A Digital Transformation Session That Defied the June Heat, the Lahore Traffic, and the LCCI Parking Lot
By Imran Malik | Editor-in-Chief, MediaBites.com.pk | Head of Content, SouthEra.com
Let me be honest with you. When a session is announced on a scorching Thursday in June, in Lahore, at the LCCI building where parking is a contact sport, the sensible thing to do is stay home and watch the highlights on social media.
But this was an Amer Salam event. And if you know Amer Salam, you know that sensible was never really on the table.
The Man Who Fills Halls in the Heat
Amer Salam has developed something of a superpower in Lahore’s business community. The ability to get professionals out of their air-conditioned offices, into 40-degree heat, past Lahore’s traffic, and into a seminar hall for a session on digital transformation. On a Thursday. In June.
I made it from Barki Road to LCCI, and, Alhamdulillah, found parking inside the premises. Those who know LCCI know this is not a small miracle.
The session, organised under LCCI’s Corporate Committee, brought together three panelists who, as it turned out, were more than capable of justifying the drive. Rizwan Ahmed, Director DHL North. Awais Saeed, Country Head InDrive Pakistan. Hazbar Khan, GM Digital Systems CCL Pharma. The moderator was the sharp and energetic Zain Majid, who took his job very seriously and, at one glorious moment, said the words every audience member in every panel session across the world most wants to hear: “Now the second-last question.”
Faheem-Ur-Rehman Saigol Walks In; the Hall Erupts
The session had barely warmed up when LCCI President Faheem-Ur-Rehman Saigol walked in. The hall responded with a big, genuine round of applause, the kind that tells you a room actually respects the person entering, not just the position.
Saigol delivered a crisp, sharp opening address on digital transformation that captured the room immediately. His key message landed clean and clear: in Pakistan’s business industry today, “investment sey zayada digitalize karne ki zaroorat hai” — the need to digitise is greater than the need to invest.
He then excused himself for a news channel interview on the budget, promising to return. The hall accepted this graciously. And true to his word, he came back later to personally present shields to the panelists. That kind of follow-through matters.
On a personal note, I left the session with one clear intention. A brief meeting with President Saigol in the coming week is a must — to sit down, share what I heard from the Pakistani business community in Chicago, and chart a concrete plan to take LCCI’s digital presence to the level it deserves. This conversation cannot wait.
The Chicago Question Nobody at LCCI Had Heard
Speaking of Chicago. When I attended the ONA26 Global Digital Media Congress in Chicago, I met members of Pakistan’s business community overseas. When I mentioned I was an LCCI member, possibly the only Digital Media Journalist in LCCI, I suspect, their response was immediate and unanimous.
They said they had no idea what LCCI was doing. They had found three or four Facebook pages with updates from 2021, one from 2023, and no active LinkedIn presence whatsoever. In a world where the entire global business community operates on LinkedIn as its primary professional weapon, LCCI’s digital footprint was essentially invisible.
READ MORE: Packed hall, tough questions and no easy answers: LCCI session on Pakistan’s investment challenges sparks debate
I raised this directly during the Q&A, directed at the President through Amer Salam, and I am raising it here again in print. LCCI deserves a digital transformation of its own before it convenes another session advising everyone else to digitise. The website, the social media, the LinkedIn page — all need urgent, serious attention.
Amer, this one’s on you to take to the President. I know you will.
Three Panelists, Three Strong Stories
Rizwan Ahmed of DHL brought the credibility of a world-class brand into the room and explained how digitalisation has transformed the entire courier chain from booking to doorstep delivery, with real-time tracking built into every step. I must confess a personal moment of surprise here. I have always quietly assumed that “DHL Local” was a clever imitation of the real thing. Rizwan confirmed in a post-session conversation that local DHL operations are indeed genuine — they are simply priced slightly higher than local competitors. Mystery solved. Suspicion retired.
Awais Saeed of InDrive handled his session with impressive depth, addressing questions on pilot behaviour, female passenger safety, and the company’s policy framework with specifics rather than generalities. He confirmed that safety features are already integrated into the app, including the 15 Helpline, with more in development specifically for female riders. The audience, which had questions, got real answers. That is rarer than it should be at these sessions..
Hazbar Khan of CCL Pharma was, for me personally, the most pleasant discovery of the evening. I have known CCL since childhood through one product — Pulmonol cough syrup. When my father began his diabetic journey, Sitamet became the second CCL brand I learned. That was the extent of my CCL universe.
Hazbar, an ex-Coca Cola professional, systematically dismantled that narrow picture and replaced it with a company that has digitised across almost every function. He announced that CCL is launching a consumer-driven app that will deliver their medicines to customers’ doorsteps at discounted prices. He also mentioned their wellness brand chain with a strong vitamin range.
On that last point, Hazbar, a gentle suggestion from someone who visits drug stores. Your wellness bottles are getting lost on the shelves behind flashy plastic packaging from competitors. In a market where a customer’s eye goes to colour and shine before it goes to quality, CCL’s more understated packaging may be costing you visibility. That aggressive push you need? It needed to start yesterday.
The Q&A was well managed by Amer Salam, who kept things moving without letting the momentum drop. Three questions from the floor, brisk and well-chosen, wrapped the formal session cleanly.
The Thunderstorm Had the Last Word
As attendees filtered out of LCCI into the Lahore evening, the city delivered its own commentary on the day. A full thunderstorm had arrived, bringing wind, rain, and the kind of dramatic atmospheric exit that no event manager could have planned but every Lahori knows well.
It was, in its way, the perfect ending to a session that defied the heat to begin with.
Well played, Amer Salam. See you at the next one.
