KARACHI: Engro Leadership Academy has been officially inaugurated in the premises of Karachi School of Business and Leadership (KSBL).
Engro, with the strong support of its Board and Chairman, has set itself the goal of having a high-performance culture and creating value via exceptional people. The academy endeavours to serve as the developing ground for the next generation of Pakistani leadership. Its aim will be to prepare 21st century leaders through a proven model of development led by world-class consulting firm McKinsey and Company, which has helped bring the academy to fruition.
Founder and Chairman of KSBL, Chairman of Engro Corporation and Dawood Foundation, Hussain Dawood, passionately believes that investment in human development far outweighs short-term financial returns.
At the inauguration, the chairman stressed the need of developing people in Pakistan who are persons of trust, and of competence, to lead successful institutions. He said, “This is the beginning of a journey of life-long learning for individuals striving to improve their strength of character, to trust and respect themselves, and then to inspire that trust in others.”
The President of Engro Corporation, Ghias Khan, also spoke at the ceremony. He discussed the philosophy of cultivating and retaining talent at Engro. Khan said, “We realize that development of leaders requires a fine balance between practical on-the-job learning, in-classroom trainings, and self-reflection. With this purpose in mind, we have built the ELA, which will help ignite people’s personal transformations and equip them to drive change at Engro and beyond.” He further thanked the Chairman for his vision and McKinsey for their guidance along the way.
“As Knowledge Partners to the Engro Leadership Academy, McKinsey Academy has developed a robust curriculum to grow leadership skills across the organization. The programs aim to develop talent, instill an entrepreneurial mind-set and build decision-making capabilities. The leadership model incorporates 6 main competencies and identifies 22 behaviours that enable effective leadership in the Engro context. The courses will provide a blended learning experience that will include classroom sessions, fieldwork, experiential and digital learning modules and bespoke content customized to the Engro Leadership Model.
Salman Ahmad, Senior Partner at McKinsey and Company, said: “As the first company in Pakistan to launch a bespoke corporate academy to groom its existing and future leaders, Engro is setting a new standard for leadership development. The programs apply both best practice as well as cutting-edge techniques for learning and capacity building, anchored in tailored leadership journeys for each participant. We believe deeply that the quality of leadership is the most enduring source of competitive advantage for organizations and the most critical enabler of sustainable, high performance cultures. We are honoured to be Knowledge Partners in this program.”
The academy is poised to become an integral part of the people transformation journey at Engro, and includes courses on leading self, leading teams, leading business, and leading change. The academy will extend its services and leadership philosophy to private- and public-sector players as well, through customized content based on respective institutional and organizational needs.
