Please join us for an informal and intimate fireside chat with Firoz Rasul. We will be covering a wide range of topics as raised by the participants including the power of networking and mentorship within our community. This session will be interactive, so it is highly recommended that your cameras are turned on. We encourage you to register as soon as possible as spots are limited. Thanks in advance!

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Firoz Rasul served as President of the Aga Khan University from May 2006 until his retirement in September 2021. The Aga​​ Khan University or AKU, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in March 2023, is a private, autonomous, not for profit, international standa​rd, needs-blind university in the developing world. Today, the University has more than 3,500 students across campuses in six countries (Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and the UK). As part of its health sciences program, the AK​​U operates 7 teaching hos​pitals and 350 outreach medical centres in South Asia and East Africa, which​ collectively treated over two million people in 2022. Its g​rowth is unparalleled in the developing world, as AKU transforms itself into a comprehensive university offer​ing liberal arts and graduate p​rofessional degrees that prepare students to lead their societies towards a better future. During Mr. Rasul’s 15-year tenure, he led the teams to raise over US$1 billion and to develop several new campuses and buildings to house centres of excellence in regenerative medicine and stem cell research, Centre for Innovation in Medical Education, Teacher’s Academy, Women and Child Health, Clinical Trials Research Centres, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilizations, Graduate School of Media and Communications, new nursing and medical schools in East Africa.

Prior to his engagement with AKU, Mr. Rasul was involved in building several business enterprises and the development of social and community institutions. He served as Chief Executive Officer and then Chairman of Ballard Power Systems, a world leader in fuel cell technology from December 1988 until May 2004. Mr Rasul has served on the boards of the University of British Columbia's Board of Governors and Science World, British Columbia. Between 2000 and 2006, he was President of the Aga Khan Council for Canada, where he led the development of several large-scale projects including The Global Centre of Pluralism in Ottawa, and the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto.

As a business leader, Mr Rasul has shared his knowledge and experience on the Boards of BC Tel (now TELUS) Corporation and the Royal Bank Capital Corporation. Government of Canada named him the 2001 National Transportation Person of the Year, and Wilfred Laurier Unive​rsity's School of Business recognised him with its Outstanding Business Leader award.

Mr Rasul received a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Hertfordshire in the UK and an MBA from McGill University. Mr Rasul was conferred with the Degree of Doctors of Laws, honoris causa, by Simon Fraser University in 2001 and an honorary Doctorate of Science in 2017​ by the University of Alberta. In 2019, the University of Hertfordshire conferred an honorary Doctorate of Science degree on Mr. Rasul for his contribution to higher education.