Stories
Stories
Digital Transformation
Hyder Ahmad (MBA 1995)
Hyder Ahmad (MBA 1995) sees the advancing digital transformation
of business and society as a seismic shift, likening it to the
changes brought on by the Industrial Revolution. “This is
the tip of the iceberg. How we run our businesses and our
lives will be deeply impacted going forward,” he notes. Since
founding Broad Peak Investment in Singapore 11 years ago,
Ahmad has seen firsthand the effects. “We now have much
better data around how businesses are performing and, in
some cases, we can analyze the data in a more timely fashion
than some of the companies we invest in.”
To further scholarship at HBS related to data science,
machine learning, and artificial intelligence, and to support
HBS’s Digital Initiative, Ahmad established the Syed Hasan
Ahmad and Arifa Ahmad Research Fund. He named it in
honor of his parents: “They told me that a good education is
the only asset that you can hold on to for your entire life,”
explains the Pakistan native. “My parents were big proponents
of learning about how things evolve in the world. This
fund tied in perfectly with their values and my own.”
Creating it also gave Ahmad the opportunity to express
his gratitude to HBS. “I owe a great deal to the School and
would not be where I am today had it not been for HBS.
I wanted to give to something that I was really passionate
about, and where it would have an impact at the School.”
Ahmad is looking forward to seeing how HBS will advance
the study of the digital world and thus prepare students to
be effective business leaders. “The work that is being done
at HBS is going to drive change and help all our lives in a
positive way over the next 5 to 20 years,” he observes.
“Today’s managers need to be far more data-friendly than my
own generation. They need to be able to analyze, extrapolate,
understand, and make decisions on the basis of that data.
For students at HBS, that is incredibly important.”
