Archives: Board of Directors

Mr. Tanveer Ali is Chairman of Constellation Asset Management. He is among the earliest angel investors and startup ecosystem advocates in Bangladesh. With a portfolio of over 15 investments in Bangladesh and more than 60 globally, he has invested in or supported a wide array of Bangladeshi startups, including Pathao, Chaldal, ShopUp, Barikoi, ShareTrip, and Ridmik.

Originally from Toronto, Canada, Mr. Ali has been based in Bangladesh since 2006. He was an Executive Director at Olympic Industries, the largest biscuit manufacturer in Bangladesh, where he oversaw revenue growth from $7 million in 2007 to $260 million in 2023. He also led the launch of the company’s sustainability program and the implementation of SAP ERP.

Mr. Ali holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Waterloo, Canada, and a joint MBA from IE Business School, Spain, and Brown University, USA. He has previously served on the Executive Council of VCPEAB (Venture Capital & Private Equity Association of Bangladesh), the Executive Committee of BAPLC (Bangladesh Association of Publicly Listed Companies), and the Investment Committee of BD Venture. Mr. Ali is also a trustee of the Mubarak Ali Foundation, a trust focused on impactful changes in art, architecture and education in Bangladesh and through the engagement of the Bangladeshi diaspora.

Ferdaus Ara Begum has vast experience of working with the private sector since 1987. A master’s degree holder in economics from the University of Dhaka, she completed her Post-Graduate Diploma in International Economics and Institutions. She received training from AIT, Thailand, on Project Implementation and Management. She attended training on services and international trade law and development in Esami, Arusha and Tanzania. She has previously acted as the In-Charge of the DCCI Research Cell for several years, served as Secretary of the DCCI for some time, and worked as Executive Director of the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry for several years.

She has managed numerous projects and coordinated many national and international programmes, contributing her extensive expertise to the areas of policy research and advocacy, SME development and promotion, research on Multilateral Training System (MTS), project management, women entrepreneurship development, and chamber management. She has also worked for CIPE, ITC, JETRO, GIZ in different capacities.

Mr. Arif Khan is at present the Vice Chairman of Shanta Asset Management. Mr. Khan has played a pivotal role in the field of finance both in public and private sector of Bangladesh and has over 30 years of experience in the financial sectors of Bangladesh.

Prior to joining Shanta Group, he was the Managing Director and Chief Executive of IDLC Finance, where he previously served for 15 years and held key positions, including the role of the deputy managing director. Before joining IDLC as the MD and CEO, Mr. Khan served Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) as a commissioner. During his stint with BSEC he pioneered several reforming initiatives as a capital market regulator under guidance of Honorable Chairman and Ministry of Finance including Stock Exchanges Demutualization, Corporate Governance Code for Publicly Listed Companies, Public Issue Rules, Listing Regulations, Equity Research Rules and many more.

Mr. Khan graduated in Finance and Banking from the University of Dhaka and later completed his MBA from the Institute of Business Administration (IBA). He was the president of Institute of Cost & Management Accountants of Bangladesh and is the founding President of Bangladesh Merchant Bankers’ Association (BMBA) and CFA society, Bangladesh.

Mr. Hafiz Ahmed Chowdhury, at present, Secretary, Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs

He passed SSC from Nawabpur Government High School, Dhaka; HSC from Dhaka College and LL.B (Honors) and LL.M from University of Dhaka successfully. He was also Awarded M.Phil.  from Islamic University, Kushtia and PhD from University of Dhaka. He was enrolled as an Advocate of the District Court and the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh on 16 August, 1994 and 07 March, 1996 respectively. He practiced as an Advocate from 16 August, 1994 to 19 January, 2000 in the District Courts of Bangladesh and the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh respectively.

Later on 20 January, 2000 he joined in the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs as an Assistant Secretary (Drafting) and started his career in the profession of Legislative Drafting. He was later promoted to Senior Assistant Secretary (Drafting), Deputy Secretary (Drafting) and Joint Secretary (Drafting) in the Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division of Ministry of Law, Justice & Parliamentary Affairs. He has been serving as an Additional Secretary (Drafting) (Current Charge) in the Legislative & Parliamentary Affairs Division of the same Ministry from June 27, 2021 till date.

While in service, he has received various short-term and long-term trainings at home and abroad. He has traveled to UK, Canada, Singapore, India, Nepal, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, South Korea, Malaysia, Japan, France, Finland, Philippines, Thailand, China, Hong Kong, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Germany.

In his long service career Mr. Hafiz has participated actively in different meetings, workshops, seminars; regional, bi-lateral and multilateral meetings on different negotiations in the country and abroad.

He attended as a member of delegation of 70^th Session of the Committee on the Child Rights held in Geneva, Switzerland on 15-16 September, 2015 for Consideration of CRC reports submitted by Bangladesh (5^th Periodic reports).  He also attended as a member of delegation of 51^st Session of the Committee on the Child Rights held in Geneva, Switzerland on June 3, 2009 for Consideration of CRC reports submitted by Bangladesh (3^rd and 4^th Periodic reports).

In his personal life he is married and blessed with two daughters. His vision is to serve the nation.  His favourite hobby is reading books and papers.

Ms. Zaheda Parveen is working as Secretary of Cabinet Division of the Government of the Peoples’ Republic of Bangladesh.

She achieved LL.B (Hons) and LL.M from University of Dhaka with distinction. Zaheda Parveen also completed an LL.M in International Economic and Business Law and Master of International Human Resource Management from Kyushu University and Greenwich University, in Japan and the UK respectively. She is a life-member of Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) and member of Bar Council of Bangladesh. Zaheda is a member of BCS (Administration) cadre and belongs to 15^th batch. Throughout her 30 years long career as a civil bureaucrat, she has experience of working at field level; she was posted as Assistant Commissioner in Pabna, Dinajpur and Natore districts. She also served as Assistant Commissioner (Land). Parveen discharged function as Magistrate First Class for nine long years. Zaheda Parveen has also worked at different ministries like Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Public Administration.

Parveen has experience of working at Ministry of Public Administration for over a decade on organizational setup of public organizations and human resource management.

At present she is working as the Wing Chief of Law wing at Cabinet Division, where one of her important duty is working as the Convener of Inter-ministry committee for Draft Legislation. She is a resource person at different training institutions.

Zaheda Parveen has taken part in multiple training programs both at home and abroad. She completed in-service training like Foundation Training course, Advanced Course on Administration and Development (ACAD) and Senior Staff Course (SSC) at Bangladesh Public Administration Training Centre (BPATC). She also attended the Law and Administration Course at BCSAA where she stood first and was adjudged the best trainee. She completed training courses in Central Queensland University and University of New South Wales in Australia on Executive Leadership and Administration. She received training at Rome Business School, Italy on Public Procurement. She attended different conferences in Nairobi, Kenya organized by United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) on environmental legislation, 3R Conference in Tokyo, Japan and Asian Public Governance Forum on Public Innovation Conference in Indonesia and so on.

She is happily married to Mr. A H M Shafiquzzaman, Secretary of Ministry of Labor and Employment and is blessed with one son. During her leisure time, she likes to travel and has been to many countries across four continents such as India, Nepal, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, China, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Kenya, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Netherland and Australia.

Mr. Shish Haider Chowdhury, NDC, MCIPS Joined Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Division as the Secretary on 15 September 2024. Prior to that, he was an Additional Secretary worked as Member (International Cooperation) in the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission under Ministry of Commerce. Mr. Shish Haider Chowdhury is a member of the Bangladesh Civil Service 9^th batch Audit and Accounts Cadre joined in the Service on 26 January 1991. Mr. Chowdhury is an accomplished professional with about 32 years career in various fields combining Public Financial Management, Public Procurement, Project Management, International Cooperation, Trade Facilitation, International Development, WTO matters, and Inter-governmental issues. In his long career, he was posted in different important appointments since beginning namely, Joint Secretary, MOPA; Ministry of Public Administration (MOPA); Director (Joint Secretary), CPTU, IMED; Deputy Secretary, Finance Division; Deputy Secretary, MOPA; Additional CGA (Admin); Director, FAPAD; Finance Controller (Army); Deputy Project Director of IDA TA Project, Economic Relations Division (ERD) etc. Mr. Chowdhury also served in the International Jute Organisation (IJO) a UN affiliated intergovernmental body during 1997- 2002 on lien.

Mr. Shish Haider Chowdhury did his Honours and Masters in Accounting from the Department of Accounting and Information Systems of Dhaka University. After that he did Masters in Business Administration (MBA) major in Finance from the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) of Dhaka University. He got his third Masters in Public Economic Management and Finance from the University of Birmingham of the United Kingdom under DFID Funding. He is undergoing his PhD with area of concentration “External Oversight and Public Financial Management” in Bangladesh University of Professional (BUP). He has obtained his professional degree MCIPS from the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply of the United Kingdom. He did his National Defense Course (NDC) from the National Defense College, the most prestigious Institute of the Armed Forces, with national and international participants. During his extensive professional career, he participated in numerous training programs covering in the areas of Development Administration (DAM, ACAD, SSC and PPMC), Public Finance, Public Procurement, iBAS++, e-GP, Project Management, ICT issues, Trade and Development etc. in Bangladesh, India, UK, USA, Ireland, Netherlands, Italy, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Mauritius etc.

With the prior approval of the Government, Mr. Chowdhury has been teaching in the IBA of Jahangir Nagar University as an adjunct faculty for the last 31 years. He is a professionally qualified public procurement expert and a certified national procurement trainer. He is also professional trainer of public financial management, supply chain management and project management. He has been covering almost all the training academies of the country as a resource person. He has got a number of publications in the national and international peer reviewed journals in the areas of public financial management, supply chain management, aid management and public procurement. Mr. Chowdhury travelled to numerous numbers of countries of the world to attend meetings, conferences, workshops, seminars and other official businesses.

Mr. Shish Haider Chowdhury is happily married, and is the proud father of two sons and a daughter.