Old is Gold

The economy may be out of woods, but the recovery is still fragile, a theme that seems to echo in all corners of business and economy - including business management.
There is a visible trend in top level banking management, which is going back in the hands of old (read: nearly retired) professionals - hinting that the masterminds of major financial groups are possibly seeing troubled times ahead.
After Allied Banks president, Aftab Manzoor (under 60 years of age), was replaced by the banks former president, Khalid Sherwani (68), MCB Bank is following suit.
Atif Bajwa who replaced Aftab Manzoor as MCBs head in 2007 was cited as a seasoned consumer banker and the management had eyes on him to penetrate into the then largely untapped consumer segment.
But unprecedented economic slowdown has forced the group heads to rethink their strategy.
Atif Bajwa, reportedly has declined to take another term with MCB amid a noise in the market that the board is not happy with large losses (Rs2.5 billion) that the bank is incurring on consumer financing. For the interim period a retired banker M.A. Usmani is going to assume the position, while there are reports that the board might opt for an internal hiring.
Similarly, another big group - JS - is making similar changes.
A couple of months back Rashid Mansur (above 60) replaced the seasoned Najam Ali (56) at JS Investment, while lately Kalim-ur-Rehman (around 65) left his position as the Chief Operating officer of Arif Habib Bank to JS Bank as its President.
Interestingly, sources reveal that its just the position that lured Kalim to switch to JS, as his package is at par with what he was drawing at AHBL.
Not long ago, Tariq Iqbal Khan left NIT, only to be replaced by another senior citizen, Vazir Ali Khwaja, who is believed to be above 65 years of age.
If this trend continues other senior (read: older) professionals might be filling the slots of Barclays Pakistan chief and that of deputy managing director at Pak China Investment Management, which are lying vacant at the moment.
And who knows, one of these days an Ijaz Butt style expert might join the central bank, either in the capacity of governor or deputy governor, depending upon how long does Yasin Anwar stay at the helm of central bank.
But notwithstanding any changes in SBP, MCB, JS or Barclays Bank, the fact that big boys like Mian Muhammad Mansha, Jehangir Siddiqui and Sheikh Mukhtar are shuffling their management, a regime switch is in the offing.
The management style which had changed in Pakistan after Shaukat Tarin joined HBL a decade ago in Nawaz Sharifs era, followed by exuberant growth in financial sectors remunerations during the Musharraf era appears to be taking a U-turn.
Is this cost cutting? Partially yes, given that profits of commercial banks in 2009, even after a decent recovery, were at 70 percent of their peak in 2006.
Business tycoons might be thinking to focus back on branch banking, with lesser number of Executive Vice Presidents in the head office, and instead relying on Senior Vice Presidents (by promoting them) who take care of the pool of branches.
But the wisdom behind taking back oldies could also be the adage, Old Is Gold.
In the west, a number of public and private organizations have gone back to retired people, hoping that their experience would help with the troubled economic times. These include the appointment of former US Fed boss Paul Volcker as Chairman of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board under President Barack Obama.
How well this old-school strategy works, is perhaps another round of discussion.