Zafar Masud (banker)

Zafar Masud is a Pakistani banker who is the current chief executive officer of the Bank of Punjab (BOP), having held the position since 4 April 2020. Masud is also known as one of only two survivors of the PIA Flight 8303 crash in May 2020, in which 97 people perished.

Early life and education
Masud was born to father Munawar Saeed, a veteran actor of Pakistani cinema, and mother Shahnaz Saeed. His family moved to Karachi from Amroha, India. His maternal grandfather, Taqi Amrohi, was chief editor of the Urdu newspaper Jang, a brother of the writers Rais Amrohvi and Jaun Elia, and a first cousin of the Indian film director Kamal Amrohi.

Masud holds an MBA degree at the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi.

Career
Masud began his career as a banker at American Express Bank in 1994. A year later, he joined Citibank in Pakistan.

In 2005, Masud joined Dubai Islamic Bank to help establish its operations in Pakistan and headed its corporate banking division. From 2008 to 2011, he headed the Southern Africa division of Barclays.

In 2011, Masud founded Burj Capital, an investment bank which he sold to private equity in 2015.

From 2016 to 2018, Masud served as the director general of National Savings.

In April 2020, Masud was appointed as the chief executive officer of the Bank of Punjab.

In March 2024, Masud was elected as the chairman of the Pakistan Banks Association.

Air crash incident
On 22 May 2020, Masud was one of two survivors of the crash of Pakistan International Airlines Flight 8303. The Airbus A320 aircraft, en route from Lahore to Karachi, had initiated a go-around after an aborted first landing attempt at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, when the flight crew issued a distress call, following which the aircraft crashed into the nearby neighbourhood of Model Colony, killing 97 of the 99 people on board.

Masud sustained multiple fractures from the crash, but was reported to be in a stable condition. Two days after the accident, Masud wrote a letter to the BOP, expressing his condolences and his intention to continue serving as CEO of the bank.