“I have known Parvez since his successful tenure at Siemens. He then became the first CEO of the Universal Service Fund in Pakistan and has done an outstanding job over the years. He has been successful in putting together a truly professional team. Under his leadership the fund has successfully supported the growth and proliferation of telecoms in the country. Parvez has displayed an excellent ability to manage the diverse range of stakeholders, ranging from the Government, the Board of Directors to the telecom operators. In all his actions Parvez always comes across as a thorough professional, a respected team leader, with the highest level of integrity and a clear understanding of the challenges at hand. Parvez has stood out as a true leader of the telecom revolution in Pakistan over the last decade.”

Zouhair Khaliq, President & CEO, Mobilink – An Orascom Telecom Company

“USF Co Pakistan has become a success story and a role model for which every Pakistani can feel proud. This was only possible with the hard work, commitment and professionalism displayed by its CEO, Mr. Parvez Iftikhr and his team . I always found him very motivated , seasoned and a honest professional. He built USF from scratches in a short span of time and the USF as today is just a reflection of his passion for this institution. I have no hesitation in saying that in comming times Telecom Sector will definitely benefit from his abilities and always remember him for his great work .”

Shaukat Hayat, Consultant Fiber Optic Projects, USF Co

“When Parvez was the CEO of USF Co., I, as the Telecom Regulator of the country, was a director of the USF Board. Under Parvez’s leadership USF Pakistan achieved phenomenal success that we felt proud of. In fact USF Pakistan began to be known as a Role Model for the outside world. And this was despite the huge challenges being faced by Pakistan during the time. His main attributes that helped him catapult USF Pakistan to such heights are his leadership qualities, his honesty, his habit of hard work and the tremendous energy that he exudes.”

Mohammed Yaseen, Chairman, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority

“My encounter with Parvez was during memorable days of BLT projects’ implementation. He used to come and meet in our PTCL office for so many commercial/ technical matters during the Siemens’ project of 95 k lines in Islamabad and Faisalabad regions. I’ll always remember Parvez as one of the most polished, cultured, professionalist, soft-spoken and highly intelligent persons amongst all the vendor reps. I always admired and felt as if his huge wisdom seemed to ooze out, overflowing through his eyes whenever we discussed any business issues. His managerial skills impressed me a lot.”

Safdar Imam

“A professional to the core and a thorough gentleman, Parvez was instrumental in coaching me to work in a fast paced, multi-deciplined environment managing several large projects in parallel.

Parvez enjoyed a distinguished position in Siemens Pakistan and was also well respected at the Pricipal’s offices in Germany for his work ethic and thoroughness. He managed people well and encouraged his staff to grow and harvest their full potential. You could always count on him to support you in your projects.”

Mujtaba Hassan

“I worked in Pervez’s team for 9 years. In the past 20 years of my professional life I have yet to see another manager with such profound leadership skills. Pervez was is my mentor who played a key role in who I am today. Pervez sets challenging goals for his team and raises the bar, that allows the team to stretch its capability and develop. His vision, leadership style, oratory skills, coaching and analytical skills remain a source of inspiration for me.”

Zubair Minto

“Mr. Parvez Iftikhar has been a role model, a source of inspiration and an institution to my career development and professional maturity; and I believe for many others in the industry, relishing the fruits. One key aspect I learnt first hand from Mr. Parvez Iftikhar, which I shall always remember and practice, is a better ability to understanding the customer, their needs and pain points. It would be a pleasure to work as part of his team in the future.”

Asif Qureshi

“I started my career at Siemens Pakistan reporting to Mr. Iftikhar on the BLT (Build Lease and Transfer) project. It was one of first successes which Mr. Iftikhar won for Siemens Pakistan. After that due to his tireless efforts, never to stop and keeping customer always on front, Mr. Iftikhar made the Communication Division in Siemens Pakistan the most successful and dream place for work for any telecom professional. The skills I learnt from Mr. Iftikhar right in the beginning of my career help me day in day out, I wish Mr. Iftikhar every success moving forward like always.”

Suhaib Khalid

“I have been priveleged to have worked with some outstanding senior management during my 14 year career in Telecommunication industry across the world. But if I were to name one person that I would like to follow as a role model, it would be Mr. Parvez Iftikhar. Parvez Sb’s exceptional professional achievements as an industry stalwart do not require any eloboration. From the perspective of a young engineer who started his career in Parvez Sb’s Telecom Division at Siemens, the unique attributes that have made all of this possible are his ability to command respect, his commitment to fostering and developing his team, and above all, the confidence and trust that he is able to generate in those around him by always living up to his commitments. It has been and it will always be a real honour to work with Parvez Sb, and I wish him all the very best in his future endeavours.”

Shehzad Khattak

“We have watched Pervez perform at siemens and USF which grew into a dynamic player for rurral telecommunication revolution in pakistan. It was amazing other countries in asia Pacific took lesson from USF, looks few organizations having dedicated and honest leadership still exist and USF can be branded in those. Pervez has been a dynamic player and a great source of learning.”

Rashid Aziz

“I find Parvez a very conscientious and hard working individual who has served the telecom sector for a very long time. His contribution in Siemens and then as CEO of USF are very well regarded by his peers and industry in general. He was able to put USF Pakistan on the international map as a leading USF program in the developing world. Under his leadership USF was able to deliver telecommunications capabilities to the remote parts of Pakistan. I wish him well and am sure he will be an asset to where ever he decides to go.”

Junaid Khan

“I have known Parvez Iftikhar over 30 years and have followed the arc of this career and performance as an engineer, manager and finally, as the CEO of USF.

His pleasant personality, focus, clarity as well as his high EQ has led him to be successful and be liked at the same time! In Siemens, he brought many new technologies and systems to market and ensured a leading position for his company with an YoY growth which surpassed his colleagues and competition.

However, it was his time as the founding CEO of USF (Universal Service Fund) which was his crowning achievement. I was a part of the team which wrote the Telecom deregulation policy. This contained the ‘routine’ segment for USF.

Since the market was being privatized and opened up, it was felt that unless there was focus and emphasis on developing the ‘low yield’ (Rural and under served) areas, there would be huge disparity.

When Parvez was selected as the CEO, even though I had considerable respect for his professional experience and ability, I was not sure that he could tackle this enormous challenge. USF had not been successful anywhere in the World and Pakistan was a bigger challenge on all dimensions.

An exploding telecom sector (going from 3% penetration to over 55% in a very short time), operators not willing to be distracted from their quest for exploiting the high revenue areas, difficult financial and audit conditions, a very top heavy Board of Directors (Prime Minister being the Chairman) and everything stacked up for ensuring failure.

Parvez changed the whole paradigm of how a Public Obligation should be met. His training as a savvy marketeer, humility, honesty, great ambition to meet and exceed challenges and his comfort in dealing with people at all levels as well as very savvy BoDs, changed the landscape. Selected a very professional team and then led them with enthusiasm and verve.

He went to Operators to sell them the idea that he was giving them ‘free money’ to evolve a market that they were going to get to anyway. Having been a supplier of systems and networks, he could convince everyone to participate.

His unconventional approach led USF to become phenomenally successful and people around the world of Telecom (Regulators, Governments and Operators alike) were struck with the success of something that had never gone anywhere and had been the uncomfortable secret of the Telecom Regulatory world for decades, as being a failure.

While the ecosystem may have been poised to help, it was Parvez’ approach and dynamism that ensured not only a wildly successful rural development of voice telephony, he pursued and opened up the concept of ‘under served’ areas for Broadband in the rural and urban areas alike.

All this, while handling billions of Rupees of in a transparent manner and making sure that a strict financial regimen was followed in all transactions: all audits have declared a squeaky clean result over the years.

Incomparable performance!.”

Salman Ansari

“Parvez Iftikhar has really made a difference at USF and today where USF is all is due to hard work and dedication of Parvez.

I wish all bext wishes to Parvez and will also be there to work with him.”

Abdullah Butt

“I first met Mr. Parvez Iftikhar at Siemens Islamabad office where he was responsible for overall branch management and leading Telecommunications Business Unit. I found him to be humble individual and an inspirational leader. He was known for his Charismatic persona. He was admired as a leader who is able to lift the spirits of people and enables them to deliver their best. He worked tirelessly to take Siemens telecom business from strength to strength.

When joining USF Mr. Iftikhar took a risk of ending a long and successful career with a multinational, but he showed the world that a lot can be achieved with drive and determination. He challenged the status quo and gave USF a solid foundation, creating a success story against all odds. He possesses an undying optimism and is extremely passionate about his work. He has played a definitive role in building Telecommunication Industry in Pakistan. Today I consider my privilege to write a recommendation of Mr. Iftikhar. I wish him all the success in future.”

Muniba Farid

“Parvez was founding CEO of USF Company and provided a great leadership to the company, working diligently, hard and smart with the government at the one end and the telecom industry at the other end. He laid a solid foundation of USF company and handled many challenges with great skills. I wish him all the best.”

Wahaj Siraj

“I was a director of USF board.He was CEO of the company.USF board oversaw his performance at Board level.His performance was excellent.New company was managed with great skills and he proved to be a successful performer.”

Noor Ud Din Baqai

“Mr Parvez Iftikhar is a determined person and did excellent works for my project with the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission of Thailand. He has comprehensive experience and expertise in what he has done as a CEO at USF Pakistan.”

Wisit Atipayakoon

“I have been interacting with Mr. Parvez Iftikhar for last 10 years most recently while he was CEO of USFCo for several years and before that while he was heading the Siemens Telecom division. Mr. Iftikhar is a CEO level Technology professional and is an established leader in his remit. He has turned around several large business units and is widely known for his honesty, integrity, humility and profesionalism. He is undisputedly considered an icon in the industry.

It is due to his personal efforts that Pakistan is today recognised as a benchmark for USO (Universal Service Obligation) roll out in the world.

As a person Mr. Iftikhar is widely hailed as a man of character, integrity and foresight. He has scores of admirers for his humility and compassion. I have come across very few people like Mr. Iftikhar in my life who are so gifted and talented and yet so kind and humble.”

Asif Rumi