Dr. Bushra Naqvi Elected Independent Director on the Board of Bata Pakistan Limited

Dr. Bushra Naqvi, Associate Professor of Finance at the Suleman Dawood School of Business (SDSB), LUMS, has been elected as an Independent Director on the Board of Bata Pakistan Limited for a three-year term. The appointment marks a significant step in her professional journey, building on longstanding academic and executive education work in corporate governance, finance, and board effectiveness. Bata Pakistan is a publicly listed company and part of the international Bata organisation, one of the world’s longstanding family businesses with operations across multiple continents. Dr. Naqvi’s selection followed an extensive process involving interactions and interviews with members of the founding Bata family and senior global leadership, including global CEOs. Dr. Naqvi described the opportunity to contribute to a company with a distinctive global heritage and longstanding presence in Pakistan as particularly meaningful.

Taking Corporate Governance into Practice

Serving on the board of a publicly listed company carries substantial governance and fiduciary responsibilities. Decisions and oversight are visible to shareholders, regulators, capital markets, and a broad range of stakeholders. For Dr. Naqvi, the appointment brings these responsibilities into direct relationship with the subjects she has explored through research, teaching, and executive education. “For me, it is also an opportunity to bring my academic expertise and years of engagement with boards and senior executives directly into the boardroom and contribute to governance at the highest level of a major corporate organization,” she said. As Co-Program Director of the Rausing Executive Development Centre’s Directors Training Programme, Dr. Naqvi has worked closely with directors and senior corporate leaders. This sustained engagement has complemented her academic work, providing a platform to examine governance and board effectiveness alongside those responsible for putting them into practice. Her new role extends that experience into the company’s decision-making and oversight.

Bringing Boardroom Experience Back to the University

Dr. Naqvi also sees the appointment as aligned with the school’s emphasis on societal impact and meaningful engagement between academia and practice. Faculty participation on corporate boards brings academic expertise into institutions where governance, economic, and stakeholder decisions are made. It also strengthens SDSB’s engagement with the corporate sector and its contribution to corporate governance in Pakistan. That exchange will inform her work at LUMS. She looks forward to bringing boardroom learning and experience into her teaching, research, and executive education, allowing her engagement with corporate practice to enrich the discussions she leads with students and senior executives.