Brigadier Sadiq N. K. Awan has had an illustrious career ranging from the military, to government, to the business world. Following his military career in Pakistan, he became the first Pakistani in the United Nation's peacekeeping missions. He then became Defense Advisor to Sheikh Zaid Al Nahyan (the ruler of Abu Dhabi and founder of the U.A.E.).

In the private sector, he represented Teledyne in Pakistan and set up a number of businesses and joint ventures. This included Lifeline, the first liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) marketing and distribution company in Pakistan and a joint venture with SHV Gas. He also founded DHL Pakistan in 1982 and subsequently established TCS, the largest domestic courier company in the country.

Brigadier Awan has also served as the Federal Minister for Industries, Production, and Investment. He has been the President of the English Speaking Union in Islamabad and Director of the Al Shifa Eye Hospital.

An eminent development professional, Dr. Rashid Bajwa is leading the only countrywide development programme (National Rural Support Programme) in Pakistan. His experience and commitment in the fields of Management, Social Mobilization and Community Development has been significant in bringing about change in the lives of rural masses.

Dr. Bajwa holds a degree in MPH (UK) and MBBS (Pakistan) and has expertise in the areas of project management, planning and monitoring, social mobilization, institutional development, public health, and micro finance.

Shandana Khan has more than fifteen years of extensive grassroots and policy level experience in rural development, mainly in the Rural Support Programmes of Pakistan as well as in the South Asia region. She is the current Chief Executive Officer of the RSP Network and was instrumental in setting it up. The RSP Network is a strategic platform for the ten RSPs of Pakistan. It acts as a policy, capacity building and coordination mechanisms for the RSPs.

Ms. Khan has been a member of the Advisory Board for Local Government and Rural Development, Government of Pakistan, an associate of the Rockefeller Foundation's Leadership in Environment and Development Programme and is currently on the boards of the Balochistan RSP and the Pak-Oman Micro-Finance Bank.

She has a social sciences background, with a Masters degree in the Social and Political Sciences from Pembroke College, University of Cambridge as well as a Masters in International Public Policy from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University.

Stephen Rasmussen is a Lead Specialist for the World Bank's South Asia Finance and Private Sector Development unit as well as being the microfinance resource person for the South Asia region. He is also the Technology Program Manager for CGAP, an independent policy and research center housed at the World Bank and dedicated to advancing financial access for the world's poor.

Prior to this he was the CEO of the Pakistan Microfinance Network and the CEO of the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme. Mr. Rasmussen holds a Bachelor’s degree from University of Wisconsin and a Master’s degree in Health Science from Johns Hopkins University.

Thirza Young AliKhan has worked with FIDA since it was founded and is currently the Director of Grants and Programs. Ms. AliKhan received a B.A. (with honors) in Political Economics from University of California, Berkeley. She also holds a Masters in Education from Pepperdine University.