Mamun Rashid

I am sure all young professionals aspire to advance in their career. If so, they are not alone. Many determined professionals share this desire, but the path to success can be daunting and difficult to navigate.

Perhaps one of the most fundamental duties of a leader at a professional business enterprise is to help their people feel purposeful, motivated, and energised so that they can bring their best selves to work. Even if one is fortunate enough to truly attain a meaningful position of leadership in an organisation but can’t bring the best out of their colleagues, they would be deemed to be ineffective. Unfortunately, too many leaders lose focus on this aspect.

In an era defined by rapid technological advancements, the role of technology in the government sector is undergoing a profound transformation. Merging government and technology holds the promise of streamlining operations, enhancing citizen engagement, and ultimately transforming the way in which governments function.

The finance minister last Thursday presented a budget of Tk 761,785 crore, which is 15.33 percent higher than this fiscal’s revised budget. Like any other usual ones, it has been portrayed as expansionary and future-oriented. However, one could barely see any reflection of the current challenges being faced by most in the country.

In this rapidly evolving digital landscape, the banking industry is undergoing a significant transformation. With the goal of staying competitive and enhancing customer experiences, banks are modernising their operations and customer service through the implementation of cutting-edge technologies. 

As the world evolves, so does the way we work. The concept of working from home (WFH), once a luxury reserved for the self-employed, has become a necessity for many people during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Today’s companies are moving into a renewed focus on driving growth and during such times the focus of the CFO will also need to shift beyond accounting and finance.

In our international business course, we were taught to differentiate between truly global, multinational, foreign and regional companies.

I was one of the few Bangladeshis who worked with three global banks at home and abroad. I was also the youngest CEO of a commercial bank in Bangladesh. My laurels and recognition would anytime make anyone jealous.

Recently, there has been too much discussion about ethics. At the same time, we get to see individuals getting into too much public relations (PR) too.

 Last week the cabinet of Bangladesh okayed the draft Bank Company Act 2023 with an expressed intention to improve financial governance in our country. It was desired that if implemented properly, it could have major consequences for popularly known willful loan defaulters as well as the way our bank boards are formed and run.

All major strategic and operational decisions of highly successful financial institutions across the world are executed by their management upon proper vetting, review, and due diligence by the board of directors.

We just witnessed the collapse of two large US banks -- Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). A few others are also reportedly in the same mess.

It was possibly 2004-05. We were trying to determine the possible inward remittance pie for Bangladesh at a Bangladesh Enterprise Institute discussion. A study in this respect showed the possible pie to be $20 billion or so by 2012.

With the exception of a few, gender inequality has plagued society for centuries, with women being consistently denied access to positions of true power and influence. There have always been the more obvious and visible barriers which we are well aware of, but much more powerful and troublesome are the invisible barriers that have systematically held back qualified women from reaching the highest levels of leadership. 

In today’s rapidly changing business environment, organisations that fail to adapt and evolve run the risk of becoming obsolete. As the management guru Peter Drucker said, “The only sustainable competitive advantage is an organisation’s ability to learn faster than the competition.”     

Earlier this month, I attended a graduation ceremony at Middlebury College at Vermont, USA. In her speech, the president of the college repeatedly mentioned the phrase “collective genius”, which has stuck with me since.

 Bangladesh is at a crossroads where the past meets the present and the future is forged.    

Bangladesh’s stock market had a lackluster year in 2022 after posting double-digit returns for the previous two years. Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSEX), the broad market index of the country, fell 8.1 per cent in 2022, while daily average turnover fell by 35 per cent.

Trade-based money laundering (TBML) is a silent killer that is undermining the very foundations of Bangladesh’s economic growth. As an emerging economy and, more so, an expanding trading nation that is going through LDC graduation, Bangladesh is particularly vulnerable to TBML. This illicit activity is weakening financial institutions, eroding foreign currency reserves, and undermining international trade, leaving the country’s economy in shambles and stakeholders in despair.