Dr Ishrat Husain is a distinguished economist, policy advisor, author and academic with over five decades of national and international experience in governance, development, and economic reform. He has served as Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (1999–2005), where he led major banking sector reforms and institutional restructuring, contributing to a significant economic turnaround. The Banker Magazine of London declared him the Central Bank Governor of the Year for Asia in 2005, and he received the ‘Asian Banker Lifetime Achievement Award’ in 2006. He was Dean and Director of the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi (2008–2016), transforming it into one of Pakistan’s leading business schools. He continues to serve as HEC National Distinguished Professor, Professor Emeritus, He was Founder Chairman of the Centre for Excellence in Islamic Finance at IBA. He also chaired the National Commission for Government Reforms with the status of Federal Minister, producing a comprehensive two volume report on governance reforms in Pakistan. He earlier chaired the Pay and Pension Commission (2009–2010) and served as an independent director on the Benazir Income Support Programme Board. For his outstanding public services, he was also honoured with the Hilal-e-Imtiaz (2003) and Nishan-e-Imtiaz (2016), Pakistan’s highest civilian award. Dr Husain was Advisor to the Prime Minister on Institutional Reforms and Austerity (2018–2021), with the status of the Federal Minister. In this role, he was a member of the National Economic Council, Economic Coordination Committee, and several Cabinet-level committees. His international career spans over 20 years at the World Bank, where he held senior positions, including Chief Economist for Africa, East Asia and Pacific, and Director for Central Asian Republics. He also served as Resident Representative in Nigeria and Head of the Debt and International Finance Division. He has worked with institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Asian Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as member of their advisory groups, and was a Public Policy Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. He was also Chairman of the World Economic Forum Advisory Council for Pakistan. Dr Husain is the author of several acclaimed publications, including ‘Pakistan: The Economy of an Elitist State’ and ‘Governing the Ungovernable’, both published by Oxford University Press. His most recent work, ‘CPEC and the Pakistani Economy’, focuses on developments related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. He has contributed to over 40 journal articles, 34 book chapters, and numerous monographs. He earned his Master’s in Development Economics from Williams College and a PhD in Economics from Boston University, USA.