Lahore (NUT – DESK)
Muhammad Azfar Ahsan is a visionary and an avant-garde change advocate based out of Pakistan. He has invested over two decades in connecting businesses and thought leaders from around the world, studying the art of politics as a non-partisan political analyst, encouraging dialogue imperative to influencing narratives on matters of global significance, indulging in philanthropic endeavors, and creating opportunities for many.
Azfar is the founder of CORPORATE PAKISTAN GROUP (CPG), which represents the elite of Pakistan’s national intelligentsia, including corporate and business leaders, ministers, senators, governors, federal secretaries, politicians, distinguished academicians, energy experts, tech entrepreneurs, defense personnel, police officers, foreign policy experts, media practitioners, and the movers and shakers of civil society.
Azfar also established the Nutshell Group, of which he is the Founder CEO. Under the auspices of the Group, he initiated the Nutshell Forum (www.nutshellconferences.com), a conference management and training resource organization of international repute, that has organized more than four hundred national and international conferences, seminars, training workshops, and dialogues in Pakistan, Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Dubai, and Bahrain. He conceived and implemented Pakistan’s biggest corporate event ‘LEADERS IN ISLAMABAD BUSINESS SUMMIT’ (www.leadersinislamabad.com), an annual conference in Islamabad that attracts global leaders from diverse backgrounds as speakers and participants.
Azfar has hosted over 3,000 foreign delegates in Pakistan, including, among others, global CEOs, senior executives, ministers, academicians from Ivy League universities, and thought & knowledge leaders from 35 countries over the last 21 years. Responding to the requirements of the corporate sector in Pakistan, Azfar set up Nutshell Communications (www.nutshellcommunications.net), a strategic communications firm, with the intent to assist clients in implementing result-orientated communication plans and organize strategic engagements to play a positive role in charting the direction for relevant industries and businesses. He is also the Founder & CEO of Nutshell Solutions (www.nutshellsolutions.net), a purpose-driven, innovative, and impact-focused organization, committed to providing premium and multi-faceted Human Capital Management Solutions.
In December 2020 the US State Department selected and featured Azfar in the list of eighty selected alumni of the International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) out of 225,000 participants from around the globe. In 2019, the Canada Pakistan Business Council, in recognition of his services, conferred Azfar with the ‘Global Outreach Award’ which was presented to him at their Annual Gala and Awards Night in Toronto, Canada, in the presence of 500 Canadian nationals and Pakistani diaspora. He was also bestowed with the ‘Entrepreneur of the Year Award’ by the Organization for Pakistani Entrepreneurs of North America (OPEN) in 2014, in recognition of his contribution, commitment, performance, exemplary work ethic, and dedication in the event management sector.
Azfar is a Member of the Board of Directors of the Institute of Financial Markets of Pakistan, a subsidiary of Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), RYTS Global (Rytsglobal.com), and Make-A-Wish Foundation Pakistan. He is a Member of the Advisory Board of the Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital project in Karachi and Vice-President of the Marketing Association Pakistan, an apex body of marketing in Pakistan. He also served as the Chairman of MARCON, Pakistan’s flagship marketing event, in 2009. Over the last twenty years, Azfar has managed dozens of community projects all over Pakistan in the fields of health and education.
He is affiliated with several professional organizations, including the Pakistan US Alumni Network, OPEN, International Federation for Training & Development Organizations (IFTDO), and English-Speaking Union of Pakistan. Azfar has also initiated work on publishing a book titled “PAKISTAN: Charting Its Untapped Potential,” to change perceptions and narrate Pakistan’s untold story.
Muhammad Azfar Ahsan specializes in image marketing, stakeholder engagement, public advocacy, conference management, corporate & business collaborations, and management of non-profit organizations.
