Shamsh Kassim Lakha

Shamsh Kassim-Lakha's (Sitara-e-Imtiaz, Hilal-e-Imtiaz, Officier de l’Ordre National du Mérite) career is characterized by entrepreneurial leadership of diplomatic, educational, healthcare, manufacturing, and venture capital institutions of the Aga Khan Development Network as well as in public service. Under the vision of His Highness the Aga Khan, as Executive Chairman of the Board Executive Committee, he led the planning, building and operation of the University of Central Asia (UCA), a regional institution founded by the Presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and His Highness the Aga Khan with campuses in the mountain areas of the three countries. He was the Diplomatic Representative of the Aga Khan Development Network in the Kyrgyz Republic from 2014-2017.

He is currently Senior Advisor, Aga Khan Foundation Canada, in which capacity he is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Central Asia and advises the Foundation on its work in Central and South Asia as well as Eastern Africa.

Shamsh's academic career began as Founding President of the Aga Khan University (AKU), the first university to be chartered in the private sector in South Asia. As President, he guided this world-renowned institution for 27 years in eight countries of Asia, Africa, and the United Kingdom. During this period, he forged academic partnerships with several renowned universities including McGill, Toronto, McMaster, British Columbia, Alberta, Harvard and Oxford for AKU. He also led the University's fundraising campaigns, generating over $350 million from private donors, corporations, foundations, and aid agencies.

He has chaired or served on government commissions and boards of business, professional and research organizations in such diverse fields as government reforms, public sector pay and pensions reforms, higher education reforms, school education, health, finance, banking, energy, environmental protection and climate change.

Shamsh Kassim-Lakha was Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Education as well as for Science and Technology in 2007-2008. He has played pioneering roles in promoting civil society activities, principal among them as Founding Chair of the Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy. He sat on the world wide board of the International Baccalaureate Organization, as well as the Steering Committee of the Talloires Network of over 300 universities involved in civic engagement and based at Tufts University, USA. Shamsh was an honorary member of the Pakistan Business Council, an association of 40 of the largest national and multi-national corporations in Pakistan and chaired its Education Panel. In addition, he has advised and consulted on policy and strategy with selected civil society organizations including the Grameen Bank for their health initiatives, and the World Bank on higher education.

In 1997, Shamsh co-chaired with the Education Minister of Tajikistan the Commission on the Establishment of the University of Central Asia and later helped negotiate the International Treaty and Charter of this institution. During the same period, he chaired the Committee that developed consensus between government, civil society and industry on key elements of Pakistan’s environmental protection laws and wrote the country’s National Environment Protection Act (1997). In 2001-2, as Minister of State, he led the government of Pakistan’s Task Force on Higher Education Reforms whose recommendations have resulted in major structural changes in universities, creation of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), quadrupling access for students, a thousand-fold rise in funding and substantial increase in research output. Later, he was appointed a member of the HEC from 2007 to 2011.

From 1960 to 1979, Shamsh’s career was in the world of business, manufacturing, mining, tourism and venture capital. First in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and thereafter in Karachi, Pakistan, he headed Industrial Promotion Services of Pakistan which employed a workforce of 22,000 and was established by the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development.

During a long career in academia, diplomacy and business, Shamsh has forged strong linkages between renowned academic and business institutions in developing and industrialized countries including Canada for the transfer of knowledge, talent and capital with support from bilateral and multilateral aid agencies. His strong commitment to decision making on merit and transactional transparency in challenging settings has enabled him to successfully introduce strong value systems in all his academic, public service and business endeavors.

Shamsh’s wide ranging experience has given him a profound understanding of the nature of political, social and economic factors as well as cultural and religious sensitivities that influence policy making by governments and the important role civil society plays in South and Central Asia, the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa.

In recognition of his contribution to academia, government and community service, he has received national awards, Sitara-e-Imtiaz and Hilal-e-Imtiaz from the President of Pakistan and Officier de l’Ordre National du Mérite (National Order of Merit (France)) from the President of France, as well as honorary degrees from McMaster University and the Aga Khan University.