- Founder President USPAK Trade Development Council.
- Secretary Corporate Affairs, America Pakistan Business Development Forum.
- Deputy Convener of FPCCI Central Standing Committee on Corporate Relations & Communication.
- Deputy Parton-in-Chief LEGENDS CUP.
- Chairman Media Affairs for Consumer Association of Pakistan for 2019.
- Executive Council Member of Ronaq-e-Karachi.
- Secretary, All Media Associates for Diplomatic Affairs (AMADA).
- VP World Columnist Club.
- Deputy Patron in Chief at AJ Sports.
- Organizer-Pakistan Property Show (Manchester-UK, Frankfurt-Germany, Paris-France, Houston-USA)
Fate and luck play an important role in a leader’s life. People bring their fate with them. But there are people who are very few who write their own destiny and doesn’t rely on luck, also they don’t allow it to dictate their life. These few people are destined to pave their own future. When talking about changing destiny the name Syed Turab Shah is considered on top among those people.
Q: You are the Director Sale & Marketing Daily Ausaf Group, further you are also acting as a member of various organizations and advertising societies. Tell us about your journey so far?
Syed Turab Shah: I think it has been a long journey. I have been a part of the media industry for more than 33 years now. I started my career in 1986 with Nawa-i-waqt Group (The Nation). From there I moved on to Pakistan Today and worked there for 3 years then I join Pakistan Observer. Finally, I joined Daily Ausaf Group in December 2014 and have been working here ever since then.
ALLAH has been very kind and I can’t thank ALLAH enough for bestowing his blessings upon me. I have also had great friends throughout my life that helped my career and made me the professional. My family has been a great influence and motivation.
Apart from my family, there have been lots of people who influenced my career. Some of them are S.M Muneer bhai jan, Dr. Mirza Ikhtiyar Baig, Late Muneer Qadri GroupM, Mr. Noman Nabi Brand Partnership, with whom I had the privilege of working for over 5 years, Mr. Mohsin Bilal Khan of Ausaf Group, who for the first time gave me an opportunity to work independently and make my mark in the advertising industry. I would be obliged a lot to them. I would also like to acknowledge Late Mr. Masood Hamid who considerably guided me in the early years of my career with The Nation.
Especially, Mr. Arif Nizami has played the most vital role in shaping my professional career. He has guided me in 25 years or so of my career.
Q: Manage multiple tasks at once, how do you deal with these huge tasks?
Syed Turab Shah: Over the years I have learnt the art of multi-tasking. There are different roles I have to manage. One is my full time job as the Director Sales & Marketing & Sales Daily Ausaf Group and the others are honorary roles in different organizations as the different positions.
At Daily Ausaf Group, I lead the group’s revenue function and I am very pleased to say that it has been very satisfying and successful role for me. Besides, I am also the Chairman Media Affairs at Consumers Association of Pakistan and I am Deputy Convener of FPCCI Central Standing Committee on Corporate Relations & Communication. I am also actively involved in pursuing my responsibilities as the Vice President All Media Associates for Diplomatic Affairs. I am also the Secretary Corporate Affairs at America Pakistan Business Development Forum and Founder President USPAK Trade Development Council.
Q: You and your team are rapidly working on innovations. How do you see the era of digital revolution in Pakistan?
Syed Turab Shah: Print Media has always believed in innovation in the industry. Our Group also believes that innovations is the key to achievement and only by continuous innovation we will be able to keep print alive. For those who believe print industry is sleeping, we have been proving them wrong continuously by incorporating new ideas into our newspaper.
We are proud that other newspapers are adopting the same idea now observing its success in Ausaf Group. Our AJK/ GILGIT&PWR stations are leader in this region.
On the digital front, we have reached a DFP premium partnership agreement with Google Inc. and an exclusive partnership with Twitter to work on opportunities to deliver the best content to local and global Pakistani audiences.
Furthermore, we have taken print beyond newspapers by extending the brand to exhibitions, conferences and events. In a year, we have five property expos (Pakistan Property Show) in different countries like GERMANY, PARIS, USA & UK. These are small initiatives that we have taken but we have embarked on a journey of reinvention and would constantly work on cross-media platforms.
Q: What major differences have you noticed since you first stepped into the industry and now?
Syed Turab Shah: First of all, more educated people are entering into the industry now. They have a good understanding of the media as they are trained in the field. When I joined, it was not a career of first choice but now more people are pursuing it as their first choice.
Secondly, more youngster’s boys & girls are attracted towards the profession understanding how much hard work and dedication it requires. With fresh blood coming in the industry now, it will only grow and get improved with time.
