Mohamed Essa Al Taheri
President & CEO (Acting)
Mr. Al Taheri has a Master’s degree in International Business from the University of Wollongong, Dubai. He has over 20 years of professional experience, including working with HSBC Bank, Dubai Commercial Bank, and the Development Board of Dubai Government. Mr. Al Taheri is currently working with e& Group as the Group EVP Financial Policies and Systems. He is also a Non-Executive Director at U Microfinance Bank.
Haidar Ali
Chief Credit Officer
Mr. Haidar Ali is an experienced banker with more than 18 years of Banking experience under his belt. He started his career as Management Trainee with Bank Alfalah and served at various key positions across different areas of banking spanning over Branch Banking, Credit, Compliance and Risk Management both in Pakistan and overseas. His last assignment was as Head Risk Management at FINCA Microfinance Bank Limited where he played a vital role in establishing the Risk Management function of the bank.
Mr. Haidar Ali has done his Masters in Business Administration from the University of Peshawar.
Muhammad Amir Siddiqi
Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Muhammad Amir Siddiqi brings over 25 years of professional experience in telecom, management consulting, and audit, with key focus on finance, accounts, risk, governance, internal audit, and treasury. He has previously worked for multiple multinational organizations, including e& Group (formerly Etisalat), E&Y, Deloitte, and PTCL Group.
Mr. Siddiqi is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) and an Associate Member of Institute of Cost & Management Accountants of Pakistan (ICMAP). Earlier, he also served as a Board Member for U Bank.
Muhammad Farooq Kamran
Chief of Treasury & Investment Banking
Mr. Muhammad Farooq Kamran is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW) and a fellow member of Associate Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA). He brings with him over 18 years of core work experience in areas of strategic initiatives, business development, and corporate governance, including financial control, budgeting and planning, business intelligence, company secretariat, treasury, and structured finance.
Prior to joining U Bank, Mr. Kamran worked with Telenor Microfinance Bank, where he played an instrumental role in transforming multiple functions, including treasury, corporate finance, and accounting. He has also worked with KPMG Pakistan, where he was involved in the audit of clients in financial services, manufacturing, and the service industry.
Mubashar Shahani
Chief Internal Auditor
Mr. Shahani is a Chartered Accountant by profession and a fellow member of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan. He has over 16 years of work experience and core areas of expertise include control design and risk assessment, quality assessment and development and implementation of risk based audit methodology for conventional and digital banking processes.
Prior to joining U Microfinance Bank, he had worked with Telenor Microfinance Bank where he played an active role in development of Internal Audit function in line with the international standards and played the leading role in development and implementation of risk based audit methodology for mobile financial services (easypaisa). He had also worked with KPMG Pakistan and KPMG Lower Gulf Limited and was involved in audit of clients in financial services, manufacturing and service industry.
Muhammad Javed
Chief Compliance Officer & Chief Risk Officer (Acting)
Mr. Javed brings nearly 22 years of diversified experience to the table with more than 18 years with microfinance banks in Pakistan. He has served in various capacities in the areas of Finance, Compliance, Internal controls, Risk management and fraud Investigations. Mr. Javed has been part of the founding team of U Microfinance bank and has played a critical role in setting up U Microfinance Bank in 2012. He has worked for the likes of Khushhali Microfinance Bank, Mobilink Microfinance and Sapphire Fibers Ltd.
Mr. Javed holds a post grad certification in management accounting as well as a Master in Business Administration.
Muhammad Umar Ilyas
Chief Technology Officer
Mr. Muhammad Umar Ilyas is a seasoned tech professional and brings with him over 23 years of experience in various domains, including data centers’ build and operations, cloud and ICT services, information security, business intelligence, IT governance, risk management, quality assurance, and operations management.
Mr. Ilyas has previously worked with various notable organizations, including PTCL, Lifelong, and Telematrix Inc. His academic profile includes a Master’s degree in Computer Engineering and a Master’s in Information Security from NUST University. Additionally, he is a Certified CTO by UC Berkeley, a Certified CIO by NUS Singapore, and possesses many other leading certifications in IT Governance, IS Auditing, Information Security, and Project Management.
Palwasha Qazi
Chief Legal Officer & Company Secretary
Ms. Palwasha Qazi is a seasoned Legal and Corporate Affairs practitioner with over 16 years of experience spanning across various industries such as Education, Finance and Banking, IT and Telecommunication, Marketing and Public Relation. Her core areas of strength interalia include Banking, Corporate & Regulatory Affairs, Contractual Negotiations, Governance, Corporate law, Research, Strategic Communication, Policies and Procedures and Public Relation and Outreach. Prior to joining U Microfinance bank Limited (Ubank), she served at various organizations including Universal Service Fund – USF (Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication), Midas Communication Pakistan, Online International News Network (Magnates Communication) and Heavy Industries Taxila Education City.
Ms. Qazi has a post graduate certification in Corporate & Securities Law from University of London and holds an LLB degree from the University of Peshawar and has completed her Post Graduate Degree/Masters in International Relations from Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad. She is a certified Company Secretary and has attended various trainings and conferences with leading local and international institutes.
Sarmad Pretu
Chief Commercial Officer
Mr. Pretu carries a experience in banking and finance spanning over 20 years. He started his career with Askari Bank Limited in 2002 and worked with the likes of ABN AMRO Bank Pakistan Limited, Faysal Bank Limited and The Bank of Punjab. He also worked at various levels at Pakistan Credit Rating Agency (PACRA) and JCR VIS Credit Rating Company Limited. He has worked on infrastructure project financing, corporate finance, commercial credits, investment banking, trade finance, risk management etc. He has also led various trainings at Institute of Bankers Pakistan Limited.
Mr. Pretu holds a MBA from Bahria University and a Master of Applied Finance from University of Western Sydney – Australia.
Sonia Farooq
Chief Human Resources Officer
Ms. Farooq is a seasoned banker and a certified HR professional who brings over two decades of diverse experience, including 20+ years of service at Askari Bank. She has held key positions in various areas of banking, specializing in talent management, organization development, restructuring & change management, and other aspects of human capital optimization.
Prior to joining U Bank, Ms. Farooq served as the Divisional Head of Culture and Change Management at The Bank of Punjab where she played a pivotal role in establishing the framework and strategy for Culture & Change Management. She has previously led Talent Acquisition at Askari Bank, held the position of Director HR at NCRi Pakistan (Pvt.) Limited (a subsidiary of NCRi Inc. Canada) and also currently serves as an independent Certified Director at one of the manufacturing concerns.
Ms. Farooq holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad.
