Saquib is the Managing Director for SAP in Pakistan. SAP is the market leader in enterprise application software. Since joining SAP in 2017, Saquib has significantly expanded SAP’s footprint in Pakistan, exceeding growth targets and hiring local talent to enable the digital transformation of customers in both the public and private sectors.
Saquib Ahmad has nearly 20 years “experience in delivering innovation and driving business value for customers in the Information Technology and Telecommunications industry in the region. Prior to joining SAP, Saquib was Director of Sales & Business Development for Oracle. In this role, he was responsible for a sales team that qualified and built business opportunities in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He introduced new applications to these markets and strengthened Oracle’s relationships with key clients.
Previously, Saquib was the Country Director, Pakistan and Afghanistan, for Comptel, where he determined the sales, partner and business strategies to optimize revenue, order intake and cost of sale. Saquib began his career with Nokia-Siemens, where he held a variety of roles, culminating in him being named Director of Sales, Middle East.
Saquib holds a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Management and Technology in Lahore and a Bachelor’s of Engineering in Telecommunication and Electronics from the University of Engineering and Technology in Lahore, and was recognized with the Aizza-e-Sabqat presidential award for academic excellence.
Q) As-Salaam-Alaikum Mr. Saquib Ahmad. Can you tell us a bit about yourself and what you have planned in this field or exactly in Sap?
A) Let me give you a bit of my background. I am by default a Lahori, born in Lahore from where I did my schooling, then onto Government College, Lahore.
I did my Electrical Engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology in Lahore and eventually landed a dream job in Siemens. I was immediately sent out to Siemens Germany where I worked in field of networks for 2½ years, thereafter I was sent to Siemens Spain where I did the same. I started my career working in these two countries for almost 5 years.
Then I came back to Pakistan as Head of Services for Siemens in the domain of intelligent networks, this continued till the middle of 2004/2005 when the two new licenses for telecom network of Telenor and Warid was brought out. I did the telecom account for Siemens for almost five years till 2010, then I worked as Head of Sales for the Middle East, East region which was a very interesting. There I was heading Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Oman and Palestine for almost 2 years.
Till 2012, I remained with Siemens and Nokia Siemens networks. By that time, I had worked for these giants for almost 14 years, but remained unsure whether I was a good salesman. So saying goodbye to Siemens and joined a Finnish IT company called Comptel which at that time did not have any office or any employees in Pakistan, it was like a startup venture. My family was also a bit worried, but I told them I wanted to test myself and see if I could undertake business development from zero or not. I worked there for almost 4½ years. We managed to do multi-million business in just 4 years and also made a delivery center in Pakistan.
After working for 4½ years, it was clear that this was the company I had wanted. But to provide space for people to grow I had to move to another direction. I joined Oracle, remained there for one year heading their telecom business for the region. Then I came to SAP as their Managing Director for the last 1½ years, looking after Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Q) What services SAP or its integral partner provide in Pakistan?
A) SAP is a complete eco-system. A majority of the people call this company “SAP” whereas we call it “SAP,” where each letter has its own meaning. SAP is a company that makes life easier for people, this is our vision and our motto, and it is very interesting to relate this vision to our day to day life. It is very easy for me to give examples of global companies like PepsiCo, Nestle, Procter and Gamble, and say they are all running on SAP.
In January last year Mr. Ikram Sehgal, Chairman of your company was also part of a big forum in Davos, Switzerland. Lunch was hosted by former U.S. President Bush for all the top technology companies like Google, Apple, Microsoft, etc. and SAP was also part of the lunch. President Bush asked all the twenty CEOs present to give a 3 minute long sales pitch about their company. When it was the turn of the CEO of Sap he told Bush that he did not need 3 minutes to explain what his company does, that 15 seconds would suffice what is the impact that we have. He said that out of the top 20 companies present at the lunch 18 of these companies run on Sap, that is the impact we have.
We are also in constant and in-depth discussions with the Pakistan government about how SAP can help the government of Pakistan in digitally transforming and enhancing government services, economic growth and diversification, and job creation, as well.
Let me tell you what SAP can do. When you wake up in the morning and brush your teeth, when you walk down to kitchen and use drink tea, or walk to your garage and use your locally made car, many of these systems are running on the SAP system.
Four years ago, government pensioners had to stand in long queues for hours to get their pension from banks. Today, their pensions are deposited directly into their bank accounts. All of the systems at the Controller General of Accounts is running on SAP’s systems. If you go to the energy sector, many utility providers run on SAP’s systems. In the automobile sector, Hyundai Nishat and many manufacturers, their plants are running on SAP’s systems. The same is the case in the textile sector where almost the entire industry is on SAP’s systems. I can go on and on, the fact being that the SAP system is a part and parcel of all businesses.
Q) Which technological fields and areas are most likely to see increased investment in the next two years?
A) Pakistan is in a very interesting situation at this point in time having just got past elections. Right now there is lot of focus at this time on the changes that we are talking about in terms of how the government will fare, how money is important so how we can save money for the country as well. Right now there is a lot of investment coming in the public sector and we are working with the government very closely on how we can save money for the government and make life easy for the people. Right now, a lot of money is coming in the public sector, and we see a lot of investment coming into the public sector and the energy sector. Power has always been a major issue for Pakistan and I think there will be a lot of investment in the energy sector’s digital transformation.
Q) Who are your competitors?
A) I have already dwelt upon the different industries and how we touch the lives of people in different ways. The competition is everywhere, but frankly I would not call them “competitors”, the reason being they are all trying to help make life easier for the people. If by competitor, you are referring to those who make the same type of software as we do, the fact is that they are valuable for the industry and valuable for the people. All of us are working and helping each other to make sure that the best value comes to the people. Rather than calling them “competitors,” I would like to call them our “industry partners” as we share the same aim.
Q) Who are your integral partners?
A) Let me give you some names because we are working with many big partners like Microsoft, Siemens, IBM, EY (formerly Ernst & Young), who are all our partners in this eco system that Sap brings. We also have a lot of local companies like Abacus, Jaffer Brothers, Multilinks, etc. You start naming companies, and I can name many partners.
Q) Is there any firm that has transformed in any way with the help of Sap?
A) Let me give you some examples, I am giving this interview in Karachi where one of the most talked about companies is K-Electric which is running on Sap system and are trying to improve day by day. One of the giants company where our financial comes from is ENGRO which is running completely on Sap system. You talk about Aisha Steel, Ambreli Steel, Agha Steel, Hilal Foods, National Food, they all run on Sap system. We have an impact, an impact on the food that you cook, we have an impact on the clothes you wear and an impact on all the eco system out there.
Q) SAP has integration with other modules as well as other databases. Oracle did not have this feature previously, and SAP had a bigger and heavier hand on customers with Oracle. New ability to integrate now, is SAP been able to compete on this edge?
A) It is linked to your previous question about competition. All these companies bring a certain brand value, all have brand recognition and have good products to offer, so let us not degrade any of them.
At the end of the day, we as Pakistanis have to make sure we make the best out of what these companies have to offer. As MD of SAP Pakistan, I have two very clear roles: offering the best possible software solutions and digital transformation for the benefit of the people of Pakistan, and to get good business results in the country.
We are also running our Young Professional Program in Karachi and Lahore, where we take about 30 professionals from different universities, and give them 3 months of training free of charge from international trainers. We also have an Academy Graduate Program where we take the top talents, send them to America for 6-8 months training, and they come back and work for us. We have taken out teachers from schools, sent them to Germany, trained them so that they can give the best information to students. We are part and parcel of the eco-system as all other companies are. It is not a question of war between competitors. Every company is doing good work. As far as SAP is concerned, it is growing like anything at this time in Pakistan, it is doing very well, the kind of sales that we achieved, the people that we carry, it is all going in the right direction.
Q) What makes your company different from other companies?
A) People. The one thing that differentiates us is how proudly we say that this company has got the best people, the best available quality in the market, every person and every team in our team is a marvel in itself, like institutions. We don’t have to guide them and the only job I have to do is to keep them connected together.
Q) How to reverse the flight of invaluable human resources?
A) No human resource is invaluable. Every human resource has value. When I was growing up in the corporate world, the procurement people were always questioning and never appeared to be positive about anything. But with time, when I came to this Managing Director position, I started to realize the value of each human and the characteristic they have. I realized that if procurement does not behave in this way, they will not be able to give the best for their company. Every human has value and as leaders we have to make sure they are able to use the best value to the best of their ability.
Q) What measures do you think Pakistan can take against rising unemployment?
A) What assets do we have? It is Human Resources. But many of us do not how to train people or how they can best use their ability. I think it is the responsibility for each of us as a leader in a company, as an individual, as a human, as a Pakistani, to make sure that we provide them with the right sort of training, and then get them to utilize it in the right ecosystem. Often, companies train people, and then forget about them thinking our job is done. We need to make sure young talent are adjusted in the right eco-system, with the right customers, the right partners, so that they are able to get the chance to prove themselves.
Q) Key challenges facing senior management or businesses in Pakistan?
A) First of all, one of the key challenges is to change the image of Pakistan in a much more positive way, I think we still need to work on our image which will be a continuous and constant effort. The other challenge is that we as a country need to drive economic growth and diversification. We have an excellent group of people, excellent resources out there, and an excellent group of the new centennial generation that is coming up where the way of working is different.
Growing up I used to see parents working in the government sector, going to the same office for years and years. Now, the way of working has become quite different, people are working from home, working for 6 months in one company, for 6 months in another firm and the whole scenario has changed. We need to get ready for this because we are not competing with people in Karachi or even in Pakistan, we are competing with somebody who is sitting in Silicon Valley, in India, or even in Sri Lanka. The entire scenario of how you can do work has changed.
Q) What are the top benchmarks for senior management who have created long term value of their company?
A) As senior leaders, we need to create systems and we need to create structures. If you are creating cultures that are dependent on a single individual, you are not a leader because you are creating individual humans, but not creating a structure where the whole team can work. One thing that I feel strongly about is that we should build structures so that people can come and go in these structures, and “the machine” should run efficiently, and remain the same.
Q) How do you see your company changing?
A) SAP has changed a lot! I joined on 15 May 2017, which seems like an eternity ago, now but in fact is only a one year and half year. SAP Pakistan is considered to be a growth company in our Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan geography. We have been doing some amazing work in terms of the local setup where we have had many new customers.
One interesting thing that we do is we do is take care of those who work in our companies. This does not mean we just pay them salary or provide the right environment. For example, we have “family days” twice a year, we also have “Kids Day” when we bring them into our offices and take them to the spot where their mother, brother, father, or sister sits in the office. They relate to the people they meet, then the kids, spouses, etc. get much more comfortable.
What we must understand is that we do not treat employees like a product. To get the best out of our employees, we treat them like people with whom one can connect and relate. One time, I was sitting with the wives of my employees, and I told them that there would be days when their husbands would be coming home late, and there would be late-night calls, this was part of their job. I told them that “You can help me out.” This is the kind of connection that we have with our people and their families.
Q) How would you define your leadership?
A) It is interesting especially when you are coming from grassroots level. I remember starting my job on the first day in Siemens when I was waiting for a visa in Islamabad. I come from the background of a government servant, as such money was not one of the key stakes that I used to have. I had shifted to Islamabad and rented a small flat in a market for Rs.2000, this was not far back. I used to travel by public vans that took almost forty minutes to reach my office. Riding in the van, I see would flashy cars passing by and dreamt about them, hoping that one day I would get an opportunity when my life would take a turn. This happened every day as I travelled in the vans thinking about my dreams. Of course, everyone has such dreams, and everyone works hard. But luck matters and when you get a chance you have to avail it. One of my mottos is, “If something can be done by somebody else, why not by me?”
Q) What are your quick-win strategies?
A) We always talk about low-hanging fruit. We also talk about “quick win” strategies and how we can hire someone and get results quickly. But this is not how sales happens. When you talk about sales, sales is about people. When I meet with a customer, I am not there because I am the MD of SAP. I want to meet a person with whom I can see eye to eye, and decide if I can trust this person or not.
For example I know an insurance representative who has been with me for 15 years. I trust this representative because I know him, and I know he will fix my problem. Now let me ask you a question: Which shampoo do you use and where do you buy this from? (Interviewer’s reply: “L’Oreal, I buy this from a superstore.”) Why do you buy it from the same store? (Interviewer’s reply: “Because I am comfortable with it.”) Okay, so you are comfortable with the shop, although you can buy this product from any corner shop. Because you know if something bad happens they will replace this every time. This is the trust issue. This is the sales process of every human buying the shampoo trust. Everyone wants to trust the machinery that is offering the product, and that trust makes all the difference.
Q) How to foster leadership at all levels?
A) I am in my mid-forties and I have almost 20 years of experience. When I started my career, I used to compete with my class fellows, who were a few years younger than myself. Today, I am competing with people who are 10 years younger than me, because the technology has taken some part of the experience.
The young ones are better-equipped today with technology and we must make sure the younger generation is well-equipped to be leaders. A leader is someone who can get the best out of a person, and know that this guy will be able to grow up to be successful. We need to provide the whole mechanism and a whole process for our team. For example, I am working on a campaign right now for my team that there should be social media campaigns for all of my employees, not just for my top management. I hate the word “top management” because for me, every person working on the team is a management employee. We need to make sure that the employee who joined 10 days ago, or the employee with 10 years of experience, should be branded in the right possible way, and that is the only way to create a high-performing team.
Q) Any message or advice for the young generation’s entrepreneur?
A) My advice to the young generation is absolutely clear which comes from the call given by the Quaid-e-Azam You have to try, and you never give up. I have seen instances where people have just given up very quickly. One should never give up regardless of whatever age one might be. You can achieve something great at 60 years, or even get great results at the age of 20.
My eldest son, he is trying to become the youngest university graduate ever. He says that at the age of 14, he had done his O-levels. He is 15 now, and doing his A-levels. By 16½ years he says he will be in an Ivy League university, by the age of 19 he will be out of the university, and at 20 he will be starting his career. Just look at this generation! When I was 20, I was still thinking which career and path to choose and what I would do with my Engineering background. But this is the kind of trend the youth have today. We must tell them to be patient and to manage them in the right direction. These youth run so fast sometimes, I fear at times they tend to become discouraged quickly. We must tell them that the journey ahead is long, and that patience is a virtue.
