Shamshad Akhtar elected as first woman PSX Board chairperson

ISLAMABAD: Renowned economist Dr Shamshad Akhtar has been unanimously elected as the PSX Board Chairperson in the first meeting of the newly elected PSX Board held on Wednesday.

For the first time in the 73-year history of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), a woman chairperson has been elected on the Board of Directors, said a press release issued by PSX.

Akhtar is a veteran of the financial markets of Pakistan and has also held the honorable position of Governor, State Bank of Pakistan, in the past.

She spearheaded the capital market development reforms during her tenure at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 1990s and more recently worked with the industry on the Capital Market Roadmap in her capacity as the Caretaker Finance Minister.

On being elected as the Chairperson of the Board of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), Dr Akhtar commented: “After my long association with Pakistan’s capital market, it is a proud moment for me to represent the Pakistan Stock Exchange as its chairperson and join the efforts of the SECP, the new board and management to take this institution to new heights."

“I look forward to our joint endeavours to further transform PSX as a premier institution so it can play a critical role in raising its market capitalisation through deepening of debt and equity markets, broadening its investor and product base and service efficiently all its clients upholding high standards of governance,” she said.

Managing Director (MD) and CEO of PSX, Farrukh H. Khan, welcomed the appointment of the first woman Chairperson of the Board and the new and returning directors.

“We have an outstanding new board and I am confident that the newly appointed Board of Directors will lead and direct the Exchange to even greater heights of success, prosperity and progress for all stakeholders and Pakistan’s capital markets," he said.

"I am grateful to the cooperation extended by the SECP in this regard and for its approval of the PSX nominated directors," he added.

Khan said the Exchange is "particularly excited and proud to have someone of the caliber of Akhtar, to be the Chairperson of PSX".

"Her understanding of capital markets and global experience will be invaluable in the development of capital markets and PSX. The fact that she is the first woman to chair PSX adds to our pride and excitement in welcoming her,” he said.

Khan also thanked the outgoing Board for their support and guidance.

“The outgoing Board has been invaluable for me and the management team, during what has been an unusually challenging year.

“I believe that the outgoing Board can be proud of the achievements during its term.

”You are leaving behind a PSX that has strong foundations and is poised for future growth."

Election process

Upon completion of the term of the previous board, as part of the regulatory exercise earlier, seven shareholder directors were elected at the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) convened on April 19, 2021, upon the expiry of the term of the previous Board of Directors.

SECP cleared the elected shareholder directors in terms of applicable requirements of Wang Baojun, Ahmed Chinoy, FU Hao, You Hang, Yu Huali, Nadeem Naqvi, and Zubair Razzak Palwala.

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) had announced the appointment of three independent directors on its Board, subsequent to the approval by the SECP, on April 29, 2021.

The names of the independent directors are Shamshad Akhtar (now elected as Chairperson of the Board), Javed Kureishi, and Mohammad Salahuddin Manzoor.

The current size of the Board of Directors, as fixed by the previous Board at its meeting held in February 2021 pursuant to SECP’s pertinent directive, comprises of a total of eleven members including seven shareholder directors, three independent directors and the CEO.

The process of election, nomination and appointment of directors of PSX is specified under the Companies Act, 2017, the Securities Exchanges (Licensing and Operations) Regulations, 2016 (the Regulations) and the Articles of Association of PSX.

Regulations mandates the number of independent directors to be not less than one-third of the total directors of the Board.