Farrukh Khan joins PSX as MD and CEO

Bourse says hiring made on basis of qualification and experience

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) announced the joining of Farrukh Khan as the new managing director and chief executive officer on Monday.

“After due process and consideration, he has been selected based on his credentials, qualification and experience,” said a statement issued by the PSX.

The post had been lying vacant since May 2019 when Canadian national Richard Morin resigned from the post after allegedly being found not “fit and proper”.

Khan has over 30 years of senior management and board-level experience. He is an experienced entrepreneur and a leading business and financial adviser who has advised on many landmark transactions.

Previously, he has held senior positions at Acumen, Pakistan and UK, including country director and CEO Pakistan, senior director business development, chief business development officer and member of the managing committee.

Earlier, the Chinese consortium, which has a 40% stake in PSX - the company that runs the trading platform - proposed three candidates for the post of CEO to the board of directors. The consortium has the right to make nominations for the top three positions. However, the board of directors remains the final authority to appoint from among the nominations for such posts.

In December, the PSX board finalised the name of Farrukh Khan as the CEO, subject to approval by the apex regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP).

However, his hiring was opposed by some stockbrokers. A section of stockbrokers said the PSX had learnt nothing from its past experience of assigning the CEO’s slot to a person from aboard.

“He does not have first-hand information about developments at the PSX and in Pakistan’s economy,” a broker said.

According to the PSX statement, Khan is a veteran of capital markets. “Khan’s experience includes lead-managing the $813-million GDR offering and London listing of OGDC, Pakistan’s largest listed company, and successfully advising Etisalat on its $2.6-billion acquisition of Pakistan Telecommunication Company, the largest merger and acquisition transaction and the largest foreign direct investment in Pakistan’s history.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 25^th, 2020.

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