IPN Spotlight: Qahir Dhanani (Advisor to the CEO and Senior Private Sector Development Specialist at the World Bank)
With roots in Kenya, Qahir Dhanani is a Canadian working in Washington, DC. Currently, he holds two positions at the World Bank, concurrently serving as an Advisor to the CEO and as a Senior Private Sector Development Specialist.
In his corporate role, he is the architect of the World Bank’s “Agile Bank” program, a multi-faceted operating model and culture change endeavor aimed at enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the institution, using methods borrowed from tech. In his client-facing role, Qahir leads the policy dialogue with government agencies and the technical design of various projects aimed at leveraging the private sector for economic growth, competitiveness, enterprise development, and innovation in countries such as Pakistan, the Maldives, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan, among others. He joined the World Bank in its Young Professionals Program (YPP).
Prior to joining the Bank, Qahir was a Project Leader at The Boston Consulting Group in Dubai where he managed various strategy and operations projects for government, oil and gas, media, and financial institution clients in the Middle East. Prior to joining BCG, he served as the External Relations Officer for the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance in Geneva, and as the Special Projects Officer for the Aga Khan Foundation USA in Washington.
Qahir holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School, an MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School, and a BA honors in Economics and Government from Cornell University. He was a visiting scholar at the University of Oxford.
What skills have helped you in your career?
• Managing both the overall strategic picture and the details at the same time enables colleagues and executives to make decisions quickly and ensures the execution is thought through.
• Focusing on what’s important by constantly triaging the work and ignoring the extraneous is critical for effective time management.
What do you wish you had known or done differently throughout your career?
There are too many small things that I wish I did differently. Nothing major!
What do you do for continuing education and improvement?
I leverage my colleagues and friends to learn new things and take advantage of the learning opportunities provided by my employer.
What is next for you in your career?
At present, I’m focused on my work at the World Bank.
What advice would you offer to others?
Two things. First, do what you enjoy. Second, whatever you decide to pursue, be mindful that the jobs of the future will be very different and digital fluency will be critical – this means not only being an expert software user, but also understanding programming languages and basic engineering.
Areas where you can help other Ismailis:
• Engage in substance-based knowledge-exchange on topics such as agile transformations, culture change, entrepreneurship and innovation
• Share ideas with those early on in their careers on engaging with multilateral institutions like the World Bank
Please provide the link to your LinkedIn profile:
Qahir Dhanani
Please provide your preferred email address so interested professionals can network with you:
[email protected]
Region:
Northeast
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