“THE TEST IS IN THE MOMENT” - USK

Umer is an MBA from Virginia Tech. and an engineer from GIKI. He is an energetic and dynamic speaker, management consultant, facilitator and an entrepreneur. His experience combines strong training and facilitation skills with hands on experience of managing and growing a marketing business in a highly competitive market. Umer has accrued extensive experience and a positive standing as a teacher, coach, leader and mentor of people and projects.

Umer has over fifteen years of highly diverse national and international consulting and training experience with leading organizations in Pakistan Dubai & Oman. He has trained and consulted with companies such as NSN, Telenor, Warid, Ufone, Mobilink, Zong, PTCL, Microsoft, GE, PTC, Shell, Total, Nestle, Engro, Eli Lilly, PSO, Pepsi Co, Metro, PEL, P&G, DuPont, ORIX leasing, HKB, Bank Of Punjab, Packages etc. He has trained and coached individuals varying from farmers to generals, from students to top executives. Umer passionately believes in the power of an individual’s mind and has devoted himself to the mission of enhancing self-belief within individuals.

CHAT WITH UMER

“IT IS ONLY OUR DREAMS AND IDEALS THAT MAKE US GREATER THAN WE ARE” - MP

Trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, graduate of the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles, California and child of the world of culture, entertainment and events, Mashal is a content development and creative learning specialist, who works to use the arts and culture as a medium of learning, development, growth and communication.

As a screenwriter and director for theatre, film and television, Mashal has written and directed several sit-coms, serials and telefilms for local networks, worked in close collaboration with Pakistan’s iconic filmmaker and actor Shaan Riaz Shahid, and on several international co-productions including Salmaan Peerzada’s Sheherazade: The Untold Story (Feature), Raven & Lenore (Feature) and most recently Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop’s collaboration with Sesame Workshop USA, SIM SIM HAMARA.

Mashal is a passionate believer in connecting and empowering individuals through arts and culture. Her unique background of having grown up on sets and behind the scenes has immersed her in a rich exchange of arts across cultures and inculcated in her a powerfully efficient and communicative mindset, allowing her to collaborate in a vocal and open exchange, as well as motivate her team, while maintaining strict timelines and schedules. She has recently spoken at TEDx conferences around Pakistan, where she spoke about tolerance and the power of questions, knowledge, compassion and the human mind, as well as innovations in education through media and the arts. She uses these very mediums to design creative learning initiatives for students, organizations and communities.

CHAT WITH MASHAL

“BUILD YOUR BRAND AND LIVE IT EVERY DAY WITH PASSION.” – AS

Anam graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a double major in Theatre Arts and Gender Studies. While at college, she was hired as a Data Analyst/Interviewer for a National Science Foundation funded project that aimed to help students transition from two-year to four-year university programs. After graduation, she worked at The Hudson Institute in Washington, DC, as a researcher and writer on several projects related to foreign policy in Asia.

Eager to make an impact in her home country, Anam returned to Pakistan and began working as a Research Associate and Case Writer at the Suleman Dawood School of Business (SDSB), Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). While at LUMS, she published numerous case studies in international academic journals, working closely with organizations such as Akhuwat Microfinanc e Bank, Punjab Vocational Training Council (PVTC), Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA), and Punjab Rural Support Programme (PRSP), to name a few. Wanting to take her passion from theory to practice, Anam joined Activ8 in the hopes of making a tangible difference and empowering others to do the same. Her focus is on designing trainings and platforms for both women and men that incorporate teachings from the world of performance art.

When not “Activ8ing,” Anam spends her time writing for various publications such as The Friday Times and Libas International Magazine. She loves reading psychoanalytic theory on a regular basis.

CHAT WITH ANAM

“LIFE TEACHES YOU EVERY DAY. TAKE IT IN AND PAY IT FORWARD.” – TA

Taimour Afaq is currently the Country Manager of Kraft Heinz Company for Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Afghanistan, responsible for the overall company operations in these countries. With over 14 years of experience in the corporate sector, Taimour has worked with global companies including ICI, PepsiCo, Tetra Pak and Mondelez International. He has gained experience of diverse commercial functions within these organisations.

Taimour is also a certified trainer on global commercial subjects, capability development and leadership skills from organisations that he has worked with and also through external training partners.

Taimour holds a Masters degree in Business Administration from the Lahore School of Economics, and a Bachelors of Science degree in Business and IT from the University of Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada. In his spare time, he likes to listen to music and cycle with his fitness gang.

CHAT WITH TAIMOUR

“PRACTICE MAKES PERMANENT” – RM

Rafea is a Masters in HR Management & Organizational Analysis from Kings College London. She is also an Associate CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personel & Develpment - UK), a certified HR professional. During her time in the UK she has been invloved in numerous workshops, working with HR practitioners in the UK and Europe and acquiring the most experience from different industries that she has worked with, such as agriculture, corporate, banking, law firms and many more.

Her ever growing interest in understanding people, their roles and how their behaviors impact the organisation led her to take on this path. Rafea has been blessed with the quality to bring people together and strives to help individuals recgonize their strengths and focus on the positives to take on future challenges while coming up with effective solutions.

Alongside this, she is an eager learner herself and strongly believes in the ideology that, "practice makes permanent". Each new day is an opportunity to learn something new and she truly cherishes and lives life with these values.

Ever since her time at activ8, she has been so engrossed and involved in bringing together the most diverse teams, learning and growing with each moment. These experiences drive her own performance and allows her to constantly develop herself to achieve goals.

Rafea is passionate about whatever she takes on. The art of music is one of her passions and she thoroughly enjoys soulful music that speaks to her. She herself is a very talented singer and loves to keep this part of her life going alongside the everyday hustle.Rafea is a Masters in HR Management & Organizational Analysis from Kings College London. She is also an Associate CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personel & Develpment - UK), a certified HR professional. During her time in the UK she has been invloved in numerous workshops, working with HR practitioners in the UK and Europe and acquiring the most experience from different industries that she has worked with, such as agriculture, corporate, banking, law firms and many more.

CHAT WITH RAFEA