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K-Electric (KE) is one of Pakistan’s largest utility companies. It is the only vertically-integrated power utility in Pakistan, which means it manages all three key stages – generation, transmission and distribution – of producing and delivering energy to consumers. K-Electric is also one of the city’s largest employers, with nearly 11,000 members of staff.
The company has been facing governance issues for years, even after the acquisition of its majority shares by UAE-base Abraaj Group in 2008, which has been negotiating with a Chinese firm to sell its shares. The company has undergone extensive reforms in recent years nad has shown some improvements as well. But its fortunes may be about to change even more after one major appointment on January 18. The KE’s Board of Directors elected Ikram Sehgal as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors with immediate effect. Sehgal succeeds Tayyab Tareen who has resigned.
The KE Board, during a meeting in the southern port city, expressed its fullest appreciation to Tareen for his constructive leadership and contribution to the company’s successful turnaround. Outgoing Chairman, Tayyab Tareen, served KE in many roles during his ten-year association with K-Electric including as CFO before being appointed CEO in 2014.
With more than 40 years of business experience, Ikram Sehgal is Chairman Pathfinder Group Pakistan, employing several thousand people in 50 towns and cities across Pakistan.
While serving in the Pakistan Army, Ikram Sehgal was the first Pakistani PoW in history to escape from an Indian PoW Camp. He holds a Commercial Pilot License and later started his own business in 1977.
He is the author of several books (including “Escape from Oblivion” published by Oxford University Press in 2012).
The KE Board of Directors, according to an announcement, is confident that Ikram Sehgal, with his proven track record of accomplishments, will bring a wealth of knowledge and valuable experience to the position.
Ikram Sehgal has authored several books and has served on the boards of many firms, including Bank Alfalah for 16 years.
A man of impeccable character, known for his straightforwardness and hard work, Sehgal is expected to change the working culture at the company to increase efficiency and productivity. Sehgal is a scholar of international repute and one of the most seasoned defense analysts in Pakistan. He has, for years, extensively written against corruption and incompetence at Pakistani state institutions. Now that he is heading a major institution, he is expected to promote a culture of accountability at the KE and resolve the many problems the residents of Pakistan’s southern port city face on daily basis.
The KE claims to have transformed itself from an “under-utilized” state asset into a leading energy player that represents one of the global power industry’s most well-recognized operational turnaround stories.
