Sohail Khalid

Technology leader with 25+ years of experience building and improving technology environments across insurance, financial services, aviation, and manufacturing. My career has grown from hands-on software and database development into senior leadership roles, where he has led technology teams of up to 65 professionals and driven major digital transformation programs. Along the way, he has played a key role in initiatives such as Wellness WIN, 1-Link integration, the Digital Investment Portal, CoreApp ERP, disaster recovery modernization, and customer-facing digital platforms.

He brings together strong technical understanding with practical leadership in IT strategy, automation, vendor management, infrastructure, and business process improvement, backed by deep expertise in Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Workflow Management that streamline operations, reduce manual effort, and enable smarter, faster decision-making. Known for connecting technology decisions with real business needs, he focuses on building reliable, efficient, and future-ready systems that support long-term growth.

Development Head | Head of Department at Askari Life Assurance Ltd. (2025-07 – Present)

• Drive Digital Transformation — Lead enterprise-wide digitization, automation, in-house development, and vendor management, overseeing a 4-stream digital portfolio covering digital onboarding, customer/group-life services, customer mobile applications, and agent mobile applications.
• Modernize Customer Journeys — Direct digital onboarding, online policy purchase and maintenance, client KPI dashboards, and ERP-integrated self-service capabilities that allow policyholders to access policy information, claims, and premium-payment services through digital channels.
• Advance Intelligent Automation — Develop AI-enabled underwriting capabilities using OCR, document extraction, automated validation, document classification, risk scoring, and medical-report summarization, reducing dependence on paper-based and manual processing.
• Strengthen Technology Resilience — Lead disaster-recovery planning toward a zero-downtime objective, while shaping technology investments through cost-benefit and ROI analysis, cybersecurity controls, cloud adoption, and structured vendor governance.

Assistant General Manager – Head of Department at EFU Life Assurance (2021-03 – 2025-07)

• Led Enterprise Technology — Directed a 65-member technology organization spanning management, software development, infrastructure, project delivery, and technical operations while aligning resources with enterprise technology priorities.
• Governed Technology Investment — Managed IT CAPEX/OPEX planning across the 2023 and 2024 annual budget cycles, combining financial discipline, technology roadmaps, vendor governance, licensing, and infrastructure investment planning.
• Delivered Wellness WIN — Conceived and delivered the digital Wellness WIN proposition, integrating activity goals, mobile-health engagement, loyalty points, and franchise rewards to strengthen customer participation and support new insurance business.
• Improved Infrastructure Resilience — Established a fully functional disaster-recovery environment with real-time archiving, strengthened Oracle licensing governance, and managed key technology relationships including Oracle and Sangfor.

Senior Manager at National Bank Funds Management Limited (NBP Funds) (2016-03 – 2021-02)

• Delivered Digital Wealth Services — Led development of a full-service Digital Investment Portal covering 4 core service areas—investments, bill payments, interbank transfers, and fund redemptions—expanding customer self-service through a banking-style digital experience.
• Led 1-Link Integration — Directed the in-house technology team through NBP Funds' integration with 1-Link, enabling ATM services, utility/1Bill and school payments, bank transfers, and digital redemption workflows.
• Expanded Digital Platforms — Led development of the institution's proprietary mobile application, enterprise CRM, and referral-program capabilities, bringing customer engagement and service workflows into an integrated digital environment.
• Validated Business Continuity — Strengthened disaster recovery through multiple full DR drills, shutting down the primary data centre and successfully routing business operations—including ATM services—to the recovery environment.

Senior Manager – Information Systems Operations at Adamjee Life Assurance Company Ltd. (2013 – 2016)

• Directed Nationwide IT Operations — Held nationwide responsibility for centralized technology operations and led a 22-member technology organization across project management, business analysis, software engineering, infrastructure, and operational support.
• Delivered CoreApp ERP — Led the design and implementation of CoreApp within a 2-year delivery period, creating an integrated life-assurance ERP covering point of sale, underwriting, claims, financials, channel partners, and day-to-day business processing.
• Reduced Vendor Dependency — Transitioned Adamjee Life from a vendor-dependent ERP model to an internally supported CoreApp platform, eliminating recurring vendor development charges and enabling faster response to changing business requirements.
• Strengthened Data-Centre Resilience — Built a new primary data centre, established disaster recovery at the PTCL data centre, and implemented real-time digital archive replication to minimize potential data loss during service disruption.

Manager – Management Information Systems at Adamjee Insurance Company Ltd. (2011 – 2013)

• Digitized HR Operations — Replaced spreadsheet-based administration across 4 key employee-data areas—payroll, loans, provident fund, and gratuity—with an internally developed HR and payroll platform.
• Modernized Business Intelligence — Implemented BI dashboards and digital management reporting to replace lengthy manual reports and provide faster access to operational and workforce information.
• Strengthened Data Architecture — Supported a centralized data-warehouse environment with optimized data structures and processing logic, improving the efficiency and accuracy of management reporting.
• Governed ERP & Technology Planning — Directed ERP documentation, process architecture, workflow design, and entity-relationship modelling while advising senior stakeholders on technology investment and infrastructure requirements.

Project Manager at Millennium Software Pvt. Ltd. (2010 – 2011)

• Led Client Requirements — Managed enterprise client engagement and requirement analysis, translating workforce and business needs into structured application requirements for Oracle-based software solutions.
• Delivered UBL Funds HRMS — Led implementation of the HR and Payroll Management System for UBL Fund Management, taking the solution from requirements definition through successful organizational deployment.
• Directed Oracle Delivery — Managed application delivery using Oracle Forms and Reports, coordinating functional requirements with software-development activities across assigned projects.
• Managed Implementation Lifecycle — Oversaw requirements, solution planning, development coordination, and implementation activities to keep client-facing software projects aligned with agreed business objectives.

Team Lead at Emirates Airline (2008 – 2010)

• Led Technical Delivery — Directed a technical team responsible for enterprise software implementation and system support for Emirates Airline's Facilities operations.
• Supported Facilities Technology — Managed technology support for facilities teams providing residential and maintenance services to airline employees accommodated across multiple buildings.
• Coordinated Operational Systems — Aligned software-support activities with Facilities requirements to maintain reliable technology services for residential and property-maintenance operations.
• Managed Service Continuity — Guided day-to-day technical support and application delivery across the Facilities environment, ensuring business users received consistent systems support for operational requirements.

Software Engineer at English Biscuit Manufacturers Pvt. Ltd. (2005 – 2007)

• Developed HR & Payroll Systems — Engineered HRM and payroll solutions, including a dedicated contractual-payroll capability, bringing key workforce processes into internally developed systems.
• Digitized Employee Records — Converted contractual employee documentation into structured digital records, reducing reliance on manual document handling and improving accessibility of workforce information.
• Implemented Attendance Automation — Delivered a barcode-based attendance system with real-time database integration using minimal available resources, strengthening attendance-data capture and workforce information integrity.
• Redesigned Sales Systems — Reworked the company's sales application through gap analysis and stakeholder requirements, while also contributing to enterprise production-system development.

Software Developer at Computer Research Pvt. Ltd. (2003 – 2005)

• Developed ERP Procurement — Engineered procurement functionality for the Business Plus ERP platform, converting business requirements into practical purchasing-system capabilities.
• Delivered AGS Batteries Solution — Implemented the procurement module for AGS Batteries, aligning ERP functionality with the client's operational procurement requirements.
• Translated Business Requirements — Conducted detailed requirements analysis to define procurement workflows and ensure application functionality reflected actual user and business-process needs.
• Supported ERP Implementation — Contributed across development and implementation activities, helping transition defined procurement requirements into an operational enterprise ERP environment.

Database Programmer at Compunet Online Pvt. Ltd. (2000 – 2003)

• Developed ISP Billing Systems — Performed database programming for a mission-critical ISP billing platform supporting the organization's core service and billing operations.
• Supported Airline Reservations — Contributed to engineering the Shaheen Airline reservation system, applying database-development expertise to a transaction-focused aviation application.
• Programmed Business Databases — Supported database functionality across billing and reservation environments, forming the technical foundation for two operational software platforms.
• Built Early Enterprise Expertise — Applied database-programming skills across telecommunications and aviation solutions, establishing the hands-on technical foundation that later supported progression into application, project, and enterprise technology leadership.

Master of Science in Computer Science – Al Khair University, Karachi Campus (2002)

Specialized Diploma in Oracle – Orasoft Training Institute (1999)

Diploma in Computer Science – NCR Education Centre (1998)