Heading important departments, such as corporate finance, investment banking, and branch banking and that, too, of Habib Bank Limited, Pakistan’s largest bank is no small feat – HBL has Rs2.4 trillion worth of assets on its balance sheet at the end of 2016, the year in which it booked Rs32 billion in profit. It becomes even more significant when the person who has this privilege is a woman.
Meet Sima Kamil, a highly respected female banker who is the head of HBL’s Branch Banking since 2011. Kamil is overseeing the 1,700-strong branch network of HBL, dealing in Retail, Consumer, SME, Rural Banking and Wealth Management. One can hardly find any women holding top positions in large financial firms and we would not be surprised if Kamil becomes the first female to head a large bank.
Supervising the largest bank branch network in the country alone makes her one of our top picks for the most powerful women in business. Under Kamil’s tenure, HBL’s branch network soared to 1,677 at the end of 2016, up by more than 14% compared to 1,464 in 2011, the year she joined.
Kamil also leads the development and launch of HBL’s Women’s Market Program, which aims to make HBL the leading bank for women in Pakistan. She is also a keen participant in the education sector of the country, currently serving as Chair of the Board of Governors of Karachi Grammar School and Board Member of the Notre Dame Institute of Education.
Kamil, who holds an MBA from City University, London, is one of the most experienced bankers in Pakistan with 25 years of experience, a clear indication that she ventured into banking and finance at a time when the country’s financial services sector was a male-dominated profession. She was previously associated with American Express Bank and Standard Chartered Bank. Her past assignments also include HBL’s overseas segments. Currently, Kamil also serves as Director of HBL Asset Management Company Limited
