Sulaiman Shahabuddin is the new Aga Khan University president and has succeeded his predecessor Firoz Rasul who has retired after fifteen years at the helm of the institution.
Today, the university fraternity has welcomed Sulaiman as the institution’s third president since its founding in 1983.
Shahabuddin previously served as Regional Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Aga Khan Health Services (AKHS) in East Africa, which cares for more than one million patients annually.
Shahabuddin has been appointed to the helm for an initial term of three years.
“On behalf of the Chancellor and the Board of Trustees, I would like to express our deep gratitude and acknowledgement for Firoz’s tireless efforts and many contributions to AKU.I am pleased to inform you that the Chancellor has appointed Sulaiman Shahabuddin as the next President of the Aga Khan University. Sulaiman will join the Board of Trustees when he takes up his position and the initial term of his appointment will be for three years. Chairman of the Board of Trustee Dr Haile Debas said.
Rasul expressed his wish to retire in order to spend more time with his family in Canada.
Since joining AKU in Karachi in 1986, Shahabuddin spent 15 years of his career at the university and has worked closely with its deans to launch new nursing and medical degree programmes.
He was born, raised and educated in Pakistan, and has spent the last two decades living and working in Kenya and Tanzania.
Speaking after resuming his new role, Shahabuddin it was the proudest moment of his career.
“AKU’s excellence in education, research and health care delivery, public-service ethos and ability to bring people together across boundaries of all kinds make it unlike any other university in the world. In returning to AKU, I feel that I am coming home,” he said.
“With Sulaiman Shahabuddin at its helm, Aga Khan University is in good hands,” said Haile Debas, Chairman of the AKU Board of Trustees and the former Chancellor of the University of California, San Francisco.
“His record of success, wealth of highly relevant experience and passion for the University’s mission will be invaluable in leading the University through its next era of growth and development.”
Shahabuddin attended the Institute of Business Administration in Karachi, earning a Bachelor of Business Administration and an MBA.
During the pandemic, AKU has been an adviser to governments, a crucial resource for patients and a trusted partner in multiple international Covid-related clinical trials.
“President Rasul pursued the vision set forth by AKU’s founder and Chancellor, His Highness the Aga Khan, with tremendous energy and success,” President Shahabuddin said.
“I look forward to building on his formidable legacy and to working to fulfill the Chancellor’s vision for the University.”