Khurram Zafar

Khurram Zafar is a highly accomplished business and technology executive who serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Pakistan Mercantile Exchange (PMEX), the country's first and only licensed multi-commodity futures exchange regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan. Leading an institution of this significance places him at the centre of Pakistan's commodities and derivatives landscape, where market integrity, technology infrastructure, and investor confidence all intersect. The career of Khurram Zafar spans Pakistan, Europe, and the United States, giving him a rare combination of local market understanding and international operating experience.

Before taking on the leadership of PMEX, Khurram Zafar built a reputation as one of Pakistan's most active enablers of entrepreneurship. He founded the LUMS Center for Entrepreneurship, which grew into one of the country's most respected startup incubators and helped launch a generation of early-stage Pakistani ventures. He also led a Pakistan-focused venture capital fund, working directly on the capital side of the ecosystem and giving him firsthand insight into what local startups need to scale, from governance and structure to access to funding.

His background in capital markets technology runs equally deep. Khurram Zafar served as Chief Information Officer at the Lahore Stock Exchange, where he was responsible for the technology backbone of a major national trading institution. Earlier in his career in the United States, he consulted for global financial institutions, including Merrill Lynch, Visa, and Bank of America, gaining exposure to the systems, compliance standards, and risk frameworks that underpin some of the world's largest financial operations. That international grounding continues to inform how he approaches modernization at PMEX today.

Anyone looking to learn more about Khurram Zafar will find a leader whose contribution extends into national financial policy and inclusion. He has served on the board and the digital financial services advisory committee of Karandaaz Pakistan, an organization focused on financial inclusion and access to finance across the country. Drawing on this combined experience across capital markets, entrepreneurship, and technology, Khurram Zafar is playing a pivotal role in transforming Pakistan's commodities exchange and strengthening the broader financial ecosystem for investors, businesses, and market participants alike.