Encouraging Disruption, Innovation, Digitization, and Transformation the CxO Global Forum’s Digital Tech Summit Ends at a High Note
The CxO Global Forum held the largest Global Digital Summit from the 22nd – 25th November. With some of the most prominent personalities present at the Global Digital Summit, the audience had the experience to learn from them first hand and understand where the current Pakistan ICT landscape stands at. The 5-day Summit envisioned Pakistan’s IT/ICT & Technology landscape to not only explore the opportunities for IT Exports but to connect with the regulatory authorities & government of Pakistan on Ease of Doing Business, Global Payment Gateways, and the other compliances for the growth of the local ecosystem.
To inaugurate the Global Digital Summit-2021 the honorable President Arif Alvi gave a keynote speech that emphasized the importance of data and even more important is the ability to analyze data through Artificial Intelligence, neuro networks, and other methods. Unless data is not analyzed it becomes useless, he added. President Arif Alvi congratulated CxO Global Forum on holding the summit which could also aid in broadening the investment channel in Pakistan.
The five-day event was articulated into five themes covering digitalization, disruption, and innovation in their true essence.
Day 1: “Information Technology”
Day 1 was themed “Information Technology”, the day started off with a welcome note from Nadeem Hussain – Coach, Planet N Group followed by a inaugural speech by the President of Pakistan, Dr. Arif Alvi.
This was followed by a discussion by Amer Hashmi – Chairman STZA speaking on the “Role of STZA”. Atif Iqbal – Chief People Officer Salsoft Technologies spoke on the “The Great Gig Gallop”.
A Round Table Discussion followed on “Digital Entrepreneurial Ecosystem” with speakers from the tech world including Shayan Mahmud – Managing Partner Eikon7, Cas majid – CEO Wow Group of Companies, Arsalan Ijaz Anwer – CEO Computing Solutions, Mahnoor Nadeem – CEO Redtone digital services, and moderator Miqdad Naseer – CCO Convo.
This was followed by a panel discussion on “Future of Technology” with panelists Amna Khatib Paracha – CDO – GroupM, Muhammad Adeel – Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hadi Tabani – CEO – Liquid Technologies, Adnan Ahmed – CIO – Ornua, Mina Salman – co-founder – Bagallery, and moderator Abdul Rahim Ahmad – CIO STZA. Osman Rashid – CEO of Convo, gave a presentation based on a case study “Convo – Be One – Unify your Workforce”. Followed by a discussion on “Digital Transformation” from Junaid Imam – Member IT Taskforce.
Another round table discussion took place under the topic “Re-Imagine the Future” with panelists Asif Saleem – Sr Director Banking Innovation – Oracle, Khurram Rahat – Sr Vice President – Northbay Solutions, Yusuf Hussain – Head Venture Capital – HBL, Mohsin Ali – CEO – Inbox Business Technologies, and moderator Anza Saqib.
The last panel discussion of the day on “Scaling the Digital Ecosystem” followed with panelists, Malik Mudassir – CEO – Appsgenie, Muhammad Hussain – CEO – Boundless Technologies, Muhammad Ghazali – CEO – Transviti, Rehan Hyder – CEO – Insource, Naumeena Sohail – CEO – The Design Firm, Wasim Irshad – Co-Founder & CEO – Wow Health, and moderator Saira Shazad – Business Outreach CxO Global Forum.
Day 2: “Artificial Intelligence”
Day 2 was all about “Artificial Intelligence”, the day kicked off with a keynote speech from Stephen Brobst – CTO Teradata. Followed by a panel discussion on “The Impact of AI in Pakistan” including panelists Qazafi Qayyum – CEO Analytics, Adnan Yousuf Kazi – COO Analytics, Adnan Zaidi – CEO Proxima, Dr. M Ehsan – CEO Tradeforesight, and moderator Anza Saqib.
Another panel discussion took place on the topic “Importance of Agile and the Way Forward” with panelists Naveed Ramzan – AT Tech, Umair Khalid – President Pads, Maryam Kausar – Prof Fui. Followed by a “Case Study on Kidsloop” from Anza Saqib – PR and Brand Manager KidsLoop.
The next panel discussion focused on “The Next Wave of AI and Technology” with expert panelists in the field including Zeeshan Haq – Nanosoft, Mohammad J Sear – Digital Gov. & Public Sector Consulting Leader, the Middle East and Africa (MENA) at EY, Syed Ahsun – Deputy CTO at REDtone Digital Services, Bilal Abbasi – Director IT MoITT, and moderator Anza Saqib.
Eitesam Ahmad Khan – Founder & CEO Contegris & Intellicon presented a “Case Study on Contegris” followed by a discussion on “Shaping the future of Cloud” with Imran Khan – CEO RapidCompute, and moderator Anza Saqib.
A round table discussion followed on “Why is Technology the Next Big Thing” with speakers Iqbal Yousuf Sheikh – CEO Aptech, Ali Raza – Alibaba Express, M Usman Sherdil – CEO Sherdil Cloud, Zeeshan Bokhari – ICT Consultant, and moderator Anza Saqib.
Three startups took part in the case study “Rising Startups in the Country”, Ibtehaj Ahmed – Urdu Chatbots, Rubia Qamar – Rubix Consultancy, and Ammad Nadeem – Vision R&D. “Arccos Case Study” followed with Sal Syed – CEO Arccos, Faraz Hasan – Ceo Tenx Ai.
To wrap it up the last discussion for the day was on “Ethics for AI Adoption” with Narayanan Vaidyanathan (Head of Business Insights – ACCA), Sajjeed Aslam – Head Of ACCA Pakistan, Azfar Jamal, Director at DIGINC Technologies, and moderator Aqsa Satti – ACCA.
Day 3: “Future of 5G in Pakistan”
Day 3 emphasized the “Future of 5G in Pakistan”. It began with a keynote speech from Chairman NADRA, followed by a “Hysab Kytab” Case Study by M. Yasir Ilyas – Global Head Hysab Kytab.
Soon after a panel discussion took place on “Technological Capacity Building” with panelists M. Yasir Ilyas – Global Head Hysab Kytab, Omar Khalid – COO Tasdeeq, Ebrahim Tiwana, Head of Tech – Falcon-i, and moderator Shah Abdullah Raza, Chief Information Officer at Toyota Indus Motor Company.
A round table followed after this on the much-anticipated topic of discussion “Free Internet, Basic Human Right” with panelists Irfan Sheikh – Deputy Director Benazir Income Support Program, Muhammad Shakaib – Cloud Solution Architect NorthBay Solutions, Furrukh Sohail – Head Of Cloud Services NETSOL Technologies, M Salman Popatya – Co-Founder & CEO S2 Consulting Services, Obaid Saleem, VP Middle East & North Region IPification.
“Marketing the Enablers” was the next topic under discussion with esteemed speakers including Fatima Mazhar – COO Colabs, Niran Rehman – CBO Dun & Bradstreet Pk, Wasim Irshad – Co-Founder & CEO Wow Health, Anas Niaz – CEO Bioniks, and moderator Shazad Sikandar – COO CxO Global Forum. Another panel discussion on the topic “5G Technology and Infrastructure” took place with panelists Ubaid Younus – Partner Manager APAC Facebook, Igor Tasic – Founder Metaventures, Haaris Mehmood – CEO Universal Services Funds, and moderator Anza Saqib.
Haroon Kanth – Country Head Teradata Consulting Centre Pk spoke on the topic “Data is the Next Oil”, with moderator Anza Saqib. Followed by a panel discussion on “Business Intelligence and Growth” with Sardar Abubakr – Chief Finance & Digital Officer Mobilink Microfinance Bank, Muhammad Umar – CEO SWSAM Solutions, Zoe Harries – CEO Impact Zones, and moderator Anza Saqib.
A session on “Customer Experience as a Differentiation Strategy” by Raluca Berchiu – Growth Marketing Middle East & Central Asia SES Satellites followed. The day ended with a “Global Message Case Study” from Virginie Debris – Chief Product Officer Global Message Service.
Day 4: “Investments and Innovation”
Day 4 of the Global Digital Summit focused on “Investments and Innovation”, the CxO Global Forum team had arranged renowned panelists to speak on these topics. The day kicked off with a Panel Discussion on “Risk Associated with the Startups too high?” with panelists Shaista Ayesha, CEO – SEED Ventures, Misbah Naqvi – Co-Founder & General Partner i2i Ventures, Salman Tufail – Founder Cerebrum Corp, Hira Zainab – Secretary-General P@SHA, and moderator Malik Ahmad Jalal, CEO Cordoba Ventures.
Followed by a discussion on “Startups – Investments & FDI (Foreign Direct Investments)” with panelists Rizwan Khan – Inv Director Bold Investment, Vladimira Mesko Briestenska – Founder Neem Exponential, M Adeel – Ministry Of Foreign Affairs, Asim Jamil – CEO Quad Ventures, Salman Iqbal – CEO ARY Digital.
Nadeem Hussain – Coach Planet N Group spoke on the “Startup Equity Investments”. This was followed by a panel discussion on “Potential Of Investing In Homeland” by Kulsoom Lakhani – Founder invest2innovate, Shane Shin – Founding Partner, Shorooq Partners, Syed Azfar Hussain – Program Manager National Incubation Centre Karachi, and Zouhair Khaliq – Founder & General Partner Teamup Ventures.
Day 5: “Digital Pakistan”
The last day of the Summit themed “Digital Pakistan” had a keynote speech from Major General (R) Amir Azeem Bajwa followed by a session on “Top Trends & E-Commerce” with Salman Sattar – Founder Bagallery, Omar Farooq Rana – CEO Alchametive, Aquil Ahmed – COO Primex, Safeer E Hussain – CEO Digital Eggheads, and moderator Anza Saqib.
The Global Digital Summit concluded with an Endnote from Ali Jehangir Siddiqui – Ambassador At-large Foreign Investment. He spoke on how the summit has helped to knit together an important segment of the tech ecosystem and how Pakistani Tech Entrepreneurs have the experience to run full-fledged teams and are capable of moving forward. He congratulated the CxO Global Forum to hold this successful conference and all participants for their contribution.
To watch all the Summit videos follow the link: https://www.youtube.com/c/cxoglobaltv
Thanking all Sponsors, Digital Partners, and Community Partners
The prestigious list of sponsors who made the event possible include Salsoft Technologies, Systems Limited, National Data Consultants Pvt Ltd, Inbox Business Technologies, Rapid Compute, Taar Consultancy, Computing Solutions Pvt Ltd, Contegris Pvt Ltd, Convo, and TelloTalk.
CxO Global Forum would also like to extend its gratitude to its digital partners for the Summit including ARY Digital, Nashpati Prime, Digital Eggheads & Global Message Services without whom the event would not have been possible.
Last but not least, CxO Global Forum thanks all community partners including ACCA, Pakistan Software Export Board, Pakistan Software Houses Association, Special Technology Zones Authority, and MINISTRY OF IT & TECHNOLOGY.
The CxO Global Forum Team congratulates and commends the efforts of all stakeholders, speakers, panelists, moderators, and team members who made this event such a huge success. The discussions held during this five-day period will truly add value to the tech ecosystem and enable further discussions to help promote digitization and innovation in the future infrastructure of Pakistan.
What is CxO Global Forum?
The CxO Global Forum Network is an emerging knowledge-sharing platform of Global Thought Leaders for all C-Level The forum is to get global exposure especially in digital transformation & innovation around the globe. It is the largest Corporate Outreach Forum and has currently 400+ members globally.
