SYED BABAR ALI'S 100th BIRTHDAY - Jul01,2026
Warm birthday wishes to Syed Babar Ali, one of Pakistan's most respected businessmen, philanthropists and visionaries who has turned 100 years old ma Sha Allah.
Syed Babar Ali is a renowned Pakistani businessman, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and educationist who has been recognized for his immense contributions and impact in the fields of education, business, politics, culture, and environmental conservation. He has helped to establish several multinational manufacturing and service companies in Pakistan, and has also led initiatives for cultural preservation and for promoting equality and excellence in education.
He is the founder of Packages Limited, Milkpak Limited - now Nestlé Pakistan Limited, and Lahore University of Management Sciences, a premier higher education institution in Pakistan. He briefly served as the Finance Minister of Pakistan in 1993. He was also the Founding President of World Wildlife Fund-Pakistan and then later became the International President of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) from 1996 to 1999, succeeding Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. He now serves on the board of Coca Cola Pakistan, Siemens Pakistan, and Sanofi-Aventis.
Syed Babar Ali was born in Lahore in 1926. His father Syed Maratib Ali operated a family-owned provisions store for individual regiments of the British Army, and his mother Syeda Mubarik Begum was the daughter of Faqir Syed Iftikharuddin, a member of the Indian Political Service, the elite service of the British Empire. Syed Babar was one of ten children - four sons and six daughters.
He went to the Sacred Heart School for nursery and elementary education until he was eight years old, and then attended Aitchison college. After graduating from Aitchison, he studied Physics and Chemistry at Government College and earned a BSc degree in 1945.
Although Syed Babar Ali wanted to continue his studies in science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he decided to attend University of Michigan-Ann Arbor in 1947 to take courses in Business Administration since his father wanted him to eventually join and manage the family business. He went back to Pakistan after completing two semesters of coursework, but returned to the US in 1973 to complete a 13-week Advanced Management Program offered at the Harvard Business School.
After his return to the newly independent state of Pakistan in 1947, he joined his family in setting up new businesses for importing and exporting cotton textiles as well as establishing ginning mills and a motor car company. In 1956, he founded Packages Limited, one of the earliest facilities in Pakistan for converting paper and board into packaging. In 1978, Packages Limited expanded its operations to include a milk processing plant and packaging which became Milkpak Limited. This company was acquired by Nestle, and is now the largest food company in Pakistan.
Syed Babar Ali’s other ventures in business include National Fertilizer Corporation, Systems Limited, Siemens-Pakistan, Coca-Cola Beverages Pakistan Limited and Tri-Pack Films Limited.
His business philosophy has always emphasized egalitarianism and empowering the youth of Pakistan to come forward and take responsibility for growth and change. His business ethics are rooted in self-discipline, fairness, impartiality, and respect. His philanthropic initiatives include Babar Ali Foundation which was founded in 1985. The Foundation gives about a million dollars a year primarily for education and health in Pakistan. He is also a member of Layton Rehmatullah Benevolent Trust Karachi and Shalamar Hospital Lahore.
He also helped to set up Naqsh, an Art School with the purpose of providing training in drawing, ceramics, miniature painting, and landscape primarily catering to people from the Walled City of Lahore, but also people from less affluent localities elsewhere. The Naqsh School has enrolled over a thousand students in the ten years of its existence and continues to enable people to learn new skills and earn a reasonable living.
Syed Babar Ali’s efforts to develop Pakistan’s material and human resources extend into higher education and LUMS is a fine example of his solid dedication and determination to provide Pakistnai youth an educational institution based on international models and standards. Syed Babar Ali’s vision for establishing LUMS was to improve the general quality of business in the country for which good managers were needed both in the public as well as the private sector. The idea was to produce a large pool of young men and women who could manage business, industry and banking.
LUMS was founded with public and private financial contributions as well as assistance from the US Agency for International Development (USAID). The Suleman Dawood School of Business was the first school established at LUMS in 1986. However, Syed Babar Ali soon realized that with business management, the country can be improved in a limited way and if he wanted to make a quantum leap, then value would have to be added through what the country produces through the study of science, engineering, law, and social sciences. LUMS has expanded over the years to encompass 12 schools which produce top-quality graduates equipped with the knowledge and skills to be leaders in whichever field they choose.
Syed Babar Ali also founded Ali Institute of Education for training of primary and secondary school teachers. He serves as a Board Member of several important educational institutions of Lahore including his alma mater Aitchison College, Kinnaird College, and Lahore School of Economics. He is also a Founding Member of the South Asia Initiative of Harvard University and the Co-Chair of South Asia Centre for Policy Studies currently based in Nepal.
He has been recognized for his outstanding work and has received numerous honours and awards including from the Government of Sweden, the Netherlands, an Order of British Empire (OBE) from Britain, and was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree of Laws from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.
Pakistan, and the world, would be a much better place if we have a few more people like Syed Babar Ali. Happy Birthday Syed Babar Ali ! May your legacy of wisdom, generosity and leadership continues to inspire Pakistan and the world for many years to come.
