CERP - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- CEO at the Center for Economic Research
- Executive Associate to CEO
Aamna Tariq is the Executive Associate to CEO at the Center for Economic Research in Pakistan. She has previously worked as an Executive Assistant for COO in FINCA Microfinance Bank. Aamna holds a Bachelor's Degree in Medical Assistance from UNCG North Carolina and she is also a Certified Nurse from High Point North Carolina.
Job Titles:
- Senior Research Associate
- Senior Research Associate at the Center for Economic Research
Ahmad Ayub is the Senior Research Associate at the Center for Economic Research in Pakistan. He has previously worked as a Research Associate at the Economics Department of the Lahore University of Management Sciences and the University of Oxford on their joint project "Asset-based Finance for Micro enterprises in Pakistan". Ahmad holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).
Ahmad Mustafa is a Program Manager within the Tax Unit at CERP. He has been engaged with CERP since 2018 when he joined as a Research Assistant on the Tax Unit. At CERP, he has also led the Trust & Compliance Project and served as the Operations Manager for the Covid-19 advisory engagement with the Punjab government (SCALE), where he coordinated Pakistan's first Covid-19 smart testing initiative. The SCALE report, which Ahmad co-authored, can be viewed here.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Mustafa worked in various capacities for elected officials in the United States at the local, state and federal levels, including a stint in the 2016 presidential election. He studied Political Science at the University of Chicago, where he was active in the Institute of Politics, and completed high school from Phillips Academy, Andover.
Job Titles:
- Senior Analytics Associate
Job Titles:
- Research Associate
- Research Associate at the Center for Economic Research
Aiman Farrukh is a Research Associate at the Center for Economic Research in Pakistan. She has previously worked as a Research Assistant at the Center for Research in Economics and Business (CREB, Lahore School of Economics), where she was involved in the education project on government colleges for women and multiple public sector projects based on bureaucracy in Pakistan. She's currently working with Muhammad Haseeb (PhD candidate, University of Warwick) on a research paper that examines the impact of social movement participation on the economic outcomes of women. Her research interest lies in the field of development economics, with a particular focus on gender. Aiman holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics and Management and, a Master's in Philosophy, majored in Economics, from the Lahore School of Economics (LSE).
Job Titles:
- Assistant
- Assistant, Analytics at the Center for Economic Research
Ali Naim Butt is the Assistant, Analytics at the Center for Economic Research in Pakistan. Previously he was working with the Women's Mobility Project and the Education Project at CERP.He is also a graduate student at Rutgers,The State University of New Jersey pursuing Masters of Public Informatics (MPI) with a specialisation in social policy and data analysis.
Mr. Butt holds a Bachelor's in Computer Science from NUST.
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate, Quality Control
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Co - Founder and Board Member of the Center for Economic Research
Asim Ijaz Khwaja the co-founder and board member of the Center for Economic Research in Pakistan (CERP). He is the Sumitomo-Foundation for Advanced Studies on International Development Professor of International Finance and Development at the Harvard Kennedy School and Co-Director of Evidence for Policy Design (EPoD). Starting July 1, 2019, he will serve as director of the Center for International Development (CID) at Harvard University.
His areas of interest include economic development, finance, education, political economy, institutions, and contract theory/mechanism design. Dr. Khwaja's research combines extensive fieldwork, rigorous empirical analysis, and microeconomic theory to answer questions that are motivated by and engage with policy. He has been published in the leading economics journals, such as the American Economic Review, and the Quarterly Journal of Economics, and has received coverage in numerous media outlets such as the Economist, NY Times, Washington Post, International Herald Tribune, Al-Jazeera, BBC, and CNN. His recent work ranges from understanding market failures in emerging financial markets to examining the private education market in low-income countries.
Dr. Khwaja received BS degrees in economics and in mathematics with computer science from MIT and a PhD in Economics from Harvard. He was selected as a Carnegie Scholar in 2009 to pursue research on how religious institutions impact individual beliefs. He was born in London, U.K., lived for eight years in Kano, Nigeria, the next eight in Lahore, Pakistan, and for the past several years in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He continues to enjoy interacting with people around the globe.
Job Titles:
- Field Manager
- Field Coordinator in Education Project at the Center for Economic Research
Attefaq Ahmad is the Field Coordinator in Education project at the Center for Economic Research in Pakistan. He has previously worked as a Regional Supervisor for wi-tribe broadband Internet Service Provider on Customer Care, Retention, and Recovery and Inbound/Outbound Call center Projects. Attefaq holds a Bachelor's degree in Arts from the Punjab University (PU), and a Master's degree in Project Management from the National Collage of Business Administration & Economics (NCBAE).
Job Titles:
- Field Coordinator
- Field Associate
Azam Nazir is a Field Coordinator on the Social Compact team. He completed his DAE (Civil Engineering) from Govt. College of Technology (Raiwind) Lahore in 2016. His responsibilities involve coordinating with the Research Team to help with implementation in the field, supervising all surveying activities, and recording data obtained from field activities. His research interests include social welfare, finance, and survey management. Prior to joining CERP, Azam worked in the Communications & Works Department of the Govt. of Punjab as an Assistant sub-Engineer.
Bakhtawar Ali is a Project Manager at CERP (Centre for Economic Research in Pakistan). He holds a bachelor's degree in Mathematics and a master's degree in Applied Statistics from the University of Punjab, Pakistan. In his postgraduate education, Bakhtawar graduated with a perfect GPA and was awarded an Honorary Gold Model by the Chief Minister on account of his 1st Position in the State. He previously worked with Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) and Pakistan Television Network (PTV). He is currently working with the Government of Pakistan and Precision Agricultural Development's (PAD). His research interests are in political economy and development economics.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Board of Directors
Basit Zafar is an applied microeconomist. His research is focused on labor economics, economics of education, and household finance. Specifically, his work seeks to understand how individuals make decisions under uncertainty. Professor Zafar's research employs a disparate set of empirical methods and techniques, including the use of subjective expectations data and experimental data.
He received his Ph.D. from Northwestern University in 2008, and his B.Sc from Caltech. Before joining the faculty at Michigan, he held positions at Arizona State University and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Board of Directors
Dilnaz Avari teaches Business Studies at Cedar College. For the past fifteen years, she taught Business Studies at The Lyceum School. Additionally, she has conducted various Cambridge International Examination training courses for teachers, and the Duke of Edinburgh Awards Programme in Pakistan.
She actively engages in charitable and philanthropic activities. Dilnaz is on the Board of Trustees of Empowering Communities for Change (ECC) which seeks to uplift the lives of underprivileged communities through education, women's health and hygiene, and community welfare and rehabilitation. Dilnaz is also a member of the Board of Governors of the Professional Education Foundation, whose objective is to alleviate poverty through Professional Education.
Dilnaz received her Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the Institute of Business Administration (IBA).
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Board Member at the Center of Economic Research
Dr. Ali Cheema is one of the founding members and a current board member at the Center of Economic Research in Pakistan (CERP). He is also an Associate Professor of Economics (currently on leave) and a former head of the economics department (2004-2007) at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Lahore, Pakistan. He is also a Senior Research Fellow at IDEAS. Dr. Cheema has extensive experience in research and policy work in the areas of political economy, governance, the applied economics of crime and social protection, skills and the labour market. He was a member of the Initiative of Policy Dialogue (IPD), Columbia University, Task force on Decentralization and was one of the founding members of the Stockholm Challenge Award winning portal, Relief Information System for Earthquakes, Pakistan (RISEPAK). His recent work includes large-scale impact evaluations of vocational training for poverty reduction programs in Punjab and the relationship between criminal incidence and labour market outcomes in Pakistan.
A Rhodes Scholar, Dr. Cheema holds a BA (Honors) degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford, and a BA in Mathematics and Statistics from Government College, Lahore. He received his MPhil in Economics and Politics of Development, and a Doctorate in Economics from the University of Cambridge.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Professor
Dr. Atif Mian is a co-founder and board member at CERP. He is currently Professor of Economics at the Princeton University. He holds a bachelors degree in Mathematics and a Ph.D. in Economics from MIT. Prior to joining Princeton in 2012, he taught at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Chicago. His research studies links between financial markets and the macro economy and emphasises the role played by political, governance, and organisational constraints in shaping the effectiveness and scope of financial markets. His more recent work centers on understanding the origins of the global financial crisis, the political economy of government intervention in financial markets, and the link between asset prices, household borrowing, and consumption.
Professor Mian's work has appeared in top Economics and Finance journals, including the American Economic Review, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Journal of Finance, Review of Financial Studies and Journal of Financial Economics. His work has also been profiled by leading media outlets such as The Economist and The Wall Street Journal.
Duaa Baig is a Research Assistant on the Women's Mobility Program at CERP. She has previously worked as a Research Assistant at the Economics Department of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), aiding research on child nutrition and improving food insecurity in Pakistan. Duaa holds a Bsc (Hons.) in Economics from the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). She is an aspiring public development professional and her interests include development issues relating to health, gender and political economy.
Faisal's responsibilities as the administrative and Finance officer involve operational activities including office management and procurement, HR and processing of payments. Previously, he worked the Conservation & Rehabilitation Centre (CRC) as the accounts officer where he prepared the budgets and maintained financial documents and interim reports for various projects; including the Environmental Rehabilitation and Heritage Conservation of the Uch Monuments at Bahawalpur. He also has experience working as an Assistant Audit Officer with M/S Khawaja Tanawwur & Co. (Chartered Accountants). Faisal is a Bachelor of Commerce graduate from the University of Punjab.
Job Titles:
- District Coordinator, TIP
Job Titles:
- Senior Research Associate
Job Titles:
- Senior Research Associate
Job Titles:
- Associate at the Centre for Economic Research
- Research Development Associate
Ghada Qureshi is a Research Development Associate at the Centre for Economic Research in Pakistan. She has previously worked at the European Cultural Foundation in Amsterdam on ECF Pilot Projects, specifically the European Union ‘Displaced in Media' project, working for the self-representation of migrants and refugees in the mainstream media. She has worked at various non-profits and media organisations, also heading cultural analysis on the Editorial Board at Daily Times. Ghada graduated with a BSc in Anthropology and Sociology from Lahore University of Management Sciences in 2015 and an MSc in Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology, specialising in Policy in Practice, from Leiden University, Netherlands in 2018. Her Master's thesis was an ethnography on international Muslim students, researching diversity policy, integration, norms, and self identification, it is currently taught at Leiden University.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Manager - Human Resources
Ghania Suhail is the Teaching, Development & Capacity Building Associate at the Centre for Economic Research in Pakistan. Her work entails deploying CERP's teaching offerings to build capacity of civil servants, researchers and managers in both private and public sector in using data and evidence to make policy decisions. Part of her work focuses on relationship management with new and existing stakeholders as well as refining existing and developing new teaching products.
Ghania has previously worked for Pakistan Microfinance Network, Children's Global Network - Pakistan and English Time (Turkey). She completed her BSc. in Economics from NUST Business School and is a MSc. in Economics from Anadolu University, Turkey.
Hamza is a graduate of COMSATS University where he studied Software Engineering. He always had an interest in developing Mobile and Web Applications which led him to learn technologies like ReactJS and React Native. Hamza enjoys being challenged as he believes it leads to growth. He likes to learn new technologies and tools, and work on projects that can lead to his growth as a developer.
Hareem Fatima is the Research Assistant on the Women's Mobility Program at the Center for Economic Research in Pakistan (CERP). Hareem has previously interned twice at CERP and has been interested in pursuing research as an undergraduate student. Hareem holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics and Statistics from Forman Christian College (A Chartered University).
Job Titles:
- Senior Research Associate
Job Titles:
- Project Manager
- Project Manager With Precision Agriculture for Development
Hassan Ammar is a Project Manager with Precision Agriculture for Development (PAD) at the Centre for Economic Research in Pakistan. He has previously worked as an Education Coordinator at the United Nations Association of Greater Philadelphia (UNAGP), where he spearheaded the Education and Outreach Program. He has also served as an Education Coordinator at the Philadelphia Global Water Initiative (PGWI), raising awareness about global water and sanitation issues.
Mr. Ammar holds two degrees from the University of Pennsylvania: a Master's degree in Environmental Studies and a Bachelor's Degree in Economics and
Job Titles:
- Research Assistant
- Senior Research Associate
Hijab Tahir is the Research Assistant on Women's Mobility Project at Center for Economic research in Pakistan. She has previously worked as a Field Researcher on the same project. She recently graduated in Economics from Forman Christian College (A Chartered University). Her main areas of interest are development economics, poverty, and gender.
Ibrahim Khan is a part of the Punjab Economic Opportunities Program (PEOP) at the Center for Economic Research in Pakistan. He has previously worked as a Research Assistant at the Institute of Development and Economic Alternatives (IDEAS).
Mr. Khan holds a Masters Degree in Public Policy Research Methods from the University of Chicago and completed his Bachelor's in Economics and Mathematics from the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).
Job Titles:
- Senior Research Associate
Jamshed Ahmed is the Senior Research Associate on Targeted Instruction program (TIP) at CERP. He has previously worked as a Research Associate with CERP and IDEAS on Political Economy and Service Delivery. He also worked as a Research Assistant at CDPR on a policy brief on Teachers and administrative cadre incentives in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Mr. Ahmed hails from South Waziristan and holds a Master's degree in Economics from Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) and a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Forman Christian College.
Job Titles:
- Program Manager
- Program Manager on the Education Project
Jehanara is a Program Manager on the Education Project at CERP, which works to build a digital platform to foster innovation and target market inefficiencies in Pakistan's education space. Previously, she worked as a strategy analyst in Boston for over 2 years at PTC, a global software company, building a diverse skill set and gaining experience across a variety of functions including Marketing Analytics, Customer Success and Corporate Strategy.
Jehanara holds a BSc in Business Administration from Babson College.
Khawaja Hussain is currently working as a Project Manager on Lending in Agriculture Project at CERP. Hussain has previously worked as Research Associate and Research Assistant on Social Compact Project and Property Tax Project. His primary responsibilities on these projects included rolling out interventions and facilitating design through qualitative and quantitative data analysis.
Hussain holds MPS Marketing from University of Management and Technology and BSc (Hons) in Economics and Finance from Lahore School of Economics.
Job Titles:
- Research and Operations Manager
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Chief Executive Officer ( CEO ) of InfraZamin Pakistan
Maheen Rahman is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of InfraZamin Pakistan. She has over twenty years of experience in investment banking, research, and asset management. In her previous appointment, she served as the Chief Executive of Alfalah GHP Investment Management where, under her leadership, Alfalah Investments has grown to be one of the largest asset management companies in Pakistan. Prior to that, Maheen was the Chief Executive of IGI Funds, during her tenure, IGI Funds turned into a profitable entity from a loss incurring fund. Her other roles include Head of Research at BMA Capital Management, Associate at ABN AMRO Bank, and investment banking analyst at Merrill Lynch. She has the experience of working across multiple geographies during her career.
In addition to her extensive work experience and professional achievements, Maheen holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) degree in Economics from the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) and a Master of Science in Finance and Economics from Warwick Business School in the UK.
Job Titles:
- Senior Research Associate
Maleeha Hameed is currently managing the Education portfolio at CERP comprising LEAPS (Learning and Educational Achievements in Pakistan Schools) program, the FCDO funded Research for Improving Systems of Education (RISE) project, the new post-COVID Targeted Instruction Program (TIP) and several other independent projects.
She graduated with a Bachelors in Economics and Politics from LUMS in 2017 and has since been involved in education research and implementation.
Prior to joining CERP, Maleeha was part of the inaugural team at the LUMS School of Education where she actively contributed to the launch of the the School and its MPhil Education Leadership and Management (ELM) program as well as managed donor and policy engagements. During this time, she also led the implementation of an FCDO-funded project that trained approximately 360 education managers from the District Education Authority (DEA) in 4 districts of Punjab.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Member of the Board of Directors
- President
Maroof A. Syed is the President & CEO of CERP and Non-Resident Fellow, Julis-Rabinowitz Center for Public Policy & Finance, Princeton University, He has over 25 years of entrepreneurship, investment and leadership experience in multiple sectors. He combines academic work in public policy, economics, and engineering with extensive experience in leading organizations and building institutions. Maroof's areas of interest include evidence-based governance, data analytics and decision sciences, political economy, adaptive leadership, and the role of innovation and technology in economic development. Previously, he held senior management positions at various large and start-up technology companies including Broadcom Corporation (formerly Silicon Spice and Element 14), Texas Instruments and Intel Corporation (formerly Dialogic). He also co-founded Karnybo Group which invested in late-stage technology start-up companies (series C/D) including Tesla, Twitter, Facebook, Jawbone, Square and Palantir.
He is the 2017 recipient of the Lucius N. Littauer Award from the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS). He is on the Board of Directors of Pakistan Innovation Foundation (PIF), African Development University ILIMI Foundation (ADU) and the Public Interest Law Association of Pakistan (PILAP). He is a Charter Member of Organisation of Pakistani Entrepreneurs of North America in Boston (OPEN-Boston). Maroof has degrees in Computer Systems Engineering from Rensselaer (RPI) and a Master in Public Administration (MC/MPA) from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Moiz Agha is a Research Associate on the Supporting BISP Project at the Centre for Economic Research in Pakistan. He has previously worked as the Project Coordinator for the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS) 2017-18 and was also the co-author of the PDHS 2017-18 Report. He has also worked previously for Adam Smith International (ASI) on the Punjab Education Sector Programme (PESP) for reforming the public school system in Punjab.
Moiz holds a MSc. in Finance and Economics from the University of Warwick and a BSc. (Hons) in Economics and Finance from Lahore School of Economics (LSE).
Job Titles:
- Government Relations Associate
Mr. Adil Aziz is a Government Relations Associate on Social Compact project at CERP and is currently working on a Punjab Government's Annual Development Programme (ADP) Scheme. Prior to this, he worked as an E-commerce Operations Assistant Manager at Web Mark, United Arab Emirates.His area of interest includes Operations, Supply Chain, Logistics and Public Relations.
Mr. Aziz holds a Master's degree in Operations and Supply Chain Management.
Job Titles:
- Manager, Software Development
Job Titles:
- Deputy Manager, Survey Operations
Job Titles:
- Senior Research Associate
Ibrahim Khan is a part of the Punjab Economic Opportunities Program (PEOP) at the Center for Economic Research in Pakistan. He has previously worked as a Research Assistant at the Institute of Development and Economic Alternatives (IDEAS).
Mr. Khan holds a Masters Degree in Public Policy Research Methods from the University of Chicago and completed his Bachelor's in Economics and Mathematics from the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).
Job Titles:
- Finance Officer
- Senior Associate
Muhammad Tahir Siddique joined CERP as a Finance Officer in January 2017. Prior to joining CERP, he worked at UHY Hassan Naeem & Co. Chartered Accountants and Modern Printing Press, Dubai. He is both an ACCA ( Affiliate, UK ) and a Bachelors in Commerce from the University of Punjab.
Muhammad Zubair Rafique is a Senior Field Coordinator on the Institutional Reform and Women's De Facto Rights in Pakistan Project.
Zubair's expertise are in managing large scale countrywide surveys, assessments and evaluations. He has extensive experience in project management and execution, monitoring, evaluation, field management on research areas such as governance, health, conflict mapping, stakeholders' analysis and women empowerment.
Zubair has a MSc in Economics from International Islamic University, Islamabad.
Job Titles:
- District Coordinator, TIP
Nouman is currently working as a Field Coordinator and aims to pursue PhD in Economics. Prior to joining CERP, Nouman has worked as a Field Researcher for a World Bank-funded project, Impact Evaluation of the Punjab Education Foundation's Foundation Assisted Schools (FAS) Program.
Job Titles:
- Senior Human Resource Associate
Sania Munir became a part of the CERP Management Team as the Human Resources Officer in January 2017. She looked primarily at recruiting, business partnering and strategy. Currently, Sania is an Associate on the team. Before joining CERP, she worked at the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and Ministry of Planning, Development, and Reforms, Islamabad. Sania holds a Bachelor's degree in Management from University of the Punjab, Lahore and an MS degree in Human Resource Management from NUST Business School, Islamabad. Her area of interest and research is based primarily on Strategic Human Resource Management focusing exclusively on alignment. Change Management also interests Sania.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Manager
- Manager, Survey Technical
Sardar Abdullah Mahmood is a Deputy Manager, Survey Technical on the Survey Unit at CERP. Previously, he was working as a Research Associate at the School of Humanities and Social Science at Information Technology University, aiding research on Innovation at the firm level in Pakistan. He also worked as a Finance Associate in USAID`s Firms Project in Pakistan.
Abdullah is a Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA) and holds a Master`s degree in Development Studies from the Information Technology University, Lahore.
Job Titles:
- Senior Research Associate
Job Titles:
- Capacity Building Associate
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder
- Member of the Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Field Coordinator
- Senior Field Manager
Talha Arshad is a Field Coordinator on the State Authority Project. He completed his MSc (Accounting & Finance) from The University of Lahore in 2014. His main duties are in working with Project Coordinator & RAs to help with research study design and translations and assisting Project Team with day to day workings on survey questions, transcriptions, and data entry, where necessary. His research interests include Social Welfare, Finance, and Survey Management. Prior to joining CERP, Talha worked in The Urban Unit as a Field Researcher for Urban Immoveable Property Tax Project.
Tariq Raza completed his undergraduate degree from the Lahore School of Economics, where he earned a B.Sc. (Hons.) with a double major in Economics and Finance. He then acquired his Masters in Economics (Finance) from the University of Edinburgh. He started his career by working at Lahore based consultancy firms where he assisted the team in project analysis, contract negotiations, client-interfacing and process development for startup ventures. Later he joined the Lahore School of Economics as a Research Associate on an International Growth Centre (IGC) funded project which looked at organizational barriers to the adoption of technology. He is currently working on a project at Center for Economic Research in Pakistan, (CERP) funded by "The Private Enterprise Development in Low-Income Countries", (PEDL) which aims to study the barriers to industrial upgrading