Zaved Akhtar, Chairman and Managing Director of Unilever Bangladesh Limited, has been elected the President of Foreign Investors' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) for the tenure of 2024-25. Eric. M. Walker, Managing Director of Chevron Bangladesh, and Yasir Azman, Chief Executive Officer of Grameenphone Limited were elected as the Senior Vice President and Vice President, respectively.  Justice and freedom cannot be ignored for development, says Prof Osmani at BIDS Conference They were elected at FICCI’s 60th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at the Westin Dhaka on Wednesday, the Chamber said in a press release on Thursday. Zaved Akhtar will succeed Naser Ezaz Bijoy, Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank, who served FICCI as the President for the period of 2022-2023. The newly elected 15 members of the Board of Directors will take charge on January 01, 2024, after the expiration of the tenure of the incumbent board on 31st December 2023, reads the release. Padma Bank Launches “Bijoy-71” FDR to celebrate Month of Victory Zaved Akhtar said “It is with great honour and a sense of profound responsibility that I accept the role of the President of FICCI, a chamber that has been fundamental in sculpting the economic fabric of our nation. Since its inception, FICCI has been a driving force in transforming Bangladesh into a beacon of investment—bringing in 90% of the Foreign Direct Investment  (FDI) and fostering a business-friendly ecosystem that has been instrumental in the growth journey of the country.” “I would like to thank my predecessor Nasir Ezaz Bijoy for his steadfast leadership in driving FICCI’s success for the past two years, and I am looking forward to working closely with the dedicated FICCI Board of Directors and the distinguished representatives from our member companies to take FICCI to newer heights. Together, we will not only uphold the chamber's illustrious legacy but also amplify its impact, and work towards the nation's vision of evolving into a smart and advanced economy by 2041,” he added. KSA keen to enhance trade with Bangladesh in food, energy, logistics, and manufacturing sectors : FBCCI Chamber’s current President Naser Ezaz Bijoy expressed his gratitude to FICCI Board of Directors for their enormous support throughout his journey with FICCI as the President. Members of FICCI outgoing and newly elected Board of Directors, representatives of FICCI member companies were present at the AGM.

Unilever Bangladesh Limited (UBL), one of the largest consumer goods companies in the country, has announced the appointment of Zaved Akhtar as their Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD), effective from July 1. Zaved will also join the Unilever South Asia Leadership Team.  He is currently serving as the Vice President of Digital Transformation & Growth, South Asia, based in India.  Read: Former Unilever chairman Kamran joins Robi as independent director Zaved will succeed Kedar Lele, who served as the CEO and Managing Director of UBL since January 2018 and subsequently became Chairman in addition to Managing Director in 2020.  Kedar will join the Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) Management Committee as Executive Director, Customer Development. He will continue as the Chairman of UBL.  A career marketer and business leader, Zaved began his career with British American Tobacco and then joined Unilever as Senior Brand Manager for its Oral Care business in 2000.  Read:Covid-19: Unilever partners with UNICEF to support Bangladesh With 24 years of professional experience across South Asia, Southeast Asia and Australasia, Zaved has rich expertise in consumer centricity, design thinking and innovation management.  He is a graduate of the Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka.  In his current role as the Vice President, Digital Transformation & Growth, Zaved set up the ‘Digital Council’ for Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) and anchored the ‘Reimagine HUL’ agenda, a widely recognized programme across Unilever as a comprehensive end-to-end digital transformation programme with impact.  Read: Kedar Lele named new Chairman of Unilever Bangladesh Sanjiv Mehta, President Unilever South Asia, said, “I would like to thank Kedar for his outstanding leadership of the Bangladesh business and laud his efforts towards strengthening Customer Development execution, transforming the company’s end-to-end supply chain, developing talent and improving diversity in UBL." Sanjiv said he is delighted to welcome Zaved as the CEO and MD of Unilever Bangladesh, and to the South Asia Leadership Team.  "His contribution towards crafting Unilever’s Five Fundamentals of Growth and driving the Reimagine HUL agenda in India has been tremendous. I am certain that he will lead the Bangladesh business to greater heights.”