SDSB hosted Mr. Adnan Shahid, the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL) to talk about his professional experience and about the landmarks which PTCL has achieved under his leadership. The topic of his session with the MBA students was “The Age of Digitisation in Pakistan: Disruption of OTT”. In broadcasting, over-the-top content (OTT) is the delivery of audio, video, and other media over the Internet without the involvement of a multiple-system operator in the control or distribution of the content. Adnan spoke about the ‘PTCL Smart TV’ which has multiple features and benefits:
- Demand (TVOD)
- Personal Video Recorder
- Time Shift Television (TSTV)
- Parental Control
- EPG (Electronic Program Guide)
- VOD (Video on Demand)
He shared how PTCL is combating challenges in the digitsation process in Pakistan and initiatives which the company is taking to facilitate their customer base. Adnan also shared PTCL’s perspective on the growth in digitisation of Pakistan, and what this means for the future of mobile and internet. He also spoke about PTCL becoming the first Telecommunication operator in Pakistan to sign a partnership agreement with Netflix. According to the agreement, PTCL and Netflix will use their respective resources for mutual benefit, utilising and maximising the viewing experience and penetration of Netflix services in Pakistan. PTCL became the only service provider in Pakistan with advanced caching servers and technical pairing with Netflix to offer the superior viewing experience.
Over Adnan’s 20 year of professional career, he has held technology, marketing, and strategy leadership positions in different industry verticals. He also founded two companies. In his current role as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, he is responsible for Voice, broadband and multimedia business of PTCL including new product design, customer care and experience management and marketing communications. Adnan is an Electrical Engineer from National University of Sciences and Technology, Pakistan(NUST) and holds a MBA degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA in Innovation and Global Leadership. He also holds the distinction of being a Legatum Fellow - MIT Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship is the leading center for supporting entrepreneurial ventures in developing economies.
