Packages Group

baber-ali

ABOUT

SYED BABAR ALI

As an entrepreneur and industrialist, Syed Babar Ali envisioned and set up Packages Limited (Pakistan’s largest paper & board mill), Milkpak Limited–now Nestlé Pakistan Limited (the largest food processing company in Pakistan); Tetra Pak Pakistan Limited, IGI Insurance Company Limited, Tri-Pack Films Limited, and IGI Investment Bank.

He believes in the joint venture philosophy and most of his businesses are joint ventures with major multinationals. As an educationist, he led the establishment of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) in 1985 of which he is the first Pro-Chancellor. LUMS is Pakistan’s premier management education institution.

In 1992, he founded the Ali Institute of Education for the training of primary and secondary school teachers. He is a member of the Board of the following important educational institutions of Lahore: Aitchison College, Kinnaird College, and Lahore School of Economics.
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He is also a Founding Member of the South Asia Initiative of Harvard University and the Co-Chair of the South Asia Centre for Policy Studies currently based in Nepal. He served as Pakistan’s Minister of Finance, Economic Affairs & Planning in 1993. He promoted the cause of the World Wide Fund for Nature (earlier World Wildlife Fund) where he served in various capacities, both in Pakistan and internationally, from 1972 to 1996. He was International President of WWF from 1996 to 1999 succeeding HRH Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. He is now Vice President Emeritus, WWF International, and President Emeritus WWF-Pakistan.
He set up Babar Ali Foundation in 1985. The Foundation gives about a million dollars a year primarily for education and health in Pakistan. He is also a member of Layton Rehmatullah Benevolent Trust Karachi and Shalamar Hospital Lahore.

Syed Babar Ali

Syed Babar Ali, in recognition of his immeasurable contributions to education, advancing the public good, and promoting social equity in Pakistan, was elected to the 2020’s class of the prestigious American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Syed Babar Ali had been acknowledged in the category of ‘Business, Corporate, and Philanthropic Leadership’. He joined an esteemed cohort of over 270 innovators and leaders from across sectors, disciplines, and geographies.

Syed Babar Ali

In 2021, SBA shared the stage with Amartya Sen from India in an unforgettable discussion “75 Years of Azadi: A Celebration of South Asia” – The event was organized by The Mittal Institute at Harvard University where two of South Asia’s most-prominent public figures shared the stage in an unforgettable discussion on the region through their experiences. Syed Babar Ali from Pakistan and Amartya Sen from India, both were born in British India.