas Pakistan chalte hain
  62. IBM Pakistan had no Lahore office at that time, so he was offered Karachi or Islamabad. Lahore mein to presence hi nahi hai. Karachi aa jao, Islamabad aa jao
  63. He chose Islamabad over Karachi because the family went to Lahore every weekend. what the reason I selected Islamabad over Karachi was that every weekend we would go to Lahore
  64. He rented a third-floor apartment in a tower. last tower ke third floor pe apartment rent kar liya
  65. He says his wife has been a great support. my wife has been a great support during this time
  66. He moved back to Lahore in 2007. so 2007 mein wapas Lahore aa gaye
  67. He says he built the IBM Global Delivery Center. So I I built the IBM Global Delivery Center here
  68. He says the centre grew from 11 people when he joined IBM consulting to about 500. about 500 people. We when I joined IBM consulting, it was 11 people
  69. He personally interviewed the first 50 people hired. First 50 people I interviewed everybody myself
  70. IBM's team clients included Jazz, Shell, Askari Bank and PTCL. Jazz hamara client ban gaya, Civil Aviation thi, Shell tha, Askari Bank, um PTCL
  71. Most of the team's work was systems integration. Hamara zyada kaam jo tha na, woh systems integration ka tha
  72. In 2010 he moved back to Dubai. So 2010 July, made my way back to Dubai
  73. He became the Middle East, Saudi and Pakistan country leader for IBM's consulting division. So I became the Middle East and Saudi and Pakistan country leader for GBS, which is the consulting division
  74. He says the team he led had about 200 people and a couple of hundred million dollars in revenue. a team of about 200 people, a good couple of hundred million dollar of revenue
  75. He became an IBM partner in early 2011. I think early 11, I became a partner
  76. He became COO for IBM's Middle East and Africa operations. So we became COO for Middle East Africa
  77. He was then asked to run IBM's Middle East and Africa region. run the MEA region? I said, oops
  78. In 2015 he was offered the general manager role for Middle East, Africa and Turkey. I got offered uh as the general manager for Middle East and Africa, uh and Turkey
  79. IBM then promoted him to vice president. IBM then promoted me to a to a vice president
  80. He was part of IBM's global management board for GBS. I was part of the global management board of GBS
  81. He was part of IBM's global transformation team, which he described as a team of 300 top IBMers. the global transformation team of IBM, which is a team of 300 top IBMers
  82. His father started getting ill in 2015. Father started getting ill in 2015
  83. In mid 2017 he decided to move back to Pakistan. So mid 2017, ek aur brain wave chali gayi, yaar ab wapas chalte hain
  84. IBM suggested he do his role from Lahore, but he said that could not work. Is tarah karo yeh wala role Lahore se kar lo. Kaha yaar yeh ho nahi sakta
  85. From 1 January 2018 he worked from Lahore as global sales leader for cloud applications. 1st January 2018, I I landed back in Lahore and I was the global sales leader for cloud application for them
  86. He left IBM in August or September 2018. So I then um um kind of left IBM in August, September of 2018
  87. His father died in October 2018. My father unfortunately passed away in October 2018
  88. Systems approached him and said it was growing in the Middle East. So Systems approached me, um Asif Peer and Azaz said hum Middle East mein grow kar rahe hain
  89. He joined Systems as a part-time consultant in November 2018. So I joined them after my father passed away somewhere in November as a part-time consultant
  90. He established a company called Growth Mindset Consulting. I established a company called Growth Mindset Consulting
  91. He joined Systems full time in 2020. started full-time with Systems in 2020
  92. Systems asked him to take a COO role. come and do a COO role
  93. Asif Akram is Chief Operating Officer of Systems Limited. COO Systems Limited Asif Akram | 218 | TBT
  94. His role at Systems Limited covers all delivery and talent. So I I look after the delivery for Systems. So all the delivery, all the talent that we have reports into my organization
  95. He says he joined Systems because the group has a great vision. And the reason I joined them is this group has a great vision
  96. He says growth mindset has been an anchor in his life: think big, do big. growth mindset has been a big uh uh anchor all my life that think big, do big
  97. He describes Systems Limited as a public listed company. because we are a public listed company so there are processes in there
  98. He describes Systems as an employee owned public company, not a state company. we are not a state company, we are a we are a proper employee owned public company
  99. He believes processes drive culture. Because processes drive culture
  100. He says one drawback of IBM and Teradata was that they slow down. ek nuksan IBM aur Teradata ka tha ke woh slow down ho jati hain na
  101. He says professional services had 800 to 1,000 people. hum about 1,000 people, 800 to 1,000 in professional services
  102. He says Systems had 3,500 people at the time of the interview. Today we are 3,500 people
  103. He says headcount in Pakistan is about 5,000 people. our overall head count in Pakistan now is about 5,000 people
  104. He describes Systems as an IT services and BPO company. So we are an IT services and BPO company
  105. He says the company's customers are in Pakistan, the Middle East, Europe, the UK and North America. Our customers are in Pakistan, in Middle East, Dubai, Qatar, Saudi Arabia. Um all of Europe, Germany, UK and North America
  106. He says Systems has just opened in Saudi Arabia. we just opened Saudi Arabia
  107. He says Systems is expanding into the rest of Europe. we are expanding into um into rest of Europe
  108. He says the aim is to make Systems the next Accenture of Pakistan. And the idea was to make this the next Accenture of Pakistan
  109. He says the goal is to be the first 25,000-person tech company in Pakistan. the first 25,000 people company in Pakistan, a tech company
  110. He says the supply of talent is a huge challenge. Supply is a huge challenge
  111. He says about 400 to 500 people are getting trained within the company. we have 400 to 500 people getting trained within the company
  112. He says Systems wants to build a systems engineering academy. Hamara vision hai ki hum ek systems engineering academy bana lein
  113. He says Covid created a big opportunity for remote working. Covid ne saari opportunity bahut badi di hai remote working ki
  114. He expects a correction in the global market. Correction toh market global market mein bhi aani hai
  115. He expects brain drain to return to pre-Covid levels. into a pre-Covid state of brain drain
  116. He says attrition in the industry is above 20 percent. Hamare attrition rates 20% se upar hain is industry ke
  117. He says the talent war cannot last forever. Now, talent war, yeh bhi forever nahi chal sakti
  118. He describes Systems as the highest exporter among tech companies in Pakistan. a tech company, the highest exporter
  119. He says the country's population is its biggest strength. I think our biggest strength is our population
  120. He says businesses should not depend on what government can do for them. Decouple yourself from what the government can do for you
  121. He credits his original boss at IBM as a great mentor. original boss Nishat Kazmi, who stayed with IBM a long time, great mentor