Chapter 1: Birth to Pre-school
Birthday
symbolizes day 1 of one's life on the mother planet Earth: however, you
really don't know what happened when you were born. You are normally
told by others, usually your mother, about the events leading to or
occurring at the time of your birth.
My
mother told me I was born early morning, before dawn, in a chilly night
of the harsh winter in my home village. I was a home delivery as there
was no maternity home in my home village. It was Tuesday, she recalled.
She did not remember the date. My mother once confided in me that she
didn't want another child and tried a couple of times to 'get rid of
me.' But then she had a dream one night when her late mother appeared
and told her not to do it as she was being blessed by Allah (God). I
truly proved to be a blessing for my mother in particular and my parents
in general as I grew up.
Makhad
is a historical village built on a hill-top on the banks of river Indus
in district Attock in Punjab province in Pakistan (South Asia). It is
also part of the grand Indus Valley civilization. The village has old
houses built with rock-stones in the nineteenth century or earlier. The
surroundings are fascinating with hills, river, lakes, trees and
greengrass. The age-old hobby or sport used to be 'kabaddi' (wrestling)
among the locals. The rich had their businesses out of Makhad in other
cities. It was mostly the lower classes that lived permanently in Makhad
and survived on agriculture, shopkeeping and being household servants.
There were no electricity, no gas, no tap water, no telephone, no buses
and no flush toilets in Makhad till 1980's.
According
to my mother, I was pinkish-white skinned, weighed heavier than normal,
and bore handsome features. I was the sixth son, the eighth child and
the last one of my parents, who were married when both aged 14.
Early-age marriages were norms of the day at that time in our society
and so were the parents-arranged marriages. Both of my parents belonged
to two of the most respected, richest and influential families of
Makhad. My paternal and maternal grand fathers were Punjabi. However, my
maternal grand mother was a Pashtun.
Two of my five older brothers and the two older sisters died in their childhood due to illnesses for which adequate medical treatment was not available at that time So,
there were only three sons left in the family at the time of my
birth.As my mother stated, I have had several bouts of pneumonia during
the first six months of my earthly life while living in my hometown
which was known for chilly nights and harsh winter. Alhomdolillah!
(thanks God), I survived all of them, inspite of inadequate medical aid
available, till the family moved to Karachi. However, it transpired in
1960 that I was afflicted with unresolved pneumonia in my lungs.
The
disclosure came by chance when my maternal uncle, whom my mother was
visiting along with me in Karachi, took me to an E.N.T. specialist for a
check up as he often found me coughing. Subsequent X-ray and
pathological tests revealed the unresolved pneumonia. On return to
Lahore, I was taken to a physician who treated me for a couple of months
and I recovered without much of a hassle.
Karachi
was then the only seaport of what is now Pakistan. Today, Karachi is
the largest seaport city of Pakistan having an estimated population of
12 million plus; most of the people having migrated from India and other
parts of what is now Pakistan and settled here for the sake of jobs,
business and industry.My parents migrated from Delhi (now in India) to
Karachi (now in Pakistan) in 1945 and rented a beautiful huge house with
a water fountain in the centre of it in the then most posh locality of
Jamshed Road in Karachi. However, the stay was short as the movement for
the independence of Pakistan entered the final phase and forced the
family to shift back to Makhad in view of communal riots and killings in
the city.
The
family came back to Karachi in 1947, just a few months before the
sovereign state of Pakistan came into being on the 14th of August 1947
through partitioning of India into Muslim majority provinces forming
Pakistan and the Hindu majority provinces forming India except Jammu
& Kashmir valley which, though a Muslim majority area, acceded to
India by virtue to a decree by the Sikh ruler ignoring the will of the
majority of his people. The contentious issue of Kashmir between India
and Pakistan originated from the same accession led to wars between the
two countries in 1948, 1965 and 1971.
Our
rented house on Jamshed Road had already been taken over by immigrants
from India when we returned to Karachi. So, we had no choice but to rent
an apartment on the top floor of a building on Marriot Road. The
building had four or five storeys and 72 stairs. We used to climb up and
down those stairs several times in a day without feeling tired. Karachi
was a small seaport city at that time with an estimated population of
around 300,000 souls and a few buses and cars on road. Being on the top
floor of a tall building, we were blessed with fresh air all day long.
We did not use fans; airconditioners did not exist.
Life
was very simple, painless, peaceful and lively. No social-class
conflicts, no rich and poor dilemma, no jealousies and no pomp and show.
Everybody lived a simple life.My parents, my eldest brother with his
wife and children, two other brothers, my self and servants, all lived
together in the apartment of four to five rooms. My father started
setting up his business afresh. He had a very successful business in
Delhi, now in India, exporting lambskins to Britain for making fur coats
for ladies. He had all the luxuries of life including first-rate dogs
for hunting who were provided with silk bedding and pure milk and ghee
(vegetable oil). Our family was the first in our community from Makhad
to own a big American/British car, a radio and a rich life style.
Migrating
from Delhi to Karachi did not prove to be a good omen for my father's
business. He had to take a start all over again. Business and industry
were yet to develop in the newly established state of Pakistan. My
father was quite an entrepreneur but the economic, social and living
styles of the people were not yet ripe to consume the products that he
could import and market at that time. He introduced Swiss watches and
clocks, porcelain crockery, chandeliers, and many other products from
Europe but could not find enough buyers. He was also offered dealership
of General Motors.
My
mother and one of my brothers were afflicted with asthma and their
condition deteriorated with every passing day, probably because of the
sea winds. So, the family shifted to Malir, a small village at a
distance of approximately 20/25kms from Karachi. It was a village mostly
occupied by Balochi speaking people. There were only mud houses without
electricity, gas, tap water, and other amenities of life. There were no
schools and no public transport. My father, brothers and myself used to
walk from our house to the railway station to board the train to
Karachi every morning and go back every evening the same way. We still
occupied the apartment in Karachi which now became the office of my
father.
Chapter II: Romantic Encounters
I think I was born to be romantic. My
first 'romance' took place with my lady Maths teacher in Class III,
twice of my age. I started writing lyrics on a slip and placing it in
the homework note book. She would check the notebook and remove the
lyrics slip without uttering a word to me.
My second 'romance' occured with a girl
classmate in Class III. She was also my neighbour in Karachi.I never
said a word to her about liking or loving her; nor did she. It was only
on my side, not hers.
My third 'romance' happened with a girl of
my age in Multan. We were related and frequently saw each other on
our visits to each other's house. But we never said a word about liking
or loving each other. Luckily, it was a mild fire on both ends. Her
mother once suggested I should marry her daughter. But that wasn't
possible as I was just 15 and had to go a long way to complete my
education and earn a living.
I had always been a very decent
romantic person and never indulged in indecency of any sort or kind. I
think these were just romantic skirmishes, nothing else. Besides, there
has always been a strong binding within me that I should indulge in a
love affair ONLY with the girl whom I could marry. I could never find
such a girl till 1976 when I was married to the girl whom I never saw.
It was an arranged marriage but there was a conviction with me that
ALLAH will certainly give me the kind of spouse that I always wanted.
And exactly that happened.
Chapter III: High School
I
was admitted to class II at Sheradon High School, skipping KG and class
1. It happened somewhere in 1952-53. Before I could complete class II,
my parents shifted to Quetta in Balochistan, stayed there for a few
months and then moved to a small village called Jhatpat near Jacobabad
in Sindh and took me along. My father planned to start a new business
there relating to forestry after his unsuccessful attempts to get into
business in Quetta. This small village had no school. We stayed there
till 1954. Back in Karachi,I was admitted to City Girls Secondary School
in class III. It was a co-ed school upto class V. I shined in class III
by topping in every exam.
After
having passed class III by securing the highest position in my class, I
was moved to Lahore alongwith my mother and an elder brother in 1955.
My brother was transferred by his employers from Karachi to Lahore and
my mother accompanied him. I was admitted to Rangmahal Mission High
School in class VI in 1956, jumping from class III, to make up for the
lost years. There began the nightmare of a 13-year old boy who had
topped in his previous school. I just could not grasp the maths of VI
class. Every time I failed and I failed often, my maths teacher Mr. Alam
charged me to his baton. I could never pass maths so long as he was
there. I am sure he did not know my predicament that I had jumped from
class III to VI. I was very shy and timid.
In
the year 1957, my parents and I moved to Rawalpindi. This time again,
my father had to go there to look for a business opportunity. I was
admitted to Islamia High School in class VII. There I turned out to be a
super star topping in every subject including maths. I am sure it was
because of the encouragement and support that I received from my maths
teacher Mr. Nawab. When I left school to go back to Lahore with my
parents after a year, my class teacher-cum-maths teacher Mr. Nawab and
the entire class saw me off at the railway station and also garlanded me
to the utter astonishment of the onlookers at the railway station.
Around
the same time, I was struck by acute acne pimples spread on both
cheeks. I used to have terrible itching and medicated soap and ointments
did not appear to work. Ultimately, a doctor prescribed an ointment
which did wonders and the pimples subsided after almost a year of
painful itching and ultimately vanished but not without leaving mild
scars on my cheeks.
Back
in Lahore and the same school in 1958, I progressed well in all
subjects except maths. This time it was a different teacher Mr. Azhar
but somehow I failed and got punished after every class test. I just
could not understand maths and algebra. There was nobody to help me out
of my predicament, neither the teacher nor anybody at home.
I
started penfriendship, stamp collecting and playing cricket in and
around 1958. I cultivated penfriendship in several English speaking
countries and exchanged stamps with many fellow stamp collectors in
Europe and America. These two hobbies fascinated me and I devoted a good
deal of my time to writing letters and collecting stamps at the cost of
my studies.
Inspite
of my diversion to hobbies, I was lucky to pass all subjects except
maths in the final examination of class X but the failure in maths
dropped down my overall grade and landed me in third division. I was
happier than sad to have at least passed the final exam to get into a
college. I remember going to the shrine of the saint Hazrat Osman Ali
Hajveri (popularly known as Data Ganj Baksh) in Lahore and praying for
just passing the final exam.
The
years from 1943-1961 were quite tumultuous for me, shifting from one
abode to the other and from one school to the other. Being the youngest
in the family, my parents chose to take me along wherever they went
without probably realizing the consequences of a broken academic path of
their son. My father could read, write and speak English without having
gone through regular or formal schooling. My mother had no schooling at
all but she learned to read Urdu through private tutoring at home after
her marriage. Both of them did their best to provide the best available
education to their sons, older than me, when my parents were settled at
one place. So, the worth of good education was obvious to them.
My
inconsistent schooling and, that too, in Urdu-medium institutions
created two problems for me. First, I could not come to terms with maths
and algebra. Second, I could not read, write and speak English with the
right accent, fluency and understanding. These two handicaps, at times
very frustrating, lived with me for many years to come, especially when
two of my three older brothers could speak good English with fluency as
they had received education at a first-rate English-medium school under
the Cambridge system.
In
1961, there were only two top-class colleges in Lahore. One of them was
the Forman Christian College, commonly known as F. C. College, now an
accredited university. It was established in 1864 by American
missionaries. Its campus sprawled over 100 acres of land, the largest
campus in the whole of Pakistan, encompassing the classrooms, hostels
and faculty residences. It had several beautiful and well-maintained
lush grass lawns and tall trees laid between wide and well-maintained
roads. The whole environment was pollution-free, windy and pleasant. You
could just enjoy the environment by sitting on the lawn or walking on
the pathway. Cars and motorcycles were not allowed to enter the inner
side of the campus. You could only see the kids of the faculty members
cycling around.
I
appeared for the admission test to get into the first year (freshman)
of college education in arts. I was just asked to write an essay on the
founder of Pakistan Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. I passed the test,
got through the preliminary interview by a couple of faculty members
and sent to the Principal for the final. Dr Ewing, an American professor
who had been living in Pakistan for several decades, was the Principal
at that time.
Dr.
Ewing was quite impressed with the language and style of my essay but a
bit surprised over my third division in the high school examination. I
could think of only one blatant lie that I fell sick before the final
exam and so could not study hard enough to earn a better grade. He
smiled meaningfully and approved my admission.
I
stayed at the college for four years from 1961-65 passing out the
intermediate and the bachelor's in second division. This time, it was
Economics that overturned my grades. Just like maths, I could not get
along with Economics. To me, the economic theories just did not make any
sense or at least I could not make any sense of them. In addition, the
professor who used to teach Economics would just walk into the
classroom, sit on a raised platform and start his lecture forthwith. I
don't recall he ever asked any question from any student or floated a
topic for general discussion in the classroom. The students were also
least interested in asking him questions.
He
was followed by a young, nice and supportive lecturer who had just come
from college after doing his master's in Economics. The poor fellow was
never taken seriously by the students and he, too, was a bit nervous, I
guess, to teach at a very prestigious institution. So, we let him talk
and he let us listen--no question-answer session from either side.
The
one subject that I really enjoyed was General History, taught by an
American professor Dr S.E. Brush. I always scored 80-90 percent marks in
General History. He was a lively teacher always smiling and helpful
during and after the class.
Political
Science, taught by another American professor Dr Carl Wheeless, was as
dry as Economics, all theory, but I passed it with fairly good marks in
every test and exam. Dr Wheeless always bore a serious face, appeared
tough and intolerant of nonsense. He often did not ask questions but
everyone in his class was attentive and serious-looking just in case he
put a question. Dr Wheeless had a superb memory. He remembered the name,
roll number and face of each and every student. Outside the classroom,
Dr Wheeless was altogether a different person. He was soft-spoken,
polite and helpful if anybody asked for help or just shared his thoughts
with him.
Chapter VI: Punjab University
After
graduating from F. C. College in 1965, I joined the two-year
post-graduate Master of Education (Technical) Business programme of the
Institute of Education & Research at the University of the
Punjab. The institute, commonly known as I.E.R., was established as a
joint venture between the Punjab University and the Indiana University
(Bloomington, USA) in early 60's. The Department of Business Education
was headed by an American professor Dr. Hamesh Maxwell, a thorough
gentleman, decent and pleasant. He was a lively, caring and friendly
professor, admired equally by the students and the faculty members.
Prior
to taking admission at the I.E.R., I had also appeared for the
admission test for an MBA programme at the Institute of Business
Administration, University of Karachi, the most prestigious and the only
institute of its kind in the country. I passed the test and the
interview. However, due to financial constraints, I could not move to
Karachi and bear the tuition fee and living expenses as my family still
lived in Lahore.
At
the I.E.R., I earned A grade in each of the five subjects of the first
term of the business education programme. As a result, I was awarded
full scholarship of Rs. 95 per month. The amount was sufficient to pay
for the tuition fee and to meet personal expenses. Text books, mostly
U.S.-published, were provided by the I.E.R. for each term on returnable
basis. Each term lasted for 3 months except in summer when the duration
was reduced to 2 months. We had only one-month summer vacations in a
year.
My
interest in business subjects coupled with good teaching methods, open
and lively classroom discussions and friendly environment helped me a
great deal and propelled me to become a superstar among the students. I
excelled in every classroom quiz, test and terminal exam by earning A
grade in every subject. There were 36 courses in all, spread over two
years.I never missed a class in 2 years except when I suffered from
fever for a week before the final exam of the second and final year. I
remember how perturbed my father was. I could feel he was very concerned
and prayed for my quick recovery so as to be able to maintain the top
position in the final examination.
Punjab
University used to award University Gold Medal to the student who
topped in the final examination of each of its multiple post-graduate
programmes. All the programmes offered at the I.E.R. were, however,
excluded probably for the reason that we used different testing and
evaluation methods, based on the American system, of filling-in blanks,
multiple choice questions and so on. Our system was called objective
testing system and that of the Punjab University subject testing system,
based on writing comprehensive essays.
I
made a written representation to the then Vice Chancellor of the Punjab
University Prof Hameed and convinced him that the topped students of
I.E.R. also deserved Gold Medals. He agreed to my proposition and
allowed award of Gold Medals in the Convocation held in Feb 1968. I was
also one of the recipients of the Gold Medal in Business Education.My
years at the I.E.R. were just superb, though very demanding in time and
space context. I used to get up early morning at around 4:30am. It took
me one hour to get ready and take my breakfast of one fried egg, two
toasts and one cup of tea at 5:30am. I usually left home around 5:45am
to catch the bus at 6:00am from a walking distance. It took almost 2
hours to reach the campus around 7:45am. We used to have our first class
session at 8:00am. I was almost always on time.
Classes
were usually off around 2:00pm. I would then go to the library to study
and complete home assignments and prepare myself for the next day
lectures. It took me anywhere from 2 to 4 hours. If I had time in
between, I would join a friend and play table tennis or badminton.
Normally, I left campus between 5:00-6:00 in the evening. The journey
back home had a different route. I would first take a bus to a point and
then board a tonga (4-person carriage driven by a horse) to reach home,
spending almost the same time as in the morning.Once at home, I would
normally go to sleep for two hours. On awakening from the nap, I would
take my meal. After meal, I would again sit down and study for the next
day or complete remaining home assignments. The session lasted beyond
midnight. My daily routine remained almost the same during the boiling
hot summer and the chilly winter. The only change that I had to make at
times when I missed the bus at 6:00am in the chilly winter. I would use a
bicycle to go to the railway station, park the bicycle there and get a
bus to campus. Yet, I reached in time.
Throughout
these two years, I remained very energetic, hardworking, tenseless and
engrossed in my studies, most of the time. I had little time to play
sports at the campus. It was only on Sundays that I played cricket in a
public park. We had 6-day a week and 11- month a year academic sessions
but I really enjoyed every moment of the two years that I spent at the
campus.A couple of interesting episodes took place at the campus.
We
had four departments at I.E.R. One of them was Master of Education.
Most of the students there were girls, many of them really beautiful or
charming. Our own department of business education had very few girl
students. I developed liking for a girl student from the department of
education by the name of Bilquis. I was always eager to have a look at
her. She was slim, tall, brownish and charming. We would often look at
each other for several minutes while she was coming my side or I was
going her side. But we never spoke to each other during the two years of
our stay on the campus. She was a top-rated table tennis player and we
played together at times but never uttered a word. It was very shy but
handsome enough to attract girls.
One
of the teachers at the department of education had just returned from
the U.S. after doing her Ph.D. She was young, tall, fair complexioned
and charming. I became fond of her but could never muster courage to
speak to her. She probably knew my interest in her but she just ignored
me. I wasn't afraid; just too shy to speak up.
In
the second year of my studies, I decided to contest election to become
general secretary of the students union of I.E.R. I had to go to each
student to ask for his/her vote. Most of the girls at the institute knew
about my academic record and admired me for being a topper and tried to
speak to me or befriend me. It was quite usual at I.E.R. to have cross
gender friends. I was always reluctant to befriend a girl, stroll with
her along the canal running along the campus, sit with her in the
library to talk in low tone or entertain her at cafeteria with or
without her friends. Many boys indulged in these activities. There were
plenty of hideouts, though there was no restriction on being together
with girls.
I
was one of the most well-dressed, well-behaved and good-looking boys at
the I.E.R. and, I guess, that carried a premium for friendship with a
girl. At my earlier college, we had just ONE girl student. Here at IER,
there were too many outnumbering the boys. Most of them were really
beautiful, charming and friendly. The province of Punjab was known for
beauty and beautiful gals. We had girl students from all over Punjab,
from all classes and creeds. I always admired beauty wherever it was
found, whether it were beautiful surroundings, flowers, animals,
landscapes, or girls. At the same time, I also felt in my heart that I
should have friendship with a girl who could be mine for ever i.e. be my
wife. I could not afford to opt for marriage at that time as building a
good career was my first priority.
Before
the elections, I was supposed to approach girls, side by side boys, who
could be found in groups on the institute's lush green lawns to solicit
their support. I was not used to doing such a thing, was obviously shy
and reluctant but without showing it. Every dame had a group of friends.
Befriending one dame would mean losing support of the other dames and
their friends. The problem seemed to be insoluble. So, I thought it
would be better to avoid being associated with a particular group and
just ask for support from all. That was probably not acceptable to any
of the groups. Girls being in majority voted me out and I lost the
election by 19 votes.
Next
day, I was back at the institute without carrying the signs and
symptoms of a loser. Again, it was a big surprise for the girls more
than the boys. I behaved as if the election was just an event that
passed the previous evening and left no emotional scars on me. I am
unable to recall whether it was natural or made-up posture on my part.
Soon after the elections, I contested and became the president or vice
president (don't recall the exact position) of the Business Students
Club of the department of business education. That erased the remnants
of the loss in the previous elections. I also realized later that my
studies might have been badly affected if I were elected general
secretary of the students union. I thought my defeat was a blessing in
disguise.
On
the day of the Convocation in Feb 1968 to receive my master's degree
and a gold medal, I was quite tense. I had become a perfectionist during
the previous two years. I felt nausea but somehow managed to walk upto
the stage to receive my degree and the gold medal. I had a photographer
lined up to take my pictures. But something went wrong with his camera
and the pictures that he took turned out to be completely dark.
I
was very fond of photography right from an early age. I started taking
pictures at the age of 10 with a Kodak box camera. I have had the
largest collection of pictures of family members, friends, relatives,
landscapes, and places we visited from time to time. It was quite a
shock to miss the pictures of my own Convocation.
Chapter VII: Industrial Management Ltd
After
doing master's in business education from the Punjab University, I had
three options. First, to take up teaching at the department of business
education which could also get me a scholarship for further studies at
the Indiana University (Bloomington). Second, to take up a job in a
private enterprise to become an executive. Third, to study for another
master's at the Institute of Business Administration, commonly known as
I.B.A, at Karachi--1200km away from Lahore where I was living with my
family.I decided in favour of going for another master's in business
administration at IBA to strengthen my qualifications for a better
start-up in a large organization, preferably a multi-national
corporation. The multi-national corporations operating in Pakistan were
known for their professional environment, high salaries and perks,
foreign training and better career advancement. I took the admission
test, appeared for the interview and got the admission. I joined the IBA
in 1968 for an MBA degree and put up at the hostel.In later part of
1968, riots broke out throughout Pakistan. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, formerly
foreign minister, had left the cabinet of President Ayub Khan in 1967
and founded his own political party called Pakistan People's Party (PPP)
in the same year. He launched a mass campaign to dislodge President
Ayub Khan. He was young, dynamic and chrismatic. He could mobilize the
people, address them in the language and gestures they could understand
and came up with a message the masses needed. Roti, Kapra, Makan (food,
clothing and shelter) was the thematic slogan of PPP. As a result of the
agitation, the IBA was closed indefinitely.Around the same time, I got
an offer from Industrial Management Ltd (IML). It was a managing agency
of several corporations including Karachi Gas Company (now Sui Southern
Gas Company), Commerce Bank, Pakistan Chrome Mines, New Jubilee
Insurance Company, etc. IML was owned and headed by Mr. Amirali Fancy
whose family was counted among the 22 richest families of Pakistan. Mr.
Amirali Fancy was also the agent of Aga Khan in Pakistan.I was appointed
in IML as covenanted assistant at a gross salary of Rs. 500 per month
and posted in the administration department. It was sort of a management
trainee job.
Chapter VIII: Commerce Bank
I worked in IML for 3 months and then moved to the
Commerce Bank which was also owned by the same group. I started my
career in Commerce Bank in 1969 as junior officer at a gross salary of
Rs. 660 per month. I served in the purchase department, office services
department and development department from 1969-1974.At the purchase
dept., I was made responsible for managing the stores and purchasing of
the bank under the direct supervision of the General Manager of the
bank, Mr. G. M. Ghias. Mr. Ghias was a hard taskmaster, always in high
gear and perturbed over the working of the people under him. He was
least interactive with his staff and the staff members were too scared
to go to him unless called to his office. He was very hardworking,
honest to the core and highly authoritarian. Initially, it appeared
almost impossible to work with him. However, we developed a good working
relationship as the time passed and he probably realized that I was
equally honest, hardworking and loyal as he was to the bank. He began to
trust me so much that he would countersign bills worth millions of
rupees by just seeing my signature on the bills. I did my best to
reorganize the stores and purchasing of the bank and streamlined the
procedures and performance of the dept. I also worked for a few months
in the newly-established office services dept under Mr. Shamim Yazdani, a
very nice, friendly and thorough gentleman.In 1970, I was transferred
to the Development Dept. to work under Mr. Rashid A. Nagra. The
Development Dept was responsible for business development, opening of
new branches and advertising and public relations of the bank throughout
Pakistan. Mr. Nagra was a very dynamic and progressive person but a
very difficult person to work with. Nobody in the bank was willing to be
his No. 2. I worked with him till the end of 1974, probably the longest
tenure any officer had with him.During the time from 1970-1974, the
bank opened the largest number of branches as compared to any other
period of time. The development dept. conceived and launched deposit
mobilization campaigns from time to time to increase the bank deposits
and income. An advertising campaign through press and television was
launched for the first time in the history of the bank. We organized
regular meetings of the zonal heads at Karachi to review past
performance and plan for the future. We also introduced an in-house
newsletter for the first time carrying articles, news and pictures. The
Development Dept. composed of just 3 persons was doing all that work on
national basis in coordination with other departments, zonal offices and
advertising agency.Throughout the four years, the Development Dept.
worked with great zeal, innovations, and commitment to take the bank to
newer heights inspite of the frequent temper tantrums and bad behaviour
of the departmental head with the staff for most part of the 4-year
period. The bank made a profit for the first time since its inception
during these years.
Merger
of Commerce BankIn 1974, the government under Mr. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
nationalized the banks. Commerce Bank was merged into United Bank, the
third largest bank in the country with a wide network of branches within
and outside the country. The bank was founded by Mr. Agha Hasan Abidi
who later became an icon of the banking industry worldwide. He also
founded the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI).The United
Bank Ltd, commonly called UBL, opted to take me into the Public
Relations Dept at their Head Office. The department was headed by Mr.
Mohsin Raza, a very decent, knowledgeable, honest, hardworking and
supportive person. We worked together comfortably to conduct advertising
and public relations of the bank. The bank had a much bigger
advertising budget than any other company outside the banking industry
in Pakistan.My first task every morning was to glance over 14
newspapers, mark important news relating to economy, banking,
corporations etc., and get the clippings done, put in a folder and sent
to the President of the Bank by 10:00am. I used to reach office at
8:45am while the office work started at 9:00am. I did learn a great deal
about advertising and public relations while at the bank. Everything
was done in a big way. The dept organized dinners for corporate clients
and top banking officials, arranged medical treatment of sick and
moneyless writers, singers and artistes, established the UBL Cricket
team for the first time, and organized conferences, events and
ceremonies on behalf of the bank. We interacted with the media, released
news, contradicted news, and kept ourselves well informed about the
happenings in the banking industry and the country as a whole. We were
also responsible for releasing special advertisements on special
occasions of countries where we had bank branches. We were known in the
industry as the best PR dept.I left UBL in 1977 to join Premier Tobacco
Industries Ltd. (PTI), an affiliate of Philip Morris, USA., as Sales
Manager. Philip Morris owned 49% of the share capital of the public
limited company.
Chapter IX: Premier Tobacco Industries Ltd
While
at United Bank Ltd., I mailed an unsolicited application for a position
in sales or marketing to the then Australia-born Executive Director of
Premier Tobacco Industries Ltd who was a nominee of Philip Morris. In my
application, I briefly commented on PTI and its brands. I had already
done a comparison of PTI and PTC (Pakistan Tobacco Company Ltd), a
subsidiary of British Imperial Tobacco Company, based on the annual
reports of these companies.I was called for interview with Director
Marketing Mr. Tasleem Batlay. I submitted him the comparison. He liked
it. I was eventually selected for the job. I came to know later that PTI
was already on the look-out for a replacement of their current Sales
Manager.I joined PTI and was asked to occupy the room of the Marketing
Manager at the Head Office, located on the upper floor of the building.
Sales Dept was located on the ground floor. No formal handing-over and
taking-over took place between the outgoing sales manager and me. In
fact, I did not even see him. The management probably did not want me to
meet him lest I was spoiled too.After joining PTI, the chairman Mr. S.
A. Samad called me to his office. He told me that they had carried out a
background check on me and were satisfied with the findings. He
emphatically said that they were looking for an honest man.The job of
sales manager in PTI was a very sensitive one. Anybody in that position
could make or break the company. A really competent and honest person
was required to head the department. Anybody could make millions by just
giving more stocks to any favoured distributor and taking his cut. K-2
was the lead brand selling 700 million cigarettes a month out of the
total company sales of 800 million of all its brands. It was a hot cake
selling at a premium to the consumers. We could not meet the market
demand due to production capacity constraints, although the company was
producing it in eight factories located in different parts of the
country.Premier Tobacco Industries Ltd was established by Mr. S. A.
Samad who had no previous experience of manufacturing cigarettes. He did
not go to college either. He used to sell 'beri' ( a kind of cigarette
with raw tobacco wrapped in tobacco leaf) in Sukkur on a small scale. He
took the initiative of setting up an industry in competition with a
giant Pakistan Tobacco Company with immense resources at their disposal.
There is no doubt that Mr. Samad had tremendous business acumen and
marketing ideas. His earlier brands could not do much business. However,
K-2 was a grand success unprecedented in the cigarette industry in
Pakistan. The brand was developed by hit and trial and it worked to the
luck of Mr. Samad.From the very first meeting with the sales force, I
realized that all of them were highly demotivated, grumbled in no
uncertain terms about the past when their performance was not recognized
and nor rewarded and were reluctant to put in extra effort any longer. I
asked them to give me six months and assured them of better working
environment and compensation. They responded by stating that others
before me had also promised the same way but nothing had happened.The
salary and perks in PTI were far behind its major competitor Pakistan
Tobacco Company Ltd., selling almost the same numbers in units. However,
the value turnover of PTC and its profit margin were higher than those
of PTI because of the former's leading position in top-of-the-line
high-priced filter brands.Working with an extremely demoralized and
dissatisfied team proved to be a gigantic task for me. I could feel the
inside anguish and anger the team carried against the management and
their abnormal resistance to change their attitude and approach and put
in extra efforts.The first thing that I did was to go through all the
files of the department for one full month without involving myself in
day to day sales operations. The Assistant Sales Manager could look
after the day to day operations as he had been working for the company
for several years.That exercise gave me an insight into the working of
the department, distributors, and the high-ups at the Head Office.The
files as well as personal conversations and observations brought out
many a surprising revelations. First, almost every department at the
Head Office was highly critical of the working of the sales team and
expressed their utter dissatisfaction with the sales team's performance.
Second, almost every department at the Head Office lost no moment to
humiliate the sales persons and accuse them of dishonesty. Third, there
was a cold war going on between Director Marketing, who had joined the
company lately without having any experience of the cigarette industry,
and the Marketing Manager Mr. Zuberi who belonged to the camp of
old-timers.The silent war was consciously or consciously dividing the
loyalties in the sales and marketing departments. I was presumed to be a
member of the new-comers camp led by Mr. Batlay, though I had never met
him before the interview took place. My Assistant Sales Manager was
also an old-timer and an aspirant to become the Sales Manager. It was a
great shock to him to have somebody from outside the cigarette industry
as his superior. He belonged to the camp of Mr. Zuberi and enjoyed his
encouragement and support vis-a-vis me. Mr. Zuberi had his own axe to
grind as he expected to be elevated to the position of Director
Marketing before Mr. Batlay joined.I was confronted with a dilemma right
from the beginning. It was extremely difficult to keep a balance
between the old-timers and the new-comers. So deep were the conflicts of
interest that no persuasion seemed to be working. So, I decided to
reorganize the sales dept to make it more effective without getting
myself embroiled in the cold war.I made every effort to cultivate a good
working relationship with my subordinates. I became their teacher,
guide and helper to improve their understanding of their own functions
and how best to use their knowledge and experience to perform better so
that the bad image of the sales team would improve in the eyes of the
company. I travelled with the sales persons within the city and outside,
visiting retailers, wholesalers and distributors. I gave them a free
hand to make out their tour programmes and passed their expense
statements without questioning their honesty.I worked harder than the
sales persons. I read each and every sales report and sent back my
comments. I sent good reports to the Head Office. I travelled with them
in non-airconditioned wagon in hot summer, let them share the same meal
with me, involved them in general conversations on the way to make them
comfortable and also discussed market situation in informal ways and
sought their views.I told the sales team that they are answerable only
to me and nobody at the Head Office. If any department objects to any of
their actions, let it be known that he has to speak to me. I became a
buffer between the sales team and the H.O. That provided a good deal of
relief to the sales persons who had earlier been humiliated, criticized,
and downgraded quite often from the various departments at the H.O.,
especially the Marketing Dept and the Finance Dept.I undertook a long
journey of 1000 miles from Karachi in Sindh to Quetta in Balochistan by a
company-operated wagon. It was the hot month of August '77. The
concerned sales persons responsible for their territories on theway
accompanied me. We came back the same way in approximately 15 days. We
visited retailers, wholesalers and distributors of every town that came
our way on our journey from Karachi to Quetta. It was a great learning
experience for me, too.Within a few months, the sales team was almost
completely changed in their perceptions of their own capabilities, their
image in the company and how the work had to be done. It gave them a
moral boost and motivated them a great deal to put in extra-ordinary
efforts.Within a year, the sales of our key filter cigarette brand Red
& White more than tripled, making it the lead brand in Karachi
superceding the PTC's lead brand "Wills." PTC could never image that Red
and White would overtake Wills despite sustained and regular
promotional campaigns. We also worked hard to revive our dying brand K-2
Filter and stabilized its sales. Our No.1, non-filter plain brand was
K-2. It was always in short supply and sold at a premium to the smokers.
We streamlined the supply, reallocated quota to each distributor and
removed irritants to feed the markets according to their actual
requirements rather than inflated orders of our distributors.The
cigarette retailers had a very strong union to protect their interests
vis-a-vis cigarette manufacturers. The sales and marketing personnel in
PTI were very scared of the union and its secretary-general Mr. Yusuf
and the union despised the cigarette manufacturers and treated them as
their enemies. No cigarette company could launch a brand, introduce a
special offer or make any other major change in its policy without prior
consultation with Mr. Yusuf; otherwise, the company ran the risk of its
brands boycotted by the cigarette retailers. I did not know about this
situation. I introduced a special offer on sales of our unstable brand
K-2 Filter without prior consultation with the union through its
secretary-general.My action created a stir in the marketing dept at HO. I
was called in to be told that I must recall the offer and introduce it
only after its clearance by the union. I refused for I believed the
offer was in the interest of the retailers and the company alike and
there was no reason to let the union poke its nose into our operations.I
went ahead with the offer and it clicked. There was no negative
reaction from the union and Mr. Yusuf inspite of the fact that our
competitors tried their best to exploit the situation to have our brand
boycotted. After a month or so, I visited Mr. Yusuf in Hyderabad, a city
at a distance of 150km from Karachi. He was also a cigarette retailer.
He gave me and my field officer a hearty welcome, hugged us, treated us
to a drink and then a cup of tea. That was just unprecedented for Mr.
Yusuf to do for the sales persons of a cigarette company. I sat with him
for about half-an-hour or so and we talked about his children, their
education and their career plans and other things, nothing about
cigarette business. He again hugged me and my field officer again when
we were leaving his shop.My field officer was really in a state of utter
surprise. It was my first meeting with Mr. Yusuf. He just could not
figure out why Mr. Yusuf was so courteous to us. I guess Mr. Yusuf was
well aware of what I was doing for his union members as sales manager of
PTI, removing their grievances and meeting their genuine demands.I
always believed that a sales person had to be in the field as frequently
as his position required to maintain a healthy and supportive
relationship with the trade and to listen to the trade, meet their
genuine requirements and remove their genuine grievances. At the same,
he would also know what his own subordinates were doing in the field.
Field visits were an excellent source to gain knowledge of the
happenings in the market place including competitors' activities, trade
expectations, suggestions from the trade and working of company's field
force and distributors. Throughout my sales and marketing career, I
never made a policy change without first visiting the market to obtain
first-hand knowledge of what was happening in the market place.Before my
joing the company, PTI had decided to launch Black & White in
the highest premium segment to compete with PTC's Gold Leaf. It turned
out to be a massive failure in the market place for many a reason. Since
it was the first brand launch of Mr. Batlay's tenure, it probably
became a prestige point for him to make the brand successful without
realizing its inherent weaknesses. He wanted Black & White to
succeed, come what may. Mr. Batlay set the sales target for Black
& White at 300% of its current sales, without any basis
whatsoever. That became a bone of contention between him and me. I
resisted the phenomenal increase and he insisted on achieving it. I just
could not convince myself, the sales team and the distributors.
The
consumers are often very taste conscious of taste products such as
cigarettes, teas, cold drinks. You may have a consumer try your brand
but there is no way to bring him to your fold if the taste does not
click with him. We did a lot of test trials of taste of Black &
White but the taste could not match that of the competitor's brand. In
my opinion, it would have been a futile exercise to increase sales by
simply pushing the brand at the retail outlets. It was a top of the line
brand and consumers of such brands cannot be forced to buy such a brand
by salesmanship.Ultimately, I decided to resign in 1979 without having
an alternate job elsewhere. Black & White proved to be a big
liability for the company and adversely affected its finances due to
heavy promotional expenses. The brand was discontinued and Mr. Batlay
was transferred to become Director Corporate Affairs. He was replaced by
a sales person hired from Pakistan Tobacco Company.
Chapter X: Plasticrafters Ltd
As
soon as I resigned from Premier Tobacco Industries Ltd., I received an
offer from United Distributors Ltd., the sole distributors of Pakistan
Tobacco Company in Karachi for their newly introduced in-house tea brand
Silverpot. I was to head their sales department. I declined the offer
for I did not see much of a future for the brand. Ultimately, the brand
was discontinued after some time. After leaving PTI, I applied for a
sales or marketing position in Plasticrafters Ltd., the No. 1
manufacturers of RAHBER water coolers and household plastic goods. It
was an unsolicited application and I really did not know if any position
existed in the company.The chairman and managing director, Mr. Masood
Alam, called me for an interview and asked me to work with him as his
No.2. I chose the designation of Management Coordinator for myself. I
was supposed to "keep things moving through the various departments and
take decisions on behalf of Mr. Alam." I briefed him every day at 4:30pm
on the issues and actions taken during the day and left the office at
5:30pm. All other departmental heads used to leave after Mr. Masood Alam
left the office between 7:00-8:00pm.Mr. Masood Alam, Mr. Muzaffar Alam,
who was his youngest brother and director production, and all
departmental heads used to have lunch together at company’s expense. It
used to be more of a business lunch with three or more dishes at a time
and hot 'chappatis' (bread) coming in regularly from the kitchen. The
lunch usually lasted for an hour or an hour-and-a-half.Plasticrafters
Ltd. (PCL) was founded soon after Pakistan came into being. Mr. Masood
Alam was the majority shareholder and worked as chairman and managing
director. His younger brother Mr. Iqbal Alam was the minority
shareholder and worked as Executive Director. Mr. Masood Alam used to
sit at the factory and Mr. Iqbal Alam at the Head Office. During the
initial years, Plasticrafters was engaged only in manufacturing plastic
components for the armed forces. In 1979, Mr. Masood Alam came up with
the idea of introducing water cooler in plastic body under the name of
'Rahber' meaning "leader." There was only one major manufacturer of
plastic water cooler in Pakistan at that time but the product was not
promoted through mass media. So, most of the people just did not know
about plastic water coolers and their utility. When Rahber was
introduced, it was launched with a big bang through TV commercials. It
met with instant success and became a household name within a year.When I
joined PCL in 1980, the company was expanding and growing its business
at a fast pace. I became involved in everything from import of machinery
and moulds to packaging, procurement of local materials, sales and
marketing, media advertising, shipments for exports, export rebates,
production planning, etc. I also became the Marketing Manager and head
of the department overseeing sales and marketing functions of the
company in addition to being Management Coordinator.After I took over as
head of sales and marketing dept., I organized a road trip by a hired
wagon from Karachi to Peshawar at a distance of 2000km along with the
sales manager and field officers. We visited distributors, wholesalers
and retailers in almost every town that came our way. The entire journey
lasted for 25 days, both ways. The purpose was to have first-hand
knowledge of the market conditions, to meet the trade and to devise our
sales and marketing policies.Plasticrafters became the largest
advertiser in the plastic industry and its advertising budget equaled
that of many multi-national companies marketing consumer products. We
were present everywhere, be it television, radio, press, outdoor
displays. We were the sole sponsors of the most famous stage show of the
time 'Neelam Ghar.' On the other side, we were introducing one product
after another and one design after another. We had plastic water coolers
from 4-litre capacity to 30-litre capacity. We had a water cooler for
every imaginable use. I recall we introduced 24 models/designs in one
single year. We highlighted the various usages of water coolers such as
office, home, travelling, picnics, hospitals and so on.Side by side
water coolers; we had a whole range of household plastic goods, vacuum
flask with inside glass bottle, and vacuum flask with inner plastic
body. Product innovation, quality assurance and customer service were
the hallmarks of our success.Although we did not have research-based
market share figures but it was estimated from the sale at the retail
outlets that Rahber was undoubtedly No. 1 and its share in water coolers
was 80%-90%. All sales were made on cash in advance. We offered a
reasonable but lower margin to the distributors, wholesalers and
retailers as compared to our competitors. However, the trade earned more
on Rahber than on any other brand because of its high turnover.
PCL
also became the largest exporter of water coolers and household plastic
goods and received export awards and trophies from the Federation of
Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry.
In
the early 80's, General M. Zia-ul-Haq was the president of Pakistan. It
came to our knowledge that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
had sent a note to the president to ban the use of Rahber's slogan
which in Urdu said: 'Hamara Rahber sab say behtar water cooler.' The
Ministry reportedly objected to the use of word 'rahber with water
cooler.' How could a water cooler be rahber (leader)?
President
Zia-ul-Haq knew me personally. So, I dashed a letter to him informing
him of the contribution of Plasticrafters in the domestic market as well
as exports, without making a reference to what Ministry of Information
thought. Nothing happened thereafter.
I
enjoyed an excellent working relationship with Mr. Masood Alam
throughout my stay at Plasticrafters. He never overturned any of my
decisions nor expressed his dissatisfaction on a decision, directly or
indirectly. Whenever he went outside Pakistan and he was quite a
frequent flyer in search of new products and technologies, he would ask
me to occupy his room, sit in his chair and use his desk. All drawers of
his desk were unlocked. I was the only person allowed to open his
personal mail during his absence.Mr. Masood Alam was fond of having
meetings on holidays at his residence. I did not have a car in the
beginning. I got it later. So, he would drive down his Mercedes Benz car
all the way from his residence to mine to pick me up, take me to his
house, entertain me to several dishes of eatables and drop me back at
home. He never asked me to come by cab.Mr. Masood Alam was a great
visionary in many ways. He was also a hard taskmaster for himself and
others. He was dynamic and progressive in his outlook. His departmental
heads earned more than those working in multi-national companies in
Pakistan. He would pay salary plus commission or profit share to his
departmental heads. That was quite a unique feature of his
entreprenurial style in Pakistan.While working at Plasticrafters, I
received an offer from Chloride Pakistan Ltd., a subsidiary of Chloride
England to work as Sales Manager. Chloride England was the largest
manufacturer of automotive batteries in the world and Chloride Pakistan
was the market leader in Pakistan. I just jumped at the offer and
requested Mr. Alam to relieve me. He kept my resignation with him and
did not announce my departure till the last day hoping that I might
change my mind. The only reason leaving Plasticrafters and joining
Chloride was my ambition to work for a multi-national company. Chloride
did not offer me a higher salary and perks. In fact, I joined it at a
lower take-home pay and also lost the full-time transport facility that I
had at Plasticrafters.My stay at Plasticrafters was memorable for many
reasons. First, it was a great opportunity to directly work with an
extremely dynamic, progressive and disciplined chairman and managing
director. He was a simple graduate but possessed tremendous business
acumen and immense qualities of heart and mind. He was a hard
taskmaster, too, but listened to reason. Second, I was there all through
the expansion of the company and its business and received hands-on
experience of entrepreneurship. Third, I was closely associated with the
creation, development and implementation of mass media campaigns. That
gave me an insight into the working of advertising agency and creative
work that goes to the development of a promotional campaign. In fact, I
also did copy writing for many of our press advertisements.‘Rahber’ was a
great name and enjoyed tremendous respect in the media. Every time we
launched a new product, we would hold a press conference and every time
participation was huge. When Mr. Masood Alam’s mother died late at
night, he called me and asked me to prepare an announcement and get it
published in the next-day editions of English daily "DAWN" and Urdu
daily "Jang." It was quite late at night and I did not have money on
hand to pay for the announcement. However, I drove to the offices of
‘DAWN" and "Jang" and requested the editorial staff on duty to publish
the announcement for which payment would be made later. To my utter
surprise, they agreed. I stayed there till the first copies of the
newspapers were printed and left for home around 3:00am.In later half of
the 80's, a dispute arose between Mr. Masood Alam and Mr. Iqbal Alam.
The case went to the court. The option to have majority shareholding and
management control was offered to both gentlemen. Mr. Masood Alam opted
to leave the company. He was given his share of the company. Mr. Masood
Alam ultimately shifted to the U.S. along with his wife. His only son
and two daughters had already been married.In 1991, I came to know that
Mr. Masood Alam was in the city. I was lucky to reach him through one of
his friends. I went to see him at his friend's office. He asked me what
I was doing. I had just left Exide Pakistan. He asked me to go into
trading of commodities for which he would give me Rs. 10 million. He
also assured me that he would arrange more funds if required. He asked
me to do the business on my own, as he will not be available to work
with me. Besides, he said he was not interested in doing any business as
he had played his innings well and wanted to lead a retired life. I
could not take the risk of using his money for trading I never did
before. So, I declined the offer with thanks. But his offer and the
trust he reposed in me is something I still remember and greatly
cherish. That was yet another example of his greatness as a human
being.I also remember he called me up at Chloride Pakistan one month in
advance of the wedding date of his eldest daughter to ask me to be in
Karachi to attend the function with my wife. It was a grand wedding
party attended by a very large number of the city’s elite in G.O.R. of
Pakistan Navy.I joined Chloride Pakistan Ltd in end 1982 and continued
till middle of 1991.
Chapter XI: Chloride Pakistan Ltd
After
spending memorable time at Plasticrafters Ltd., the manufacturers of
Pakistan's #1 water coolers and household plastic goods under the brand
name 'Rahber,' I landed in Chloride Pakistan Ltd., a subsidiary of
Chloride plc England. Chloride England was the world leader in
automotive batteries and Chloride Pakistan was the market leader in
Pakistan.Chloride Pakistan had advertised the position of Sales Manager
for the sales of automotive batteries throughout Pakistan. It was a new
position created at the Head Office in Karachi. I was first interviewed
by Mr. S. I. Ahmed, Director Marketing and then by Mr. S.H.M. Zaidi,
Managing Director. Finally, I was selected and asked to join C-Pak in
Nov 1982.The year 1982 witnessed the massive inflow of foreign
batteries. The foreign brands were sold to the consumer at approx. 40%
less price than the locally made brands. NS40 for cars was the leading
battery type in foreign brands. Since the car segment constituted around
33-35 percent of the total market, foreign brands began to cause a
major dent to the domestic brands, mainly Exide and AGS. Another
advantage for foreign brands was the plastic body as compared to hard
rubber body of domestic brands.
Although
there was no warranty on foreign brands in contrast to domestic brands
carrying 15-month warranty (6-month free and 9-month graduated), the
price difference and the confidence in the foreign brands proved good
enough for the buyers. Some innovative battery dealers also offered
their own 6-month warranty on foreign brands and charged a
premium.Chloride Pakistan had long been planning to introduce batteries
in polypropylene containers as the company's annual budget documents
showed. However, no efforts were made to initiate the process of
importing the technology, machines and moulds. When I came into
Chloride, I realized that the salvation of our brand and company lied in
the speedy introduction of batteries in plastic containers. That was
the norm not only in Japan but also in the whole of South Asia.The
person who vehemently opposed the introduction of batteries in
polypropylene (PP) container was the Director Marketing himself who had
been preparing the budget document year after year and proposed the
launch in almost every document. I could not really figure out why such a
stance was taken by him. Mr. Andrew Cameron, Deputy Chairman of
Overseas Division of Chloride England also impressed upon C-Pak to
launch pp batteries while on his regular visits to Pakistan.Under
pressure from the market and Chloride England, the company finally
decided to go ahead with the project. It took us two years to complete
the process of selecting battery types, technology, machinery and moulds
etc. Finally, we were able to launch Exide in pp in selected types in
1985.The new product hit a nose-dive in the market place. The percentage
of claims shot up beyond imagination for initial battery failures and
short life. It was the strength of the brand name, support from the
trade and the hardwork put in by the sales force that the company
survived the terrible crisis and eventually overcame the quality defects
in a few months' timeIn 1985, Adamjee Group initiated a joint venture
with Furukawa Battery Co. of Japan to launch their brand FB in Pakistan.
A public limited company by the name of Automotive Battery Co. Ltd
(ABCL) was formed for the purpose. Chloride's Director Marketing through
his own initiative or the Adamjee's initiative, I really don't know,
was selected to head the company as Chief Executive. He was appointed in
1985 for joining the company in 1986.I received a tip from a source
that Mr. S. I. Ahmed had been selected and would be joining ABCL in
1986. I informed Mr. S.H.M.Zaidi, Managing Director of Chloride. Mr.
Ahmed was on 30-day annual leave at the time. When I broke the news to
Mr. Zaidi, he was stunned. The first sentence that he uttered on hearing
the news was: "The burden will now be on you." He was virtually
frightened that Mr. Ahmed's exit would cause a major dent to Chloride in
the market place. I told him nothing would happen if we made certain
changes in our sales and marketing strategies, distribution network and
organizational structure of the dept. He agreed and gave me the go ahead
to do whatever was necessary to protect Chloride and make the
competitor's entry as difficult as possible. When Mr. Ahmed came back
from leave, Mr. Zaidi asked him point blank about his joining FB. He
categorically denied. However, he found out from Mr. Zaidi or somebody
else, I don't know, that it was me who had given the tip to Mr. Zaidi.
He also expressed his serious displeasure and vehemently criticized the
changes made in his absence.As soon as Mr. Ahmed resumed office, he took
the first step to isolate me from sales and marketing functions.
Although my designation was that of Sales Manager but I was made
responsible for both sales and marketing functions. At that time,
Chloride had stuck up payments of over Rs. 8 million, dating back to
several years, with Pakistan Army against batteries supplied to them.
It
was Mr. Ahmed who had always been handling the defence business. He
probably thought his action would demoralize me and force me to seek a
job elsewhere thus strengthening his bargaining position vis-a-vis Mr.
Zaidi to ensure his succession as Managing Director of Chloride when the
former finally retired. He had adopted the same strategy in 1975 when
Mr.Zaidi had just joined Chloride and both the departmental head and his
#2 Mr. Ahmed resigned at almost the same time (reportedly with mutual
concurrence). Mr. Zaidi brought back Mr. Ahmed from the company he had
already joined and promoted him as departmental head.I accepted the
challenge with grace and recovered most of the overdue amount with just
three visits to Rawalpindi but the whole year of 1985-86 was taken by
the technicalities and filing of missing documents to obtain payment
which in several cases had become time-barred.In March 1986, Mr. Ahmed
resigned. Mr. Zaidi called me in his office and asked me to start taking
charge of the department. Mr.Ahmed was encouraged to leave the company
before the expiry of his notice period. Mr. Zaidi issued a circular to
the trade announcing the resignation of Mr. Ahmed and assumption of
responsibilities by me.
Mr.
Zaidi continued to assure me of my promotion to the position of
Director Marketing. I was to perform my duties as well as those of
Director Marketing. The only assistant that I had also left and joined
Mr. Ahmed for a higher position, although I had got him promoted earlier
to retain him in the company. So, I was left all alone at Head Office. I
put in the best that I could to meet the demands of the time especially
in the wake of almost daily rumours from ABCL to demoralize the trade
and the staff in Chloride.In May 1986, Mr. Zaidi unexpectedly nominated
Mr. Mahmood Jan, Director Works to hold the additional charge of
Director Marketing. I was on tour to Lahore having a meeting with the
trade when the news broke in. On my return to Karachi, I protested to
Mr. Zaidi. He consoled me by saying that Mr. Mahmood Jan will be
promoted as his deputy and elevated to replace him on his retirement and
that I will then be promoted as Director Marketing. He also said that
Mr. Jan needed exposure to marketing and that will benefit me for better
understanding with him when he was promoted. In the same breadth, he
said he could send back Mr. Jan to Works if need be.Mr. Zaidi also
redesignated me as Marketing Manager with the promise of revising my
salary and perks on next appraisal in April. In the organizational
chart, Mr. Ahmed was also designated as Marketing Manager and an
alternate director on the Board. By doing so, Mr. Zaidi created the
impression in the organization that I had been promoted. On the
contrary, as I realized later, he just tried to buy time to enable Mr.
Jan to fully comprehend sales and marketing functions for I never
received the promised salary and perks. Mr. Jan was an engineer by
profession and did not have exposure to sales and marketing in his
entire career.Mr. Zaidi had already crossed the retirement age in 1984
and was working on two-year extension. It was, therefore, understandable
that Mr. Mahmood Jan will have a fair chance of becoming the new
Managing Director for his only competitor Mr. Ahmed had already left the
company. The Director Finance was on the verge of retirement.While Mr.
Jan was holding the dual charge of Works and Marketing, his friend Mr.
Arshad Shehzada from a sugar factory was hired as Director Works. Just
after six months or so of the transfer of Mr. Jan as Director Marketing,
his resignation was announced and he was replaced with Mr. Umer Farooq
as Controller Marketing hired from outside the battery industry. He had
no sales and marketing experience. All his life, he dealt with only one
customer for selling transformers. Again, it was me who had to carry the
workload of managing the sales and marketing functions. After nine
months, he was fired.Although Mr. Umer Farooq was compensated with six
months salary and perks for nine months of service, he blew whistle on
Mr. Zaidi and wrote one letter after another to the trade and
institutional customers as well as the staff levelling serious
allegations against Mr. Zaidi. Mr. Zaidi retaliated by having a public
notice along with his photo published in the newspapers announcing his
removal from service.After the departure of Mr. Umer Farooq, I again
stepped in to work as departmental head and marketing manager until Mr.
Homi Sanjana was brought in as Director Marketing after a gap of several
months. Mr. Sanjana had worked in AGS but his knowledge and experience
was outdated and confined to desk work. During his tenure at Chloride,
he paid frequent visits to the branches and distributors but often
refrained from visiting the trade, OEMs and govt institutions. He was
forced to find a job elsewhere when Mr. Zaidi resorted to writing terse
memos expressing his dissatisfaction with his performance. The company
had continued to grow in sales and profits while Mr. Sanjana was there
but Mr. Zaidi knew it was me and not Mr. Sanjana who was turning in the
results. After Mr. Sanjana's exit, I again assumed both the roles of
departmental head and marketing manager.
Chloride
Changes to ExideIn the second half of 1986, Chloride England had made
up its mind to sell off their majority shareholding in Chloride Pakistan
but it was kept confidential at the time. The sell off process lasted
till 1987 when it was finally announced that Mr. Jivraj, a real estate
investor and hotelier in London had purchased the Chloride's majority
shares. It was Mr. Jivraj's first experience of entering manufacturing
industry. He designated Mr. Zaidi as the chairman and managing director
of Exide Pakistan Ltd. (previously Chloride Pakistan Ltd).Early 1991,
Mr. Jivraj appointed Mr. Bachal Kazi, Director Operations, Reckitt
& Colman, as Deputy Managing Director of Exide Pakistan to
succeed Mr. Zaidi who was already 67 years old. Mr. Zaidi was reportedly
shocked as he was neither consulted nor informed of the new appointee
before his one-month joining time. Mr. Zaidi, nevertheless, had one
month to strengthen his position vis-a-vis his new deputy. Without
consulting Mr. Kazi, Mr. Zaidi transferred Product Manager Industrial
who happened to be the son-in-law of his cousin, as Acting Director
Works. The poor fellow had never worked in Works in his entire career.
Mr. Arshad Shehzada, who was Director Works, with virtually no
experience of sales or marketing, was transferred as Director Marketing.
Mr. Alvi who was Manager Accounts was made Acting Director Finance.For
me, it was now the breaking point. I had suffered enough and could not
bear the blunt. I did not know that Mr. Kazi had been appointed. I
resigned and left the company without a job in hand.During the earlier
years from 1982-1986 before Mr. Ahmed left the company, I was the first
person from within the industry to organize raids on the suppliers of
illegally imported foreign brands, risking my own life, to control the
flow of those brands which had been adversely affecting the domestic
battery industry in general and Chloride in particular. I also wrote
strongly-worded letters to the heads of the government institutions who
were buying those illegally imported foreign brands to refrain them from
doing so.The head of a law enforcement agency served a notice on
Chloride asking for my apology for writing him such a letter and
threatened to take the case to a summary military court. It was the
period of martial law of General M. Zia-ul-Haq.I was sent a message by
one of the leading suppliers of foreign batteries whose shop had been
raided, through my distributor in his town, that I should never come to
his city again. However, I did go to his city just after 3 months to
address our annual dealers convention.I also sent representations to the
Central Board of Revenue to provide protection to the domestic battery
industry. I visited the government officials in Quetta (Balochistan)
where bulk of the foreign brands were coming in from across the borders
and supplied to other parts of the country, to persuade them to control
the flow. This was something which no other battery manufacturer did nor
the departmental head or the Managing Director of Chloride did it.It
was me who introduced the concept of holding annual dealers convention
in 1983 to tell the trade about the performance of the company, reward
dealers who performed well and entertained the entire trade to dinner
and presented them gifts in each major city of the country.It was me who
revamped the budgeting and planning process by obtaining pertinent data
from different sources to assess the market size, market share of
domestic brands, foreign brands and replattals, set the future
objectives and prepare action plans to achieve those objectives. When
the first such document was discussed with Mr. Andrew Cameron, Dy
Chairman of Overseas Division of Chloride England, on his visit to
Pakistan, his first remark was "it is an excellent document." We had
already sent him an advance copy before his visit.I was the first in the
battery industry to obtain the figures of motor vehicles registered and
on-road in each district in each category such as passenger cars,
buses, trucks, tractors etc. through the courtesy of Dr. Sadiq who was
director general of Federal Bureau of Statistics. On the basis of these
statistics, we revised the estimates of market size and sales targets in
the territory of each branch and main dealer.I took the initiative to
call the first Main Dealers Conference to share information about the
market conditions, market size and market potential and devise ways and
means to tap the market potential.I enlarged the distribution network by
increasing the number of main dealers (distributors) from 11 to 43
within a couple of years, starting from 1983. The existing main dealers
did not have enough finances and market reach to meet the growing market
demand.I played a major role in the launching of batteries in
polypropylene containers starting from 1985 and faced the market
challenges when the product miserably failed and claims shot up and also
contained the damage done to the brand Exide.During 1986-91, after the
departure of Mr. S. I. Ahmed, I did many things that demanded a lot of
brain work and leg work. (1) Many innovations were made in the product
range such as (a) introduction of new battery types separately for each
segment of cars of 800-999cc, 1000-1299cc and 1300-1600cc substituting
NS40 that was being used for all the three segments (b) launching low
maintenance batteries for the first time in Pakistan (c) creating,
developing and launching a new low-price brand in NS40 range called
Hi-Power to compete with the foreign brands. It became an instant
success and we had to restrict its supplies to prevent it from taking
share of Exide NS40.
(2)
the distribution network was enlarged and strengthened to the full
advantage of Exide and (3) the sales and marketing department was
reorganized to make it more effective. Supervisors became officers and
officers became managers in the department after having served the
company for decades. Mr. S. I. Ahmed also suffered from the same
perception as Mr. Zaidi, not to have a successor.
(4)
For the first time in the history of the company, a full-scale
advertising campaign at promoting Exide on national basis was launched
during my tenure (5) I continued to hold dealers conventions year after
year that I had initiated for the first time in Chloride in 1983 to
forge and foster relationship between the trade and the company.Now a
few glimpses of the end results accruing to the company. Company's sales
were Rs. 129.151 million in the year 1982-83 reaching Rs. 181.971 in
1986-87 (41% in 4 years) and Rs. 346.863 in 1990-91 (91% in 4 years) and
profit before taxation (PBT) Rs. 29.201 million in the year 1982-83
reaching Rs. 30.632 million in 1986-87 (4% in 4 years) and Rs. 54.144
million in 1990-91 (77% in 4 years) during the troubled years of
1986-1991 when three departmental heads Mr. Mahmood Jan, Mr. Umer Farooq
and Mr. Homi Sanjana were made to quit but I did not let the sales and
profits go down despite what Mr. Zaidi had been doing to me all these
years. It was out of my sheer commitment to my company and its
shareholders, employees and dealers who depended upon the company for
their earnings.As compared to Chloride's performance, the next major
domestic manufacturer Atlas Battery Ltd., (AGS brand) had sales Rs.
127.989 million and accumulated losses of Rs. 15.976 in the year 1991
and the third major domestic manufacturer Automotive Battery Co. Ltd.
(FB brand) had sales of Rs. 110.868 million and accumulated losses of
Rs. 65.448 in the year 1991. Atlas Battery Ltd had been in operation
since 1969 and ABCL since 1987. I left the company in 1991.All these
figures of Chloride/Exide, Atlas Battery and Automotive Battery are
based on their published Annual Reports.I always believed in structural
changes in preference to patchwork or adhoc decisions. Adhoc decisions
and patchwork are necessary at times to provide relief for a short time
but the real solution lies in the structural or fundamental or basic
changes, by whatever name these are called.I have had the worst
experience of so-called professional management of Mr.Zaidi. He was
least interested in the wellbeing of anybody except himself. He
manipulated and changed every situation to his advantage. During the
years 1986-1991, Mr. Zaidi did everything within his means to force me
out. He thought I could be a contender for his position at any time. He
gave me the minimum salary increases inspite of the fact that I was the
one who was running the department all these years. If the departmental
heads who came in after the departure of Mr. Ahmed were fit for the job,
then they would not have been sent home.If we take the calendar rather
than fiscal years of the company, we have had five departmentals from
Mr. Ahmed to Mr. Arshad Shahzada from 1986-1991. I remained sane and
sensible to continue to perform to the best of my abilities all these
years which greatly benefited the company as well as Mr. Zaidi who
continued to get extension in his service year after year to the
detriment of my interest.I did everything possible to let the company
grow in sales and profits at a fast pace and made it almost impossible
for ABCL, headed by the former Director Marketing of Exide, Mr. S. I.
Ahmed, to cause a dent to Exide. Ultimately, ABCLwas sold out to Exide
Pakistan Ltd in 1991/92 with heavy accumulated losses and liabilities
and wiped out share capital.Around the middle of 1991, Mr. Jivraj sold
off his majority shareholding in Exide Pakistan to Mr. Arif Hashwani.
Since Mr. Arif Hashwani was new to the battery industry, he retained Mr.
Zaidi as Advisor. Mr. Bachal Kazi stayed on to complete his two-year
contract with the company. In the meantime, Mr. Zaidi made another move
and moved over to Pakistan Accumulators Pvt Ltd, the manufacturers of
Volta brand, in Hattar (NWFP) as Chief Executive. Mr. Arif Hashwani
feared that Mr. Zaidi's association with PAL might damage Exide. So, he
ultimately hired back Mr. Zaidi as Managing Director. Mr. Zaidi thus
continued to remain associated with the company till the age of 78. He
did not resign; he was asked to leave. When he left the company, there
was not a SINGLE soul to bid him farewell.My experiences at
Chloride/Exide changed my own perception of professional management in
Pakistan especially when I compared the situation with the one in the
previous company Plasticrafters Ltd. We often tend to despise
owner-managed companies calling them 'Seth' (capitalist) companies and
prefer to work for multinational companies. I think such a perception
needs to be defined by the conditions in the 'Seth' managed and
professional-managed company. All 'Seth' may not have the same
management style and all contractual chief executives of multinational
companies may not have the same management style. Neither perception can
be generalized.Almighty Allah (God) has been extra-ordinarily kind to
me all my life. The ensuing period of 1991-1996 brought many miracles to
me and my family.
Chapter XII: Weekly 'Tabkeer'
I
left Exide Pakistan Ltd after serving it from 1982 to 1991 as sales
manager, marketing manager, acting departmental head. The last five
years from 1986 to 1991 tested my nerves, morale, stamina, principles
and values.Many unexpected incidents and events occurred after leaving
Exide. The first incident occurred when I vomited blood one morning
after taking breakfast and then fell unconscious. I regained
consciousness after a few minutes or so. My wife called up the servants
and neighbours to carry me to the car. She drove me to the Emergency
Centre of Aga Khan Hospital. I was put through many tests and finally
endoscopy to learn that I had duodenal ulcer, which had ruptured. There
were no prior signs of ulcer nor had I ever noticed ulcer earlier. I
stayed in the hospital for five days and came out almost fully
recovered, though I continued medicines for a few weeks.Going through
the endoscopy was quite a hard experience. A long thick rubber tube was
inserted through the mouth into my stomach. As the tube moved inside, I
prayed to Allah (God) to make it easier for me. And I must say, He
really did it.A good event soon followed a bad incident. My
father-in-law gifted his previous house to his daughter i.e. my wife. At
that time, my family comprising myself, wife, three daughters and one
son (all kids under 15) were living on the upper storey of my brother’s
house. My children were growing and we needed more space but could not
afford to buy or take on rent a spacious house. So, the gifted house
came as a big relief and made everybody happy in the family.I did not
have sizeable savings to start a business on my own. Salaries at
Chloride/Exide and the annual increment for managers were miserably low.
So, I borrowed money from one of my brothers to invest and become a
partner in a printing press, owned by an acquaintance that also needed
money to grow his business. The partnership lasted for a few months due
to serious legal complications in his business. I received back my
investment and returned the money to my brother.In 1992, my second son
was born. It was a great occasion as sons had traditionally been few in
our families. Another great happening occurred when all the three
daughters were admitted to Mama Parsi Girls Secondary School, two in the
afternoon shift of Matric Section and one in the morning shift of
Cambridge Section. Getting a single child in Mama was considered a great
achievement for any parents. Getting three children in Mama at the same
time baffled many in our community.To me, it was more of a miracle than
the fruit of my efforts. I only did a good deal of legwork visiting the
school off and on and meeting the headmistresses of the matric section
and the Cambridge section. My perseverance probably impressed the
headmistresses to recommend my daughters’ admission, which was finally,
approved by the principal Ms Contractor, a great lady.I then joined
another acquaintance that had a bigger printing press and sufficient
funds of his own to manage his business. I became his working partner
without investment. Together, we did fairly well. In the meantime, I
received an offer from the publishers of Weekly ‘Takbeer’ --the largest
circulated and the most influential weekly in Karachi at that time, to
work as their general manager. Since I was already involved in printing
business, I accepted the offer to work on part-time basis to which the
publishers agreed.One-year stay at "Takbeer" was a fantastic experience.
Mr. Mohammad Salahuddin, who owned majority shares in the weekly, was
also the Chief Editor and Mr. Rafiq Afghan, his son-in-law, was the
Executive Editor. Mr. Salahuddin was a very humane, polite, decent
person. Mr. Rafiq Afghan was a very dynamic, energetic and enthusiastic
person. I enjoyed very cordial relationships with both of them right
from the beginning to the end.Mr. Salahuddin was a scholarly person, an
outstanding journalist and former Editor of Daily ‘Jasarat,’ the
newspaper sponsored by Jamat-i-Islami, a religious-cum-political party.
He had very humble beginnings and reached coveted positions in life
through sheer handwork, sincerity of purpose and unwavering
determination. He constantly lived under the threat of assassination
because of his consistent confrontation with a major ethnic group in
Karachi.The best that I found in the ‘Takbeer’ establishment was the
courage, confidence and commitment of the people working there. Anybody
at anytime could be the target of an assassin but nobody seemed to be
worried about it or would even care to talk about it. Nothing deterred
anybody from performing his duties, whether it was electricity
breakdown, heavy rains, or any other hurdle. The weekly came out on time
and every time.Another best was the utilization of office space,
company funds and circulation to their optimum level. Most of the
advertisers were reluctant to place their advertisements in ‘Takbeer’
because of the fear of retaliation from the ethnic group, which did not
approve the policy of the weekly towards them. Another bottleneck was
Mr. Salahuddin’s policy not to print any advertisement showing a female
model. The readership of the weekly was confined to educated upper,
middle and lower middle classes. Increasing circulation and price were
often quite difficult.Another best was the ordinary treatment the VIPs
received at ‘Takbeer.’ Top-level politicians, armed forces personnel,
bureaucrats and elite visited the ‘Takbeer’ office without
extra-ordinary protocol. Mr. Salahuddin was a man unto himself least
bothered by the position and posture of the VIPs.During the same period
that I was there, ‘Takbeer’ put up its own printing press and groundwork
was started for launching daily ‘Ummat.’ The printing press was funded
with individual contributions of the admirers of ‘Takbeer’ and Mr.
Salahuddin who were promised return of money without interest.
Chapter XIII: Plasticrafters Pvt Ltd
After a
year at ‘Takbeer’, the new owners of Plasticrafters Pvt Ltd., the
manufacturers of ‘Rahber’ water coolers and household plastic goods,
approached me to join them as Executive Director with primary
responsibility of sales and marketing. The company was faced with grave
financial limitations and the cash flow did not improve much. It was
hand-to-mouth situation most of the time. Mr. Iqbal Alam who was now the
Managing Director and his partner Directors were very nice people to
work with but things seemed to be beyond their control.The market
conditions drastically changed in the 90’s as compared to the 80’s.
There had been mushroom growth of manufacturers of water coolers and
household plastic goods who offered low prices, higher discount and
long-term credit to the trade. Plasticrafters could no longer afford to
spend on advertising and sales promotion to pull consumer demand as it
used to do in the 80’s. Advertising and sales promotion was all the more
necessary to net in new consumers in place of those who switched over
to other brands over the years. The production capacity of the company,
created in the 80’s, could not be fully utilized due to a major drop in
consumer demand of Rahber water coolers and financial limitations of the
company to produce and spread stocks in the trade on a regular
basis.Contrary to what many owners believe, I am of the view that a
brand needs constant reminders to consumers through the mass media to
retain past consumers and to create new consumers. Every brand has a
life cycle and those brands which are least technical in nature and easy
to produce and market often carry a shorter life cycle for the reason
that consumer switchover is comparatively easier.After a year of trying
every sales tool, without a breakthrough, to stabilize production, sales
and cash flow, I decided to leave and work for a very large printing
press of another acquaintance as consultant to develop their business. I
was able to break ice in a few selected organizations and secured
substantial business, which has continued to flow in uptil now.
Around
1996, Pakistan Accumulators Pvt Ltd., the manufacturers of Volta
batteries, called me for a day to appear before their board of
directors, present in Islamabad, for the position of General Manager
Sales & Marketing. I was offered the job on the same day but I
requested for some time to make up my mind.While I was still reviewing
the Volta’s offer, I received a call from Shamim Zafar &
Associates who were interviewing candidates for two positions in Berger
Paints Pakistan Ltd. I was short-listed for the position of Marketing
Manager for Industrial Paints Division. A series of interviews were held
with the Berger’s Managing Director, Director Marketing & Sales
and Director Human Resource. Finally, I was selected and asked to join
in May 1996.Entering Berger Paints was also a great moment for my family
and me. Although I had no prior experience of marketing paints and
especially the industrial paints, I took up the challenge, which brought
many laurels to the Industrial Sales Division. It was also a great
learning experience for everything in Berger was done on a big scale.
Chapter XIV: Berger Paints Pakistan Ltd
I
joined Berger Paints Pakistan Ltd in May 1996 as Marketing Manager (NR)
reporting to Director Marketing & Sales. The company had two
major divisions named Decorative and Non-Retail. Non-Retail Division in
turn had four business lines called Automotive, General Industry,
Protective Coatings, and Government/Marine. During the three years of my
stay in the company from 1996 to 1999, road markings, powder coatings,
and vehicle refinishes were added to the N.R. Division.When I left the
company in May 1999, I was working as Divisional Head of the N.R.,
reporting to the Managing Director/Chief Executive of the company. I was
promoted in 1998 after the then Director Marketing & Sales
resigned.During the period 1996-1999, the share of the N.R. Division in
company’s overall sales increased to 38% in sales volume (litres) and
48% in sales value, turning in growth of 72% in sales value over the
sales value of the year 1995-96. The new business lines added 19% to the
sales volume and 20% to the sales value of the division within one year
of the launching of their products.The sales volume of the previous
four business lines put together had a nominal growth during the 3-year
period for the reason that we, at times, avoided taking business at low
profit margin. That strategy helped the company improve its gross
profit. The gross profit of the N.R. Division turned out to be twice
that of the company’s overall gross profit as percentage of sales for
the year 1998-99.Out of the total staff of the N.R. Division in 1999,
70% were hired afresh to meet the requirements of the expanding business
lines and business volume. Except one, all others came from outside the
paint industry and had to be trained on the job after a brief initial
training in the factory. Most of the new entrants were either management
trainees or sales officers.When I left the company, the operations of
the N.R. Division were split among Director Marketing & Sales
(who had been newly hired from within the paint industry), General
Manager for Road Marking Business and Controller for other business
lines.As head of the N.R. Division, I was actively involved in
everything related to the division from hiring of personnel to sales and
marketing, finance, product research and development, production
planning, material planning and procurement, distribution and logistics,
and pre-sale and after-sale customer service. We had separate
departmental heads for the various functions other than sales and
marketing and customer service but the divisional head was involved in
all the related activities. That involvement proved to be a great
experience for me as it gave me broad-based exposure to the company
operations. Almost every day, we had joint meetings stretching over
hours of brainstorming.The N.R. Division primarily dealt with
institutional customers who were not only big but also very demanding.
Paint was the end product or the "finishing touch" for the products of
our customers. Any delay in supply of paint, technical service or any
quality defect meant a virtual ‘disaster’ for us. So, we had to be on
our toes all the time. We were involved with our institutional customers
at every stage from the approval of paints to the application of paints
on their products.When I joined Berger, I had zero knowledge of paints
especially the paints of the N.R. Division that were highly technical
and specialized in nature. I had to gain working knowledge, not exactly
technical knowledge, of the kinds of paints and their applications by
learning it on the job. There were 350+ products of the N.R. Division if
we counted every shade and colour as a product. Almost every customer
in every industry had its own paint specifications.Coupled with this,
there were 150+ shades and colours of Decorative Paints Division. As a
result, every thing in Berger was huge in nature whether it was
procurement of materials, production of products, distribution and
logistics, number of customers and so on. To manage it all effectively
and efficiently, Berger had developed vast systems and procedures and
computerized all departments accordingly.The most inspiring and driving
force behind the company was Berger’s Managing Director/Chief Executive
Dr Mahmood Ahmad who practically learned on the job almost everything
about the company’s overall operations and the functions of the
departments. He was a source of inspiration for others around him to
learn things they did not know and utilize their knowledge for better
performance. Very few chief executives usually devote so much time and
energy to know the intricacies and complexities of company operations.I
was taken aback and shaken to the core of my heart when the company
opted to hire a gentleman, who had already resigned from Berger’s
largest competitor, as Director Marketing & Sales. The gentleman
had previously been looking after the Decorative Paints business in his
entire career with the previous employer and possessed no knowledge and
experience of the Industrial Paints of N.R. Division. He was probably
hired to give his magic touch to the sluggish decorative business of
Berger. I was supposed to report to the new Director Marketing &
Sales, which practically meant a demotion and, that too, after
producing highly significant results for the company within a short span
of time.I informed the Chief Executive of my intention to resign from
the company. An ad hoc working relationship was carved out for face
saving of both the new comer and myself but I knew and probably the
Chief Executive also knew that the arrangement was not going to work on a
long-term basis.The best option, in my opinion, was to let the new
comer head the Decorative Paints Division and let me continue as
Divisional Head of the N.R. Division till the division was large enough
to afford me as a Director.While working in Berger, I received an offer
from an old acquaintance to partner with him in his newly acquired
state-of-the-art software house in Islamabad and to establish side by
side road marking business including manufacturing and application of
road marking paints.
Chapter XV: Disillusion and Illusion
Out
of sheer disillusionment with Berger in the new working environment, I
accepted his offer and resigned from Berger. However, I continued to
serve the company for three months to enable the management to find and
hire a new divisional head.I sold off my property in Karachi to generate
funds for the new business venture and shifted to Islamabad along with
my family in May 1999. Between the period of my resignation from Berger
and arrival in Islamabad, my future partner changed his mind altogether
without sharing his thoughts with me. As I later found out after having
shifted to Islamabad, he had struck a deal with a gentleman who had
knowledge and experience of software business to head his software
house. This gentleman was a distant relative of mine and I had
introduced him earlier to my future partner with a view to availing his
services as a consultant for software house. Not only my future partner
betrayed me on this count, he also pulled himself out of the earlier
agreement to manufacture and apply road-marking paints.The sudden and
unexpected U-turn gave me the biggest jolt of my life. I did not have a
job in hand, could not go back to Karachi and did not have any idea of
what to do next. Being an optimist, I did not lose hope and started
corresponding with paint manufacturers in UAE to import and market
paints in Pakistan for the upcoming housing scheme of the government of
Pakistan to construct 500,000 houses in the first phase.It was a huge
scheme and I knew the domestic manufacturers of the organized sector
would not be able to meet the sudden demand. I also visited UAE and
signed an agreement with Al Gurg Leigh’s Paints LLC to work as their
sole agent in Pakistan. The company was producing decorative paints as
well as industrial paints in Sharjah in collaboration with ICI and
Leigh’s in England. The Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group was handling products
of almost 60 companies at that time. I had also planned to go into
manufacturing of paints once the business was assured from the housing
scheme of the government for a longer period of time.I hired and
furnished a big office and made all the preparations to start the
business. However, bad luck struck once again. President Pervez
Musharraf deposed the elected prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif in a
couple on 12 Oct 1999 and his government suspended work on the housing
scheme for an indefinite period of time.I waited for one year in the
hope that the housing scheme might be revived but no progress became
evident. Ultimately, I shifted back to Karachi along with my family
after losing a huge sum of money in retaining office and staff for
business and an expensive residence for my family.
It
is said, "God is the best accountant." It so happened that the software
house for which I had shifted to Islamabad could not work and had to be
ultimately closed down. The gentleman who headed the software house in
my place had to leave Pakistan to get a job abroad.Return to Karachi
My
family and I returned to Karachi in Nov 2000. From the year 2001
onwards, I intermingled jobs and consulting assignments to afford a
comfortable life to my family and myself. This period has all along been
tumultuous fringed with professional and personal challenges.
Chapter XVI: Public Service
Public
service has all along been a passion for me right from my college days.
I started writing letters to the editors of major English newspapers
way back in 1961 while in college as a freshman. I raised public issues
and suggested solutions. I also wrote directly to the presidents and
prime ministers as well as government officials to resolve public
issues. My letters at times ran into four and five columns in
newspapers. Later, I associated myself with several public service
organizations including the Concerned Citizens Association, The
Reformers, Consumer Protection Council etc. to help solve public issues
mostly affecting the lower and middle classes. I also served on the law
and order committees of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce
& Industry and the Karachi Chamber of Commerce &
Industry.
I
founded the Citi Help Line to bringabout organizational changes in the
working of the key public service organizations in the sphere of
electricity, gas, water and sewerage, telephone, police, vehicular
traffic management and city district government of Karachi, a
cosmopolitan city of over 12 million souls. The primary objective was to
remove hurdles and bottlenecks in the working of the organizations so
that the people's problems either do not arise or settled expeditiously.
Citi Help Line did not deal with individual problems with its meager
resources. Citi Help Line was a great success in removing snags in
government procedures and resolving people's problems on a wider scale
than just trouble shooting on a case to case basis.
I
founded and moderated Good Governance Forum. Its membership rose from
10 to 1000 network members who in turn forwarded emails to their friends
and acquaintances bringing the readership to millions in effect. It was
an interactive forum and the members shared information, views and
opinions via emails. Our network members encompassed almost all segments
of the society including the scholars, media, former ambassadors,
former and current bureaucrats, former and current military officers,
businessmen, industrialists, philanthropists, politicians,
parliamentarians, and so on. The forum helped create public awareness of
national and international issues relating to Pakistan and its people.
I
became a passionate blogger sometime in 2003/2004 and created hundreds
of blogs on a variety of topics. My blogs and writings on the various
news sites made me well-known on major search engines like Google, Yahoo
and MSN. There are thousands of lisitings under the keywords 'mumtaz
piracha.'
