KE board meets today to find new CEO

ISLAMABAD/ KARACHI: Karachi Electric’s Board of Directors is set to initiate the search for a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) during its 1,263rd meeting, scheduled for Thursday (Nov 13), sources told Business Recorder.

According to an internal notice and agenda of the meeting, received through sources, the session has been convened at the request of the government of Pakistan’s nominee directors after a previous meeting could not be held on November 5 due to lack of quorum.

The agenda includes filling the key positions of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Chief Digital Officer (CDO) within a week, while the process to appoint a new CEO is to begin immediately. The Board is also expected to deliberate on a resolution regarding arbitration matters within the Multi-Year Tariff (MYT) and Pakistani legal framework.

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In addition to leadership changes, the Board will confirm the minutes of its 1,260th meeting held in October 2025 and discuss any other business with the permission of the chair.

According to sources, three candidates have been shortlisted for the position of CEO, all of whom are based in Karachi and possess extensive experience in the energy sector.

The AsiaPak group has reportedly decided not to propose its own candidate for the CEO position.

Following this decision, the government of Pakistan is expected to nominate its own candidate, who will receive unconditional support from AsiaPak, the sources added.

“AsiaPak will support whoever the government considers best for the improvement of K-Electric and Karachi,” said sources close to the group.

In the previous board meeting, the issue of appointing a CEO, CFO, and CDO could not be resolved due to the lack of quorum.

Currently, K-Electric’s Board consists of ten members — three representing the government, two from AsiaPak, one being the current CEO Moonis Alvi, and three representing Saudi Al-Jomaih.

In the last board meeting, five directors attended, including three government representatives and two from AsiaPak. However, due to the absence of five other directors, the quorum was not met, and the meeting was postponed.

Given the current composition of the Board, the three government votes are considered crucial. For the change of CEO, a total of five votes from the government and AsiaPak could prove decisive.

Out of the remaining five votes, the CEO cannot vote for himself, which effectively reduces their side’s count to four, making a change in CEO highly likely.

The Board is to find solutions to several internal issues that have created a clear division between the three government-nominated directors, the two directors representing Shehryar Chishti and the directors representing other shareholders.

According to sources, the new Board meeting has been called on the suggestion of Javed Kureishi, the government-nominated independent director, as the two other government representatives—Secretary Power Dr. Fakhr e Alam Irfan and Secretary Finance Imdadullah Bosal — are reportedly not as forthcoming on the issue.

There is currently no suitable candidate for the position of Chief Distribution Officer (CDO), as an FIR has been registered against the proposed nominee. Under the company policy, no individual can be hired for a senior management position while facing an FIR, regardless of whether the case is genuine or fabricated.

On the issue of replacing the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), analysts observed that the position cannot realistically be filled within a week, as there is no preferred candidate under consideration at present.

There is also growing concern over how effectively the company’s management can operate while the shareholders remain locked in open conflict, raising doubts about decision-making and consistency in leadership.

Regarding the legal course of action against Nepra’s determined tariff, government members on the Board had earlier refused to support K-Electric’s move to seek a stay order, implying that they cannot vote again on the same issue. Moreover, K-Electric has already obtained a stay order from the Sindh High Court (SHC) on the grounds that, since the NEPRA Appellate Tribunal is incomplete, the matter should be adjudicated by the High Court. As such, this issue is largely considered settled.

“The agenda items being pushed by the government’s independent director are already supported by the private sector — excluding Shehryar Chishti’s directors,” said an analyst. The entire agenda, he added, is being driven by a government-nominated independent director who is not a government employee.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025