Syeda Gulru Hasan has been engaged in the hospitality business since 1998 as a Director of Santoor, based in Dhanmondi, Dhaka. Currently she is also a trustee member of the Syed Nurul Hassan Diabetic Hospital and the Shajeda Khatun Girls College in the village of Narpati, Chunarughar, Habiganj.

Over the years Syeda Gulru Hasan has worked for several organizations on short term assignments (including AusAid). She was also a Senior Executive at indenting firm Binimoy Trade International Ltd and at the advertising firm Star Advertisers Ltd.

Syeda Gulru Hasan is an energetic social worker and has been involved in a number of ways with several important social projects, including assisting vaccination campaigns for polio and taking an active part in distributing sleeping kits to 6000 children as part of a sleeping kit distribution program organized by Dhaka Rotary Club and Sleeping Children Around the World, Canada.

Syeda Gulru Hasan completed her Master’s in Commerce from Dhaka University with a major in Finance, and in her spare time she has a keen interest in interior design. She is also busy looking after her two children.

Since November 2004, Farhana Rahman has been running a web based applications, software development and IT solutions company as Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer. Currently, she also serves as the Vice President of Bangladesh Women in Technology (BWIT), and as the Vice President of a parent’s forum for differently able children. Farhana Rahman also serves as Managing Director of HealthPrior21.com, a new platform for Healthcare from 2012. She served as the Vice President of the Bangladesh Association of Software & Information Services (2010-2012), and as the Treasurer of the Bangladesh Association of Software & Information Services (2008-2010).

Farhana Rahman has also served as the Secretary General of the Society for the Welfare of Autistic Children, and works as a parent advocate for the rehabilitation of autistic people through an ICT program. She completed her Master’s degree from Dhaka University in 1998.

Taslima Hossain graduated in social science from Eden College. She has served the British Council on a locum basis as an invigilator for GCE ‘O’ level and ‘A’ levels.

Taslima has also served as a kindergarten school teacher. She is a keen social worker and involved in many activities that help change the life of disadvantaged people.

Syeda Khushru Hassan is a software engineer specializing in the e-Commerce, B2B industry. She is experienced and knowledgeable in developing high volume transactional systems using object oriented designs and methodologies and is familiar with all phases of the software development life cycle and software configuration management. She is familiar with network systems and Microsoft’s cloud software “Azure”. She has worked for different software companies including Grameen Solutions, Tokyo Denshi Systems, Microsoft, and the Vignette Corporation.

Syeda Khushru Hassan received a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Electro Communication in Japan as a Japanese Monbusho scholarship holder. She also received a Rotary Yoneyama scholarship during her graduate level studies and has a Master’s degree in Computer Science from Texas State University.

Fahim Mashroor has over a decade of experience in Bangladesh’s IT industry. During this time, apart from successfully running his own business (as founder and CEO of Bdjobs.com), he has been extensively involved in different industry development activities.

In 2012 he was elected as President of BASIS (Bangladesh Association of Software & Information Services), the national trade body representing the software and IT service industry of Bangladesh. As President of BASIS, he represents the ICT industry in different high level Governmental policy making bodies, including the National Digital Task Force, the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) and the Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC).

One of the most successful young entrepreneurs in the country, Fahim Mashroor founded Bdjobs.com (the online employment exchange in Bangladesh) in 2000, immediately after completing his education from the University of Dhaka. Bdjobs.com is currently one of the most successful internet ventures in the country. It is also one of the top five job sites in South Asia. In 2008, Fahim Mashroor was awarded “Best Innovative Entrepreneur” by DCCI.

Before his current role in BASIS as President, he served BASIS as the Senior Vice President (2010-2012). He also served BASIS as an EC member for four consecutive years (2004-2008). Fahim Mashroor was the convener for BASIS SoftExpo 2011 and SoftExpo 2007. He represented the IT industry as member of the working committee that drafted the 2009 ICT Policy.

Fahim Mashroor has also been involved in a number of social development activities in a voluntary capacity. He is one of the trustees and a governing body member of D.Net (www.dnet.org.bd), a non-profit development organization working in the fields of ICT literacy and the promotion of ICT for social development.
Specialties: HR development & training, ICT industry development, development policy, financial & strategic management.

Rafiqul Islam Rowly is an IT entrepreneur and software developer with 26 years of experience in the ICT sector. He is an expert in business process analysis and reengineering, designing workflow based application architecture and implementation methodology. He is experienced in enterprise management, strategic planning, and policy formulation. Rafiqul Islam Rowly was a key team player in the design of several software application products. He co-founded Computer Solution Ltd., the third company ever started in Bangladesh in the IT sector. The sector currently comprises more than twelve thousand companies.

Since 1996, Rafiqul Islam Rowly has focused on the development of large scale software applications for industrial use. In 1998 he co-founded CSL Software Resources Ltd., now a market leader for ERP solutions in the apparel industries and construction sector. He is also co-founder of SoftEdge Ltd., an animation company specializing in 3D animation for product visualization. He is an industry leader and served as President of BASIS (Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Service) from 2008-2009.
Specialties: Business venture development, Process re-engineering.

Forkan Bin Quasem is an IT entrepreneur. He is an excellent communicator who has played a key role in managing Spectrum since 1995. He has also taken a strong interest in the development of the ICT industry. He has contributed to BASIS and to BCS as a member of the Executive Committee since 1999. He is also involved with IEB and Rotary. He also plays a role in strategy, business development, training, promotion and PR activity in his profession.

Forkan is married to Kazi Ajmery and blessed with two children, Nubaira Forkan and Nafis Forkan.

Education: BSc in Electrical and Electronics Engineering (BUET).
Professional membership: IEB M16000.
Profession: Managing Director, Spectrum Engineering Consortium Ltd., one of the major information technology system integrators in the country.

Julie N Reza is a UK-based consultant, project manager and medical/scientific writer and editor, specialising in global healthcare and international development (www.globalbiomedia.com). She predominantly works with NGOs and not-for-profit organisations, and has a strong interest in capacity building and health and education projects. She is a steering group member for the international campaign Healthcare for All by 2015 (www.hifa2015.org).

Previously, Julie worked at the World Health Organization in Geneva and prior to this she worked at the Wellcome Trust in the UK, leading multimedia educational projects on international health topics. She also has substantial research and postgraduate teaching experience and has an interest in the use of medical and scientific images for educational purposes.

Julie has a PhD in immunology and a specialist degree in science communication. She enjoys art, design and writing short stories (several of which have been published in Bangladeshi newspapers) in her spare time.

Amit Islam has a highly motivating personality. He is a knowledgeable investment industry professional with more than three decades of international success in investment analysis, marketing, trading and startups. Amit is Adept at identifying emerging trends and challenges/opportunities in the market, analysing investment ideas, and the communicating investment process as well as the market environment.

Amit is a successful entrepreneur who has been focusing on the international business market since 1990.  He was a Director General of Trade House Delsys, Moscow, Russia; ISO of CardSolve and World Payment Services, Toronto, Canada; Founder of Debit-machine-Canada.com & Globalpaytech.com, Toronto, Canada; Co-founder & Director of AZA Worldwide Ltd, Dhaka, Bangladesh; Founder & CEO ofStore Republic, Dhaka, Bangladesh; and Director of S.B Securities Ltd, Dhaka Stock Exchange, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Amit Islam has a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from Kuban State University of Technology, Krasnodar, Russia. He is an experienced entrepreneur with an international marketing & business development background in Trading, Insurance, Payment processing and the E-commerce industries in Russia, Canada and Bangladesh.

Ashir Ahmed is an Associate Professor at the Department of Advanced Information Technology at Kyushu University in Japan. He is currently also a Director at the Global Communication Center Project, Grameen Communications in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Prior to joining Kyushu University Ashir  worked as a Manager at NTT Communications. Ashir has an MSc and PhD in information Sciences from Tohoku University, Japan and is involved with a number of novel ICT-based community projects.

Jannatul Islam Rahad currently works as Staff Correspondent for a Dhaka-based English daily. He also regularly writes Op Eds for another English daily on Child Rights issues and Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Rahad also coordinates an online media website that shares positive news about Bangladesh. Previously, Rahad worked for 3 years as a Youth Volunteer on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) Alternative Report Programme supported by Plan and Save the Children in Bangladesh. As a part of the programme he represented Plan and Save the Children’s Youth Group in a BBC English in Action Programme. A drama titled ‘Digital Rahad’ was made about his early childhood in 2010. Director Nazmul Hasan Razib produced the drama for Bangladesh Television. He was also Champion for Children (Save the Children, 2012) and Shelteck Channel I Campus Hero in 2010. Rahad reported for an innovative mobile news service for Prothom Alo and the Daily Star  in 2010. He received a Child Parliament Award in 2013.