Board Of Directors

NADEEM HUSSAIN -- CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

Globally recognized for his dedication and service to financial inclusion in Pakistan as the founder and ex-CEO of Tameer Bank and EasyPaisa that has impacted millions of Pakistanis by extending credit, insurance and mobile banking solutions to a large segment of unbanked population. He is an active member of the State Bank’s and SECP consultative groups on various initiatives including Microfinance and insurance.

JAMSHED H. MEHERHOMJI -- BOARD DIRECTOR

As the CEO of Trellis FI, Jamshed will bring first-hand perspective of the pulse of operations on the ground to help guide the board on key strategic decisions.

MR. JAMIL AKBAR -- INDEPENDENT BOARD DIRECTOR

20+ years in Private Equity, C-Level Operational Leadership, Real Estate Development, Private Equity and Strategy. COO TPL Properties. Previously led Infrastructure (incl. Energy) Strategy and diversification M&A for Fauji Foundation. Prior roles include leading Emaar Pakistan, unlocking value through strategic renegotiations, rescuing legacy projects and successfully incubating new multi-use developments.

EMMA MALIK -- BOARD MEMBER

A highly experienced senior leader and urban development specialist, Emma has over 13 years’ expertise in developing and delivering programs financed by the European Commission, the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, Sida, and FCDO across Africa and Asia. She has expertise in the affordable housing sector/ecosystem and has worked in positions across the private, public, and non-profit sectors. Having lived and worked extensively in Asia, Emma possesses substantial knowledge and experience of the regional housing landscape.
A well- established communicator, employing five languages, with excellent interpersonal and people management skills, she brings international experience to Trellis as one of our key board members.

ALI MUKHTAR -- BOARD MEMBER

Serial Investor with more than 7 years of experience. Ali Mukhtar is the founder and CEO of Fatima Ventures, a progressive venture capital fund established in 2014, with the vision to support the startup ecosystem of Pakistan. Under his leadership, Fatima Ventures has partnered with Gobi Partners to launch Fatima Gobi Ventures and has invested in leading technology startups including Airlift, Tajir, Safepay, Abhi and Sasta Ticket among others.
Ali is an Advisory Board Member of National Incubation Centre Lahore, a joint venture between Fatima Ventures, Lahore University of Management Sciences and Ignite. He also serves as a board member at Trellis Housing Finance Ltd.

ZAFAR IQBAL SOBANI -- BOARD MEMBER

He brings with him 40 years of in-depth experience in the manufacturing, power sector and audit profession in Pakistan and in the Middle East. Currently, he is on the Board of Privatization Commission of Pakistan, Karachi Water and Sewerage Board, Zephyr Power Limited, TRG (Pakistan) Limited, Primus Leasing Limited, IT Minds and Hadron Solar. During his career, he has worked with House of Habib in the areas of New Project Development and Real Estate Management. He also led the power sector of the country as CEO of Hubco and Liberty Power Tech. Majority of his career was associated with Century Paper & Board Mills Limited, a part of Lakson Group, overseeing various business functions and activities. He has been the President of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) and served actively in council and regional committee in various capacities. He also worked with A.F. Ferguson & Co. (a member firm of PwC) in Pakistan and Ernst and Young, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Management Team

JAMSHED H. MEHERHOMJI -- CEO/CO-FOUNDER

10 years experience at J.P. Morgan. Most recently head of Liquidity Product Management. Pioneered the banks IS Cash & Liquidity Data Analytics Program. Has experience running large Liquidity portfolios & strategic transformation agendas.

SAM HJELMFELT -- CTO/CO-FOUNDER

Broad technical experience from infrastructure to front-end design with an emphasis on open source, cloud-native, big data, AI & blockchain.

ZAIN SHARIF, CFA,FRM -- CHIEF RISK OFFICER

Broad technical experience from infrastructure to front-end design with an emphasis on open source, cloud-native, big data, AI & blockchain.

SOHAIL AUSAF -- CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Sohail is a Fellow Chartered Accountant (ICAEW,UK) and Associate. Member Corporate Treasurer (ACT,UK) with 20 years’ post qualification experience spent mostly in a strategic and decision making roles in the Industry. Exposure to C-level roles with Etisalat Telecom and Union Properties in UAE.

ZAID NAVEED, CPA -- HEAD OF PRODUCT

A highly qualified and accomplished Finance and Accounting professional who is a former Investment Banker and Financial Strategist at HBL. He has almost 10 years of diversified experience working with organisations in Canada, Bahrain and Pakistan across multiple domains in the financial services, construction, audit and advisory sectors.

USMAN MAHMUD -- HEAD OF INTERNAL AUDIT AND REGULATORY COMPLIANCE

Usman Mahmud is a Certified Forensic Auditor (AFIA, Canada) and holds a Masters degree in Banking & Finance. Over 14 years of diversified experience in Internal audit and Compliance advisory roles, Usman has worked with top tier banks and MSBs both in Pakistan and UAE. With a blend of expertise in regulatory compliance, risk-based audits, AML-CFT controls and operational risk management, Usman leads the Internal Audit and Compliance functions at THFL.

MUHAMMAD SHAHID -- COMPANY SECRETARY

Muhammad Shahid has more than a decade of experience in dealing with Corporate governance, Policy Issues, Research and Development in the areas pertaining to Financials Services, Capital markets, investment banking, development economics and regulatory regimes. Shahid has been involved in different assignment with World Bank and Asian Development Bank pertaining to capacity building projects. Before joining Trellis Housing Finance limited, he worked with Bank Alfalah, in SME & Commercial department in retail banking.

External Advisor

Partner at Riaa Barker Gillette. Extensive experience of structuring financial solutions & can drive legal execution.

MUFTI MUHAMMAD IBRAHIM ESSA -- SHARIAH ADVISOR

Shariah Scholar, Member of Darul Ifta Jamiah Darul Uloom Karachi. Chairman Shariah Board–Zarai Taraqiyati Bank Limited and Member Shariah Board at Habib Metropolitan Bank Limited and The Bank of Khyber. Shariah Advisor to a number of national and international Islamic Financial Institutions including Atrium Underwriting Syndicate-Lloyds of London, Craft 3 investment U.S.A., EFU Life Assurance Ltd, EFU General, Allianz EFU etc.