Ayesha Aziz Khan

Director of Summit Power

Born in 1981, Ayesha Aziz Khan is currently the Finance Director of Summit Power Limited. After completing her graduation in Economics and Business from the University College of London in 2002, Khan went on to do her Masters in Business Administration from Columbia University in New York, USA.

One of the rare successful female entrepreneurs of Bangladesh, Khan has a keen interest in the finance and trade arena that has made her the director of several companies, namely, Ocean Containers Limited, Summit Industrial & Mercantile Corporation , Summit Equities and several other sister companies of the Summit Group. Her dominance in the sector further grew when she became the Director of Khulna Power Company in 2008.

Apart from enjoying a good run in the business sector of the country, she also represented Bangladesh on several crucial ventures. She was a member of the prime minister's business delegation that traveled to India and the USA and has been credited to have played an important role in sealing important deals. She was also a part of the team that visited China on the grounds of the Bangladesh Bibiyana Project. Furthermore, she holds an important position at the SAARC Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, an organisation that deals with business negotiations in South Asia.

Still in her early 30s, Khan continues to play an important role for the Summit Group and is often credited for the increasing revenue of the company. The rapid pace at which Ayesha Aziz Khan has grown in the business world of Bangladesh is testament to her leadership qualities.

Nuher Latif Khan

Founder and Managing Director of Desh Energy Limited

“Starting in the power sector was more of an accident for me,” says Nuher Khan, founder and managing director of Desh Energy Limited. Even before the young entrepreneur graduated from University College London (UCL) in 2005, he began looking into the power sector opportunities.

Khan cold called hundreds of companies asking if they'd be interested in coming to Bangladesh for infrastructure development or the power sector and Rolls Royce responded. “Their interest was prior to me even registering my company,” says Khan in an interview with TV SouthAsia. Someone from Rolls Royce's Asia Pacific office was going to come meet him in Dhaka and Khan says, “At this time, he still didn't know I was a student! When I met him, the first thing he asked me was 'how old are you'. I was 21 and obviously it didn't inspire him with confidence.”

Regardless of this, Rolls Royce joined Khan's company and became Desh Energy's first joint venture partner. Since Desh Energy began its work in August 2005, the Economics and Business graduate has played a pivotal role in the company's development and has added 110MW to its current portfolio. The private limited company operates a 10MW gas-fired power plant in Kumargaon, Sylhet, and a 100MW diesel-fired power plant in Siddhirganj, Narayganj. Khan founded Desh Energy with a fundamental core value, to operate with seamless integrity in the pursuit of excellence in all its ventures.

When asked why becoming an entrepreneur enticed him at a young age, Khan says, “There's a sense of adventure and a sense of thrill from wanting to develop something that is your own, and the way you want it to be.

“I've always wanted to do something of influence and value, come back (to Bangladesh) and start my own company and get involved with industry.”

“When I first started, it was just myself, and the biggest challenge I faced was my age, no one would want to speak to me.”

In spite of this, Khan transformed his starting capital of 10 lac taka (approximately $15,000) into an asset base of $67 million and revenue of $100 million.

Tabith Mohammed Awal

Deputy CEO of Multimode Group

Tabith Mohammed Awal is a second generation entrepreneur in his family's business, Multimode Group. He and his brother Tafsir succeeded their father, Abdul Awal Mintoo, a prominent figure in Bangladesh's business community, in running the family firm on a day-to-day basis.

Awal, the eldest among his three brothers involved in the family business, joined the company after completing a Bachelor of Business Administration and Masters of Science from George Washington University, USA. The company, originally a shipping business, is now a diversified conglomerate with over 9,000 employees in fields ranging from consumer products, distribution, energy, cement, and seed products.

Awal is also known as a footballer, having played to a national level.

Under his active leadership Multimode Group has achieved a 100 per cent increase in profitability over the past three years alone. He currently holds the position of Director in K & Q (BD) Limited, a sister concern of Multimode Group and other organisations associated with Multimode Group.

As the family-run business is seeing a second generation of management, Tabith M. Awal and his brothers are notable for the way they have chosen their interests and roles, and for their effort to change to non-family top operational management.