When Intekhab Mahmud first joined the marketing team of GrameenPhone in 1997, the entire industry in Bangladesh was just being born. ‘Back then, there was nobody whose lead we could follow; we had to learn everything by doing it,’ says Intekhab, the current chief commercial officer of CityCell. Mahmud rose through the ranks at GP and CityCell’s marketing divisions, showing a flair for his work. ‘Before anyone started writing theory about marketing, there had always been people doing it; the theories were made following the paths of their examples,’ he says. ‘I want to pursue my job making my own path.’

IMRAN RAHMAN

Imran Rahman started his career in banking as a management trainee with ANZ in 1987. Twenty years on, he is now the managing director and CEO of BRAC Bank; at 43, the youngest ever in Bangladesh. ‘The way I look at it, being a CEO doesn’t mean that one has to be a great banker; rather, one needs to be able to understand and lead a team,’ he says. Imran plans to head BRAC Bank across borders, into India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and other countries with emerging small and medium enterprises.

FAUSTINA PEREIRA

Formerly the director of research and advocacy at Ain o Salish Kendra, Faustina Pereira has recently taken up the directorship of BRAC’s human rights and legal services division, the largest of its type in the world. Her work with human rights began in 1989 when she was a law student. ‘I understood the value of doing things, not just out of compassion, but with a tangible skill with which to provide; for me, law was the answer.’ Her most successful cases to day with ASK include the release of foreign prisoners, awarding child custody to mothers, and the illegal eviction of slum dwellers. ‘For me, this isn’t a career, it’s more of a way of leading one’s life,’ she says. ‘Careers and human rights don’t go together for activists.’

ASHRAF KAISER

Before he became a talk-show host, Ashraf Kaiser had a long and award-winning career as an investigative reporter at Shaptahik Bichitra. ‘I still consider myself a journalist first,’ he says. After stints at Channel-i and ATN Bangla, Ashraf is now the host of the popular current affairs talk-show Ekushey Shomoi. ‘The beauty of the programme lies in its transparency and accountability,’ he says of the show, which makes significant use of viewer interaction by phone-in and SMS. Apart from his television career, Ashraf is also the managing director and chief executive officer of Benchmark, one of the largest ad agencies in the country, which he started six years ago.

FUAD

Fusion musician Fuad’s first stage performance was when he was five, and he started his first band at 13; offshoots from his coming from a very musically inclined family. ‘My take on “urban pop” is that it should be something festive and not too serious, so that people can relate to it better,’ he says. ‘I put more emphasis on putting smiles on people’s faces with my music, instead of promoting a serious message.’ A great fan of versatility and experimentation, Fuad’s collaborations with other artistes have encompassed a wide array of genres. ‘One of my next projects will be with Mehreen, which I want to go into 40s jazz and swing with.’

RUBAIYAT AND ELISABETH MANSUR

Rubaiyat had been a tour guide on Guide Tour launches in Sundarban since 1992. It was a trip in 2002 with some scientists studying dolphins in the area that opened his eyes to the intricacies of the creatures that he had been seeing for over ten years. Today, he and his wife Elisabeth are responsible for the largest data set of dolphins anywhere in the world. ‘At most times, the job consists of scanning the waters with binoculars for five or six hours a day,’ says Rubaiyat.

MOZAHARUL ALAM

As a research fellow at the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies, Mozaharul Alam’s career began as a computer modeller for the effects of climate change on the country’s water sector. More recently, his expertise has shifted to work involving clean development mechanisms and adaptation; he was also a member of the delegation sent to Bali for the climate change conference. ‘In my view, this is a science that is progressing rapidly,’ he says. ‘It is an opportunity to really contribute something of great social value.’

MOHAMMAD RAFIQ AZAMMOZAHARUL ALAM

He is ‘an architect by chance, an artist by passion.’ The combination of the two has proved to be a hugely successful one for Mohammad Rafiq Azam and his company, Shatotto, which has won numerous prizes for its work. Azim’s forte is the inclusion of greenery and environmental forms into all his projects, in an effort to set a different kind of ambience. ‘Most people don’t understand that in building a society, urban planning is as important as politics and economics; when people have the right atmosphere and ambience, they behave in manners accordingly,’ he says.