• Mr Firoz Rasul, President
• Dr William Doe, Provost AKU
• Mr Louis R. Ariano, Registrar
• Dr Yasmin Amarsi, Professor and Dean, School of Nursing
• Professor Dr Mohammad Khurshid, Dean, Medical College
• Dr Muhammad Memon, Director, Institute for Educational Development, Karachi
• Dr Iffat Farah, Acting Director, Institute for Educational Development, East Africa
• Dr Abdou Filali-Ansary, Director, Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations
• Dr Thomas Christie, Director, Aga Khan University Examination Board
• Dr Laetitia J. King, Chief Academic Officer and Associate Dean, Nursing (East Africa)
• Mr Nadeem Mustafa Khan, Director General and CEO, Aga Khan University Hospital
• Ms Dallas Ariotti, Vice President, Health Services
• Ms Carol Joan Ariano, Vice President, Human Resources

Mr Firoz Rasul, President
Mr Firoz Rasul joined Aga Khan University as its President on May 1, 2006. Prior to this, he was involved with the building of several business enterprises and development of social and community institutions.

Mr Rasul served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ballard Power Systems, a world leader in fuel cell technology from December 1988 until June 2003 and served as Chairman of the Board from June 2003 until May 2004. Before that he was Vice President of Marketing and Sales for Mobile Data International (MDI) from 1981 until its takeover by its largest competitor, Motorola, in 1988 and prior to that worked with Black and Decker and General Foods Corporation in Europe.

His leadership of enterprises in the technology sector has allowed Mr Rasul to gain extensive experience in the management and oversight of research and development, the protection of intellectual property and the forging of productive collaborations with universities in the United States and Canada.

Mr Rasul's voluntary contributions include serving as Chairman, FOCUS Humanitarian Assistance Canada, as a member of the University of British Columbia's Board of Governors and as a Director of Science World British Columbia. He was also on the Boards of TELUS, a national telecommunications company in Canada, and the Royal Bank Capital Corporation. Mr Rasul was also President of the Aga Khan Council for Canada for six years and led the development of various high level projects for the Aga Khan Development Network, including The Global Centre of Pluralism and the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto.

Mr Rasul received a Bachelors degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom and a Masters degree in Business Administration from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Simon Fraser University in British Columbia conferred the Degree of Doctors of Laws, honoris causa, on Mr Rasul in 2001.

Dr William Doe, Provost AKU
Dr Doe has an MBBS from Sydney University, Australia, an MSc in Biochemistry from London University and fellowships from the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. He has over 30 years of work experience, primarily in Australia and the UK. Most recently, he was Dean and Head of the University of Birmingham Medical School where he was responsible for the training of medical undergraduates and Bachelor of Medical Science students, biomedical research, and strategic oversight of education, training and research. He was also a member of the University's Council, Senate, Research Strategy Committee, and Royal Centre for Defence Medicine Strategy Group. Prior to Birmingham, Dr Doe established the first School of Clinical Medicine at Canberra University in Australia as well as its associated teaching hospital. He has authored over 160 research publications in international scientific journals. He joined AKU in January 2008 as the Provost of the University.

Mr Louis R. Ariano, Registrar
Mr Louis R. Ariano, a Canadian national, holds a Master of Arts degree from the University of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada and has over 25 years of experience and expertise working within university structures and governance. His last appointment, prior to joining AKU was as Registrar at the McMaster University. He also served at York University and Brock University in a similar capacity and at Osgoode Hall Law School as Assistant Dean (Student Services).

At McMaster University, Mr Ariano was responsible for the overall management and day-to-day operations of the Office of the Registrar, including the functional areas of undergraduate recruitment, admissions, student registration and records, front-line services, transcript productions, course and examination scheduling and convocation.

Dr Yasmin Amarsi, Professor and Dean, School of Nursing
Dr Amarsi has a RN and RM with Diplomas in Teaching and Administration and gold and silver medals from the College of Nursing, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre in Karachi. She completed her Post RN BScN from Canada's McMaster University in 1985, Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Arizona, USA and PhD in Nursing from McMaster University in 1998. Dr Amarsi was among the founding faculty of the School of Nursing; first PhD nurse in Pakistan and has led various academic programmes since 1980. In June 1998 she became the first national to be appointed as Director of AKU School of Nursing.

Professor Dr Mohammad Khurshid, Dean, Medical College
Prof. Dr Mohammad Khurshid obtained his MBBS from Dow Medical College, Karachi in 1967 and FRC Pathology in 1974 and then FRC. Pathology in 1984 from Royal College of Pathologists, UK. He served as Consultant Haematologist for the West Glamorgan County, UK as well as Director, West Glamorgan Hemophilia Center, Morriston Hospital, Swansea from 1975 to 1985.

He joined AKU as an Associate Professor, Pathology and Medicine and became the Professor and Chairman, Department of Pathology in 1985. Dr Khurshid was promoted to the position of Medical Director and Associate Dean, Clinical Affairs in April 2000 and in 2003 was made the first Pakistani Dean of the Medical College. Dr Khurshid has worked extensively in the field of haematology, particularly leukemia. He has also played a leadership role in curriculum development both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Dr Khurshid combines strong academic credentials, a fine reputation as an educator and clinician with extensive administrative experience. Dr Khurshid was elected President of the Pakistan Society of Haematology (2001-2003). He is the member of European Haematology Association and The International Society of Haematology (Asian-Pacific Division). The Government of Pakistan conferred upon him the prestigious Civil Award of Pride of Performance in March, 2003.

Dr Muhammad Memon, Director, Institute for Educational Development, Karachi
Dr Muhammad Memon obtained his PhD in Education (Curriculum Changes) from the University of Surrey, England, MEd (Curriculum Planning) from the University of Karachi, and MA in Educational Planning and Management from the Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad. He obtained Certificate in Professional Development from the University of Sussex, England and Certificate in Project Management and Evaluation from the University of Philippines, Manila. He joined AKU-IED as an Assistant Professor in 1993 and was promoted as an Associate Professor in 1996 and Professor in 2003. He was the first Pakistani appointed as Director Designate in 2004 and Director in 2005.

Before joining AKU-IED, Dr Memon has served in the public sector as a teacher educator, project manager, educational planner and evaluator. He has served as a member on several national committees in Pakistan's public education sector and has wide experience of teaching, research, management, and education. His research work focusing on teacher education, and educational leadership is widely published in national and international journals. He has played a significant role in promoting educational leadership as a field of study in Pakistan. Recognising his scholarly research and contribution to the educational development in Pakistan, various organisations and educational institutions have honoured him with merit awards.

Dr Iffat Farah, Acting Director, Institute for Educational Development, East Africa
Dr Iffat Farah joined Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development (AKU-IED) in Karachi, Pakistan, in 1994 as Assistant Professor. In 2001, she was appointed as Head, Research and Policy Studies and Professor in 2005. In March 2007, Dr Farah, was transferred to East Africa (EA) and since then has been contributing to the development of IED-EA. In March 2008 Dr Farah was appointed as Acting Director, IED-EA.

Dr Farah has a PhD in Education from the University of Pennsylvania, USA and a Masters in Applied Linguistics from the University of Kent, UK. Prior to joining AKU-IED, Dr Farah was involved in the programme development and teaching at public and private sector institutions. She has also been consultant to the Asia Foundation, UNESCO and the World Bank.

Dr Abdou Filali-Ansary, Director, Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations
Dr Filali-Ansary previously served as founding director of the King Abdul Aziz Foundation for Islamic Studies and Human Sciences in Casablanca, Morocco and as secretary-general of the Mohammed V University in Rabat, having also taught modern philosophy there. He has contributed to the academic discourse on Islam and modernity and on democratisation and civil society in the Middle East and has written books and articles on Islam's reformist traditions, including Is Islam Hostile to Secularism?; Reforming Islam? An Introduction to Contemporary Debates as well as a translation into French of Ali Abdel-Raziq's landmark book Islam and the Foundations of Political Power. In 1993 he co-founded the bilingual Arabic-French journal Prologues: revue maghrébine du livre and served as its editor until 2005.

Dr Thomas Christie, Director, Aga Khan University Examination Board
Dr Christie has a career devoted to the initiation of educational change through the creation of public examination systems. Currently directing Aga Khan University Examination Board, he was formerly the Dean of the Faculty of Education and Head of the Department of Education, University of Manchester with 90 academic and 50 support staff, and has directed more than 30 externally funded research and development projects and steered 11 others building up a team of 12 researchers in the Centre for Formative Assessment Studies. Dr Christie played a central role in the design of primary, secondary and tertiary examinations systems on behalf of the British Government. He helped establish the Caribbean Examinations Council as a major source of curriculum and examinations expertise for 16 Caribbean countries, and developed a system of school based assessment in the Jamaican junior secondary sector.

Dr Laetitia J. King, Chief Academic Officer and Associate Dean, Nursing (East Africa)
Dr Laetitia J. King was appointed Regional Director of the Advanced Nursing Studies Programme (East Africa) in June 2003. In June 2004 she was appointed as Associate Dean, Nursing for AKU East Africa and as of June 2005 is also the Chief Academic Officer of AKU in East Africa. She is a Doctor of Literature and Philosophy in Nursing Science from the University of South Africa, where, as Professor, she headed the Department of Advanced Nursing Sciences, and also the WHO Collaborating Centre for Postgraduate Distance Education and Research for Nursing and Midwifery Development. Dr King has held faculty and management positions at several other institutions in South Africa.

Dr King has been an international consultant and advisor for WHO and numerous other international organisations in the fields of midwifery, community nursing science, health services management and nursing education. Her areas of academic interest and expertise include nursing and midwifery education through distance learning, the development of human resources for health as well as community participation in health care delivery.

Mr Nadeem Mustafa Khan, Director General and CEO, Aga Khan University Hospital
Mr Khan is responsible for the strategic, operational and quality management of the Hospital in accordance with the mission and policies set by the Board of Trustees.

Mr Khan did his BA from Peshawar University where he secured a Gold Medal for obtaining first position in the University. Later, he did his BSc (Econ) Honours degree from the London School of Economics. He joined Price Waterhouse & Co, a renowned firm of Chartered Accountants, in 1974 and became a Chartered Accountant in 1977. He is currently a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Mr Khan has been working at Aga Khan University in various financial and operational positions since January 1981. His last assignment was as Chief Operating Officer of the Hospital until he took over his current assignment in January 2001.

Ms Dallas Ariotti, Vice President, Health Services
Ms Ariotti holds a Masters degree in Psychology from the Sydney University, Australia, prior to which she was a State Registered Nurse. She has over 25 years of work experience and has worked at the highest levels in large health care organisations in the UK and Australia. She worked as an Executive Director at Guy's & St. Thomas NHS Foundation Trust in London where she was responsible for corporate and clinical governance and business models, clinical operations and organisation-wide performance measurement and management. She has also worked as policy advisor in the Federal Department of Health in Australia where she managed funding and administration of all public hospitals, involving budgets in excess of 10 billion AUD.

Ms Ariotti has also been a consultant on numerous health care strategies internationally including funding and research priorities in developing health economies for the WHO and health care reform for the US government. She joined AKU as the Vice President, Health Services in January 2008.

Ms Carol Joan Ariano, Vice President, Human Resources
Ms Carol Joan Ariano, a Canadian national, holds a Bachelors of Arts (Hons.) degree in English from the University of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada and has over 28 years of diverse experience, including executive and leadership positions with the public, private and voluntary sectors. She has worked extensively in policy and programme development, mergers and acquisitions and global operations support, as well as in the research, development, implementation and evaluation of human resource programmes and policies. Prior to joining AKU, Ms Ariano worked for nine years as Vice President, Human Resources for Global Operations at CGI, the largest Canadian IT service firm. During her tenure there, CGI grew from 2000 employees in Canada to 25,000 in 21 countries world-wide.

At AKU as Vice President Human Resource, Ms Ariano is responsible to provide strategic human resource leadership and development for the University as it rapidly expands its global and programmatic reach. She is also responsible to build and lead a cohesive human resource culture across the University's geographic sites and programmes focused on proactive leadership and internationally harmonised best practices, and to assure that the human resource strategies and initiatives are aligned and support the strategic and operating objectives of the University. Ms Ariano joined AKU in April 2008.