Najeeb Ghauri’s Scintillating Keynote Address at AMAP Meeting
A Pakistan Link Report
Pictures by Anwar Khawaja
Speakers and guests at the Association of Muslim American Professionals (AMAP) meeting in Cypress
Los Angeles , CA: The Association of Muslim American Professionals (AMAP) recently organized a meeting at the Navy Golf Course in Cypress , California.
AMAP is a member-based organization that, among other objectives, attempts to create a forum where Muslim professionals can come together. It also identifies Muslim talent and presents them to the professional community.
Besides members of AMAP, many prominent members of the Pakistani American community living in Southern California attended this event.
President of AMAP, Ehsan Khan welcomed the guests and acknowledged the presence of several prominent members of the community at the meeting, including the Consul General of Pakistan, Syed Ibne Abbas.
Rooha Asifuddin and Mohammed Raghib shed light on the role and objectives of AMAP.
Najeeb Ghauri, the founder, CEO and Chairman of NetSol Technologies, delivered the keynote speech. It is rare to hear a speaker who can connect heart and soul with business audiences and deliver a motivational message with such substance and a unique style!
To an awe struck audience, Ghauri described the journey that he has taken through life to get where he is today. His speech was not only captivating but also immensely inspiring and motivating.
Ghauri obtained a graduate degree in Pakistan but he described himself as “not the best student in school”. It was not until he arrived in the USA that he concentrated on education and earned his MBA from the Drucker Claremont Graduate School, Claremont , California. Prior to the founding of NetSol, he had a 15-year corporate career with ARCO (now BP) and Unilever in various marketing positions.
Ghauri was responsible for not only founding but also restructuring the business model of NetSol into an IT company and was instrumental in the completion of the Company’s IPO in 1998. He also spearheaded the successful listing of NetSol (NTWK) on the Nasdaq Capital Market (formerly known as Nasdaq Small Cap) in December 1999. At the time of its IPO, NetSol was the first Pakistani IT Company listed on NASDAQ. NetSol grew from just five people to almost 1000 personnel in 2009 and grew from $100,000 revenue in 1998 to $37 million in 2008. Today, NetSol has nearly 200 customers worldwide and offices in six countries. NetSol is also listed on KSE and NASDAQ Dubai bourses.
Ghauri is also active in various charitable and educational non-governmental organizations (NGOs) worldwide. He is a founding board member of the Pakistan Human Development Fund, which provides educational tools to children in underdeveloped areas of Pakistan. He is also a founding board member and Vice-Chairman of the US Pakistan Business Council in Washington, D.C. , to foster and promote trade and investment between the United States and Pakistan .
Organizers had provided ample networking opportunities to the Muslim professionals who attended the meeting. A sumptuous dinner was enjoyed by all.
AMAP has arranged several such meeting in the past and the AMAP members have seen and heard some terrific speakers — it was however agreed by all that the overall depth and substance of this program was by far the best!
For more information about AMAP please visit www.amap.usa.org
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