Imran Anwar is a serial "parallel entrepreneur", technology industry professional, cloud computing thought leader, media personality and published writer. He is frequently found on leading global TV news channels and popular radio talk shows, from New York to Los Angeles and abroad, as an outspoken journalist and media expert on global affairs, technology, politics and social affairs. He enjoys living, boating, flying, riding and enjoying life on the South Shore of Suffolk, in Long Island, NY and on the Atlantic coast of Florida.
Imran was born in Montgomery (now Sahiwal), Pakistan, He was educated at St. Paul's English High School in Karachi, where he took his Cambridge University O' Levels Exams in 1976. In 1978 he completed the A' Levels examinations at Aitchison College. After graduating from Aitchison College, Imran joined the University of Engineering & Technology in Lahore. After completing his BS in Electrical Engineering, Imran joined the largest Pakistani newspaper chain, Jang, as Business Manager and Business Editor.
In 1989 he went to Columbia University's gloabally respected Graduate School of Business for an MBA, on a full scholarship. During his time there, he also attended the prestigious Columbia Journalism School, and also continued to operate an entrepreneurial business. This included establishing South Asia's largest and most successful media syndication business, representing global media and intellectial property owners in 17 countries.
Using the technical services of a close friend and brilliant engineer neighbor from Lahore, Ashar, he became the founder of Internet email in Pakistan. They started providing internet based services in Pakistan, with IMRAN.PK as the first Internet Service Provider there, run by Imran and his team. His partner founded and ran PKNIC, the registry for the ccTLD (country code Top Level Domain) for Pakistan, .PK, which Ashar and Imran had started as co-owners and co-founders in the early days of the Internet].
With the advent of higher speed satellite communications, and finding himself on the wrong side of the government's repressive and onerous policies regarding control of telecommunications and censorship, he decided being an ISP was not a business of interest anymore.
Imran then established what later became IMRAN INTERNETional, an international but small consulting firm, which helped bring various global financial and media organizations onto the Internet as well as providing strategy consulting. He used the success from his consulting and other new-media projects to focus on bringing new products and services to Pakistan. Among other projects, he was able to bring MasterCard and branded global credit cards to Pakistan, helping launch the great success of credit markets for Pakistan's growing middle and professional classes.
In 1996 Imran's Pakistani operations hit a serious bump based in part on his political and outspoken opinions. This included his IMRAN,NET Pakistan business being nearly squeezed shut by external forces. In 1997 Imran joined an elite team of consultants at Silicon Valley Internet Partners (then renamed to Viant), in NY City but three months of commuting made him beat a hasty retreat to Long Island. He did not enjoy walking away from a heft payout that could have been enjoyed after a Viant IPO (initial public offering), but quality of life has always been paramount to him.
When one of the world's largest software companies invited him to work just 20 minutes from home, he accepted, and was there from June, 1997 to December, 2003. After six and half years in that particular companyhe moved back into strategic technology and business management consulting. After hestruck out on his own again and continued to enjoy consulting, providing professional services to clients around the nation and abroad, as well working on several of his new dot-com ventures. Who knows, he may become a Billionaire still - whether that happens in US$ or pesos/paisas, we don't know yet.
His current interests span monetization of content online (XASH), including social networking (MySpaceTime), blogs, global TV (IMRAN TV) and he is also active again with his old partner Ashar, as their .PK venture nears its 20th Year. Imran has also pioneered new ideas in the field of telematics and location-aware mobile eBusiness solutions, as CEO of EverTraca company later acquired by CA. Imran also founded NETRETARY, a "Secretary On Demand™" service enabling busy people to get more done by using remote virtual personal assistants.
After losing both parents, and the turmoil of the 2008-2010 timeframe, Imran was invited to join a global joint venture of three of the biggest names in Cloud Computing. Using his strategy, product management, marketing and thought leadership abilities, his role includes creating unique cloud computing offerings for all global verticals, from healthcare, to financial services, public sector, retail, manufacturing, edutcation, and service providers.
mran's various interests include flying, cruising/boating/yachting in his 40' Sea Ray SunDancer 360 "IMRAN" (below) on the Great South Bay, in New York. Favorite haunts include Old Inlet, Watch Hill, Fire Island, as well as Manhattan, Shelter Island, etc. in New York or a smaller boat named after his late mother, "NARGIS", and salling on the "Winds Of AnWAR", named in memory of his late father. (Pictured below in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New York).
He also enjoys award-winning photography, electronic music composition, creative writing, reading, movies, travelling, and many other activities. He is quite popular in social media (with more than 20,000 connections on FaceBook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) Just some of Imran's media coverage is available at this site, but coverage and media exposure related to his professional life was never offered here - to keep his personal and public life and opinions separate from his work.
In addition, he is a frequent and popular media guest, including live interviews and appearances on CNN, and Fox News Channel, as an expert on global business strategy, sociopolitical affairs, the Middle East and South East Asia. In the last few years he did not appear on radio and TV on business or technology issues to avoid any conflict of interest issues but is seen on CNN, Fox News Channel, GEO TV, Fox Business News, etc.