IBA CEE, in collaboration with OPEN Karachi, is hosting a Fireside Chat today with Malik S. Sarwar, Founding Partner and Managing Director at WM, Global Leader Group in the USA, and a Charter Member of OPEN New York, focused on the specific and often understudied challenge of managing family business wealth. The session runs from 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM at IBA Karachi’s City Campus, addressing a topic that sits at the intersection of entrepreneurship and generational continuity, a combination that receives far less structured attention in Pakistan’s business education circles than fundraising, growth strategy, or operational scaling typically do.
The conversation is moderated by Adeel Shahid, Head of the Family Business Program at IBA Karachi, giving the session direct institutional grounding in a subject that IBA has already built dedicated academic infrastructure around. Family businesses account for a substantial share of Pakistan’s private sector economy, yet the mechanics of preserving and growing wealth across generations, balancing family governance with professional management, and avoiding the common pitfalls that fracture family enterprises during ownership transitions remain areas where formal guidance is comparatively scarce relative to their economic importance.
Bringing in Sarwar specifically gives the session an international perspective grounded in direct wealth management practice rather than academic theory alone, since his work at Global Leader Group involves navigating exactly these questions for family enterprises in a US context. His additional standing as a Charter Member of OPEN New York also ties the session into OPEN’s broader global entrepreneurial network, connecting a Karachi audience with perspectives shaped by a different regulatory and economic environment but facing structurally similar challenges around intergenerational wealth transfer.
For attendees, many of whom are likely connected to family-run enterprises themselves given IBA’s strong ties to Pakistan’s business community, the session offers a rare structured opportunity to hear directly from a practitioner on strategies for managing wealth preservation and growth across generations, a conversation that touches on governance, succession planning, and long-term financial stewardship simultaneously. Seats are limited, and those interested can register here ahead of today’s session.
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