Naheed Memon

(Elected 2025)

Oration

It is my great honour to present Naheed Memon to be admitted as a Fellow of Birkbeck, University of London.

Naheed is a leader whose career bridges continents. From Karachi to London, she has built a life defined by enterprise, intellect and public purpose. Her work in business and energy has been guided by a clear conviction: that economic progress must go hand in hand with social responsibility and sustainability.

Born and raised in Pakistan, Naheed grew up in a family that prized enterprise. Her father, Aziz Memon, founded the King's Group of Companies, a leading textile business and the Pakistan franchise for United Colours of Benetton. He is also widely recognised for his philanthropic work, particularly his tireless efforts towards polio eradication in Pakistan. From an early age, Naheed witnessed how business success could be combined with compassion, a lesson that has shaped her own outlook and achievements.

Naheed first graduated in Computer Science from the University of Karachi in 1989. Her intellectual curiosity soon drew her towards economics, the discipline that unites ideas, policy and human progress. She moved to London to study at Birkbeck, where she earned her MSc in Econometrics in 1994.

At Birkbeck, Naheed studied under leading academics such as Emeritus Professor Ron Smith, himself a Fellow of the College, and often speaks of the profound influence that Birkbeck had on her thinking and her career. She remembers her studies here with great affection.

Naheed began her career in the King’s Group, contributing to the growth of the family business before returning to London to work in investment banking and consultancy. These years developed her understanding of global markets and strategy, skills she would later apply to public policy and development.

In 2013, she became Chief Executive Officer of the Manzil Institute, a Karachi-based think tank dedicated to advancing economic research and public policy across Pakistan. There, she worked to bridge the gap between academic insight and practical reform, helping to shape new approaches to sustainable economic growth.

Naheed’s expertise soon led her into government, and she has been involved with the Provisional Government in the Sindh province in Pakistan for several years. As Chairman of the Sindh Board of Investment, she was responsible for attracting international investment and fostering global partnerships. She has also been involved in projects promoting research and innovation throughout the region, including the establishment of Special Economic Zones. Generating international partnerships, she championed Sindh as a destination for international investment.

Since 2019, Naheed has served as Chief Executive Officer of Oracle Power, a developer of energy projects and natural resource projects that is listed on the London Stock Exchange. Dividing her time between London, Dubai and Pakistan, she has led the company through a remarkable transformation, embracing renewable technologies and sustainable infrastructure. She now spearheads one of Pakistan’s most ambitious clean energy projects: a major green hydrogen and solar power initiative in the Sindh province, an undertaking that will help power a greener, more resilient future for the region.

Alongside her executive leadership, Naheed has remained committed to higher education. For over 15 years, she has been an adjunct faculty member in Economics and Strategy at Pakistan’s leading public sector business school, the Institute of Business Administration in Karachi.

Naheed represents a truly global perspective, combining business acumen, academic insight and a profound sense of social responsibility. She embodies the reach and relevance of Birkbeck’s community: a graduate whose work on green energy, sustainability and international development exemplifies Birkbeck’s enduring commitment to knowledge that changes lives and societies.

Her family join us today to celebrate this occasion.

Vice-Chancellor, it is with great pride that I present Naheed Memon, distinguished economist, business leader and advocate for education and sustainable progress, to be admitted as a Fellow of Birkbeck, University of London.