2018-Present
Arshad Saeed Husain
Arshad Saeed Husain has over 25 years of broad based commercial experience working for leading multinational companies in Pharmaceuticals, FMCG and Life Sciences sectors. For the past ten years, he has been CEO of publicly listed and private companies with a strong track record of achieving revenue, profit, and business growth.
Prior to joining Oxford University Press Pakistan as its Managing Director, Arshad served as the CEO of Aman Health Care Services where he was responsible for overseeing the on-going business operations within the Aman Health unit and for central support services. Earlier, he served as the Managing Director of Abbott Laboratories Pakistan Limited, and was also associated with Syngenta Pakistan Limited as Managing Director and with PT Syngenta, Indonesia as President Director. He has also served in senior leadership positions at GlaxoSmithKline Pakistan Limited and ICI Pakistan Limited.
Arshad served as the President of the American Business Council, a chamber of U.S. Businesses and one of the largest group of single country overseas investors in Pakistan. He was also Chairman of the Pharma Bureau, representing research based multinational pharmaceutical companies in Pakistan. He was also the founding member of the Swiss Business Council and Chairman of Crop Life Pakistan.
Arshad is a graduate from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences, with a specialization in International Trade and Development.
Managing Director 1988–2016
Chair 2016-2018
Ameena Saiyid
Ameena Saiyid, rejoined OUPP in 1979 after having worked there earlier, while a student, on a part-time, temporary basis.
She worked for OUPP in Lahore as educational and academic representative/commissioning editor with responsibility for the Punjab and North-West Frontier Provinces, before moving to OUP Karachi in 1985. She left OUPP in 1986 to set up her own publishing house, Saiyid Books, which grew into a successful business. In 1988 she rejoined OUPP as its head. She attended the Advanced Management Programme at Templeton College, Oxford University. In 2005, Ameena became the first woman in Pakistan to be awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to women’s rights, education, democracy, intellectual property rights, and Anglo-Pakistan relations.
In 2013, Ameena was conferred a Knighthood, Chevalier des Arts et Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Literature) by the government of France.
In 2018, Ameena was awarded the Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Star of Distinction) by the President of Pakistan for courage and excellence in publishing and services to education.
The new office building is a celebration of Pakistani art and crafts in which the works of Pakistani artists and craftsmen are showcased. Ameena founded the Karachi and Islamabad Literature Festivals and co-founded the Children’s Literature Festivals which have become a movement in Pakistan.
1981-1988
Zia Hussain
It was during Zia Hussain’s tenure that OUPP completed their 30 years of service in Pakistan.
The event was celebrated by re-launching the Concise and Little Oxford Dictionary at new prices.
The event was done with much fervour.
1978-1981
Charles Lewis
It was under Charles Lewis’ command that the Branch took its first serious action against piracy by way of a raid in the Urdu Bazaar area of Lahore. The effects of these actions were felt immediately in the rise of the sales of legitimate Oxford Editions of various school and textbooks.
1975-1977
Tim Benbow
1975 was the year that Tim Benbow took charge of the OUPP Branch. It was also the year the Branch moved to a more spacious setting in the Haroon House Building. Tim Benbow’s tenure saw the Branch being allowed for the first time to remit profits to the head office, which was an achievement in itself.
1973-1974
Anthony Moggach
Born 22nd February 1946, Anthony Moggach took charge of OUPP in October of 1973. Despite his short spell in Pakistan, it was during this time that the Branch witnessed sales increase by 55%, largely due to the success of the Oxford Historical Reprint Series.
1969-1973
David Cunningham
David Cunningham’s four years in Pakistan included taking upon many scholarly endeavour. The Asian Historical Reprint Series was an acclaimed series, the first of its kind. It was also during this time that Pakistan, and consequently OUPP, was divided into two parts. The breakup of Pakistan meant for the branch not only the loss of 45% of its market, but also of old friends and colleagues.
1968-1969
Nigel Sisson
Nigel Sisson’s time in Pakistan was not devoid of excitement. It was a period of Martial Law, political upheaval and turmoil, the direct result of which was felt by the Lahore office but affected daily life and business in Karachi and Dacca as well.
1967-1968
Edward Fitzgerald
Edward Fitzgerald was appointed to take temporary charge of the Branch, with limited powers, for a maximum of one year. Retired from the Army as a Lieutenant-Colonel in one of the Guard’s regiments, he was Assistant Secretary of the Bookseller’s Association, before becoming OUP’s senior London representative.
1964-1967
Neil Edmund Burton
Neil Burton was considered the best man available by the university representatives. After taking charge of the Branch, he was singly responsible for getting then President Ayub Khan’s political autobiography “Friends, not Masters”, a book which put the Press in a much needed lime light.
1956-1964
John Rendall
Born in 1928, John Rendall was working as the Manager of OUP in East Africa, when he was told to fly immediately to Karachi. He took charge of OUPP from Phillip Chester at a time when OUPP was still in a critical position financially.
1956
Philip Chester
Philip J. Chester was given the charge of the office at a critical point and faced many hardships. He was rushed from London to take charge temporarily, starting from the 1st of February 1956. But despite the temporary nature of his appointment, his time in Pakistan had a serious impact on the overall development of OUPP.
1952-1956
W.F. Jeffrey
The much preferred candidate for the position of Manager (equivalent to today’s MD), William Frederick Jeffrey arrived in Karachi from Bombay in 1951 after a ‘fiendish sea trip’. Born in 1917, he was described as having taken on the “colour of the country and (was) anxious to establish his career in the country” who knew both “Pakistan and Urdu”.