Azam Saigol (17 November 1951 – 24 January 2018) was a Pakistani businessperson and politician. He held executive positions at Kohinoor Industries, Saritow Spinning Mills, Pak Elektron, and Azam Textile Mills. He was on the

Pakistan International Airlines Pakistan International Airlines ( ur, ; abbreviated PIA, ur, ) is an international airline that serves as the national flag carrier of Pakistan under the administrative control of the Secretary to the Government of Pakistan for Aviation. It ...

board from 2013 to 2016, before serving as chairman in 2016.

Early life and education

Saigol was born on 17 November 1951 to Mian Yousuf Saigol, who founded

Saigol Group The Saigol Group, also known as Kohinoor Group, is a Pakistani conglomerate company which is based in Lahore, Pakistan. The company was founded by Amin Saigol in the 1930s with a small shop that eventually developed into the Kohinoor Rubber Work ...

. He was educated at the

Aitchison College, Lahore Aitchison College ( ur, ایچیسن کالج) is an independent, semi-private boys school for boarding and day students from grade 1–13 in Lahore, Pakistan. It has a tradition of providing an education that uses academics, sports, and co-curri ...

and

Government College University, Lahore The Government College University, Lahore (colloquially known as GCU), is a public research university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Opened as Government College, Lahore, in 1864, it became a university in 2002. Overview In 1864, Gov ...

. For further education, he went to England and studied at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

and completed a Bachelor's in economics.

Career

He held executive positions at Kohinoor Industries, Saritow Spinning Mills, Pak Elektron, and Azam Textile Mills. He was on the

board from 2013 to 2016, before serving as chairman in 2016. He resigned in December 2016 citing personal reasons. Press noted that a week prior, a Pakistan International Airlines plane had crashed with 47 fatalities, with ''The News'' stating that Saigol had been pressured to resign afterwards."Pakistan International Airlines chairman resigns days after plane crash"
Reuters, 12-12-2016 The airline went without a chairman until December 21, 2016, when Prime Minister

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi language, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime ...

announced that the chairmanship had gone to Irfan Elahi, Aviation Secretary."PIA's free fall"
Dawn, 11-26-2017

Personal life

He was married to Amber Haroon Saigol, a scion of

Haroon family Harun, also transliterated as Haroon or Haroun ( ar, هارون, ) is a common male given name of Arabic origin, related to the Hebrew name of the Prophet Aaron. Both are most likely of Ancient Egyptian origin, from ''aha rw'', meaning "warrior l ...

, who currently heads ''

Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's horizo ...

''."The Haroon-Saigol Family"
Freedom Network Their daughter, Nazafreen Saigol Lakhani, married into the Lakhani family. Saigol died on 24 January 2018.

References

1951 births 2018 deaths Pakistan International Airlines people Aitchison College alumni Saigol Group {{Pakistan-business-bio-stub