I grew up in what is now Bangladesh, first in a small town called Narayanganj and then in Dhaka. I completed my O’Levels in 1972 in Karachi from St Patrick’s School. I joined St Patrick’s College for one year but dropped out due to my family opting for repatriation to Bangladesh (which eventually did not take place), and appeared for A Levels privately. After that I started work with Mr. Sajid Zahid, a Consulting Actuary. I went to London to work for a life insurance company in 1976 and passed all the examinations of the Institute in May 1977 (although I became an Associate in 1978 and a Fellow in 1980 due to minimum age restrictions). I switched from the Actuarial profession towards accountancy in 1978 and worked for a firm of Chartered Accountants for five years, qualifying in 1983 (after taking a year off from work due to certain family problems). I returned to Pakistan at the end of 1983 and worked for a large accounting firm (A. F. Ferguson & Co) for two years. In 1986 I joined Sidat Hyder and, together with them, formed the consulting company which is now called Sidat Hyder Morshed Associates (Pvt) Ltd. I also became a partner in the accounting firm in 1988, the firm eventually merging with another firm and becoming Ford Rhodes Sidat Hyder & Co. The two entities separated in November 2005 and I now head the consulting firm, which today employs over 380 people.

What motivated you to pursue the actuarial career and what contributed to your decision to become an actuary?

I became an actuary more by circumstance than by a considered decision, as my passion, when I was young, was chemistry. My father was from what is now Bangladesh and we were caught in Karachi when the 1971 war broke out. We were awaiting repatriation to Bangladesh when my father died, after which my mother decided to stay on in Pakistan. I needed to work immediately. As I was strong in mathematics, Mr Sajid Zahid, who was an actuary and my uncle, asked me to come to work with him and attempt the actuarial examinations. Hence I became an actuary.

Has the profession in Pakistan changed much over the past 30 years?

When I first came into the profession in the 1970s it was dominated by a few actuaries of very high stature (some of whom are still active in the profession today). There were only a few others. The profession almost faded away in the 1980s and early 1990s, although State Life kept it alive through its training scheme. It was only in the mid-1990s when the profession again became counted amongst the major career choices that young people started to consider.

I would say that one other major change has taken place in the last decade which I am extremely pleased about. This is that the actuary has emerged from being a back room number cruncher to work in non-traditional roles where the actuarial training and background provides a firm foundation but where the role is wider. In this context I would quote the names of Javed Ahmed, the Chief Executive of NJI Life, Jamshaid Islam, until recently the Chief Operating Officer of EFU Life, Ali Raza Zaidi, the head of Group marketing of EFU Life and Jawwad Farid, who has made a name in Basle 2 implementation in banking, all of whom are in non-traditional roles. I would like to see this trend strengthen as I believe that the profession has much to offer the country.

Of your many career accomplishments, what do you consider the most satisfying?

Given the wide variety of work we do in Sidat Hyder and the size of the organization, we have had the opportunity to provide employment and a development opportunity to a number of young people from deprived backgrounds who have then gone along to become successful professionals, largely through their own hard work. However the organization has provided them the platform to enable them to achieve their potential. This has been the most satisfying part of the past twenty years.

A close second has been the opportunity of working at a national level on a number of projects, often with people of stature from whom I have learnt a great deal.

How do you personally measure success?

I would measure success in terms of the extent to which an individual achieves the goals he or she has set for himself/herself.

What is the biggest challenge currently faced by the actuarial profession?

I believe that the biggest challenge faced by the actuarial profession is that of asserting itself in areas in which it excels in the face of competition from other professions. Actuaries are perceived as persons with limited scope with respect to areas they can apply their expertise in. This needs to change. The profession needs to focus a lot more in terms of being able to communicate with the rest of the commercial world, especially when it comes to areas where the profession is more knowledgeable than others. In the absence of this the profession is likely to be squeezed into a subsidiary role with other professions (specifically accountants) dominating, to the detriment of all.

What is a typical day for you and what are your leisure activities?

It is difficult to describe a “typical” day as I travel a great deal, sometimes at odd hours. When I am at home in Karachi I tend to get up early. I would normally check my email and respond to certain emails very early in the morning. I do take some time out to read the newspaper (currently the DAWN) cover to cover and to browse through some news websites.

I tend to get into work around 9 am and work through to around 7 or 8 pm before heading home. I always check my email late night and sometimes get down to doing some work as well. I sleep between midnight and 1 am.

I used to play a number of sports in my younger days. Unfortunately I no longer do so. I do, however, watch a lot of sport on TV and also watch current affairs programs, which tends to be my main relaxation.

Any last thoughts?

I have enjoyed being an actuary and am quite concerned with the apparently small number of persons who are coming into the profession. There is certainly a constraint in terms of mathematical ability which means that there will always be a select few who choose to come into the profession. Those who have chosen the profession and managed to get through some (if not all) of the examinations have not really had a reason to complain. I believe that all of us in the profession need to do more to encourage young persons (albeit provided they have the necessary grades in mathematics) to come into the profession.

• AN INSPIRING MEETING WITH AGNES PAUL

• CONVERSATION WITH SAIYID SAEED AKHTAR