Asif Aziz

Chief Commercial Officer of Jazz

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Asif Aziz is the chief Commercial officer of Jazz. Asif Aziz was born and raised in London. His parents were first-time immigrants to the UK and moved there in the late 1950s.

Early life and background

Asif Aziz was born and raised in London. His parents were first-time immigrants to the UK and moved there in the late 1950s. He and his friends and cousins spoke English with each other rather than Urdu while he was growing up. [1]

Aziz's father was a professional who was also very entrepreneurial. His father ran several businesses, including apparel, shops and care homes. He would not let Aziz work in the family businesses, and he believed strongly that his son needed to study first. [1]

Education

Aziz completed three A-levels in the UK, then went to university in London. He studied business studies as an undergraduate, having initially started with accounting, which he found too limiting. He took marketing diplomas from the Chartered Institute of Marketing and from a second chartered institute. He also earned an MBA from a small private management college. [1]

Banking

Aziz went into banking and worked for HSBC Bank. At HSBC he completed a management training programme of rotations in retail banking, and he worked on the bank's global rebrand. He described 1997, when Hong Kong was being returned to China, as a dangerous time for a British bank to be known as Hong Kong Bank. [1]

He was asked to move back to Hong Kong to work in trade finance. He wanted to work in marketing and branding instead of trade finance. He spent about five years in banking before moving to Orange. [1]

Orange

When Aziz joined Orange, the company had about 300,000 customers. At Orange he worked in marketing and product management and rose to marketing director. He left Orange in about 2010 or 2011. He moved to a landline business, which Orange later acquired. [1]

Africa and Dubai

Aziz wanted to move to emerging markets because growth was only 1 to 2 percent. He applied for a job with a company based in Africa. Because living in Africa was difficult, his employer let him live in Dubai. He commuted for two to three weeks at a time while working in West Africa. [1]

Aziz has lived in Mauritania, Senegal and Sudan. He worked with the government of Senegal to put its government portals online as a free app on people's phones. He says world maps show Africa out of proportion, and that countries in Africa share borders but share no identity with each other. [1]

His family moved with him to Dubai. He says the Dubai years were very tough on his family. He decided to stop travelling for work. He said he did not want to lose his right to put his child on a straight path, and he played more golf and exercised more while he was away from home. [1]

Jazz

Aziz's family moved from Dubai to Pakistan after about four and a half to five years in Dubai. He moved to Pakistan because the job was based there. He was approached through a message on LinkedIn and received a job offer after interviews held over video. He could not speak Urdu when he moved to Pakistan, and he says he still struggles with it. [1]

His boss when he joined Jazz was Aamir Ibrahim. He joined Jazz as Vice President of Marketing and was promoted to Chief Commercial Officer after just under a year as Vice President of Marketing. As Chief Commercial Officer, marketing reports to him, and the wider commercial function sits under him. He is responsible for sales and customer care, and he describes the role as covering the customer from the day they buy a SIM until the end. [1]

Aziz says Jazz is a digital company and that its core business is voice and data access. Jazz moved to 4G and now launches its own apps. He has said more than 50 percent of Jazz customers are on 4G. He says Jazz is the biggest provider of business solutions in Pakistan, and that 96 of the 900 top companies on the stock exchange are Jazz customers. He says customers buy phones to upload content, not just to take photos. [1]

He says network decisions are based on customer feedback, and that everything needs a business case. He says data science is vital for Jazz because it shows what customers are doing. Jazz uses the same data science to decide where to place the network. He says Jazz can use customer data to help advertisers choose where to advertise, and that Jazz is building B2B innovation. [1]

He says Jazz has a deal with universities to offer guaranteed jobs to first-class mathematics graduates. He says Jazz faces an employee retention issue. He says where employees work does not matter. He describes Jazz as the door to digital Pakistan. [1]

Jazz products

Jazz runs JazzCash, a fintech product that lets customers make financial transactions. Jazz launched Tamasha, a TV product, which Aziz says is used most in rural areas rather than cities. It also launched BiP, a social media and messaging platform, and Garaj, a cloud product. Aziz says he mentored young graduates on which channels to use and how to transfer money through JazzCash. [1]

Jazz launched Jazz Musafir, a travel app it is still experimenting with. Jazz runs a voucher product with restaurants and Baakhabar Kissan, an app that gives farmers rates, weather and market information. Aziz describes Bajao as Jazz's music application, and he describes Tamasha and Garaj as local brands. He says Jazz uses Urdu names on its local products to show localisation. [1]

Views on business

Aziz says a business must answer what business it is in. He describes his role as enabling people's goals. He says businesses now move quickly, so an idea can be built, launched and dropped within a week. [1]

In 1998 his business plan projected one million customers. He respects businesses that have lasted two generations. He says that in most of Western Europe, people no longer open Facebook accounts. [1]

He says in the digital world people need only a laptop and code to launch products. He says India produces more IT graduates each year than Netherlands has workers. [1]

Views on telecoms policy

Aziz says 5G spectrum is unachievable at the current price. He says Jazz has 47 MHz of spectrum and needs at least 100 MHz for 5G. He says 5G cannot be priced the same way as 4G, and that 5G is about applications as well as speed. [1]

He says about half of Pakistan's population does not yet have a smartphone and that rural areas need 4G rather than 5G. He says entrepreneurs will build apps once 5G is built. [1]

He says telecoms should be treated as a long-term enabler of economic prosperity, and that Pakistan's tax policies on telecoms are regressive. He cites withholding tax at 15 percent and GST at 19.5 percent. He estimates that up to 40 percent of what customers spend goes to tax. He suggests a moratorium on spectrum pricing, lower taxes, more freelancing and greater financial inclusion. [1]

Aziz says he thinks 2G should be shut down. He says more 2G phones than 4G phones are on his network because 2G handsets are cheaper. He says taxes on handsets are still too high. He says Pakistan should have built handset assembly long ago and stopped imports, and that it has not made its own SIM cards in 30 years. [1]

Views on the economy and Pakistan

Aziz cites GSMA data that each 10 percentage point rise in internet penetration adds about 1 percent to GDP. He has estimated that reaching 75 percent internet penetration could add 10 billion dollars to the economy. He says Pakistan's internet users should be 160 to 170 million, not about 90 million. [1]

He says internet access and financial freedom are essential, not luxuries. He says he sees no bigger opportunity than giving everyone financial access. He says Pakistan has very little banking penetration. [1]

He says freelancing is enormous potential for Pakistan. He says there needs to be a specific push to bring women into digital earning. He says Pakistan cannot move forward unless women are side by side with men. [1]

Aziz says he is still very optimistic about Pakistan. He says Pakistan is on the precipice of a world stage but holds itself back. He describes Pakistan as having a 300 million population and says it is formidable on the world stage. He says he cannot see the needed work happening because of too much internal conflict. [1]

Timeline

1997
Hong Kong was being returned to China, a period he described as dangerous for a British bank to be known as Hong Kong Bank.[1]
1998
His business plan projected one million customers.[1]
2010
He left Orange in about 2010 or 2011.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2023-01-11 Pakistan is on the precipice — and holding itself back Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

What does Asif Aziz do?

Asif Aziz is the Chief Commercial Officer of Jazz. Marketing reports to him, and the wider commercial function sits under him. He is responsible for sales and customer care, and he describes the role as covering the customer from the day they buy a SIM until the end.[1]

Where did Asif Aziz study?

Asif Aziz completed three A-levels in the UK, then went to university in London. He studied business studies as an undergraduate after initially starting with accounting. He took marketing diplomas from the Chartered Institute of Marketing and earned an MBA from a small private management college.[1]

Where is Asif Aziz from?

Asif Aziz was born and raised in London. His parents were first-time immigrants to the UK who moved there in the late 1950s. His family later moved from Dubai to Pakistan after about four and a half to five years in Dubai.[1]

What did Asif Aziz do before Jazz?

Asif Aziz worked in banking at HSBC for about five years before moving to Orange. At Orange he worked in marketing and product management and rose to marketing director. He also applied for a job with a company based in Africa and was allowed to live in Dubai.[1]

Which products has Asif Aziz described at Jazz?

Asif Aziz has described several Jazz products. Jazz runs JazzCash, a fintech product that lets customers make financial transactions. It launched Tamasha, a TV product, BiP, a social media and messaging platform, and Garaj, a cloud product.[1]

References

  1. Pakistan is on the precipice — and holding itself back . Thought Behind Things , 2023-01-11.
Show the source passages (118 statements)
  1. Asif Aziz was born and raised in London. I was born and raised in London.
  2. His parents were first-time immigrants to the UK and moved there in the late 1950s. They were first-time immigrants to the UK. I think they would have, my parents moved early, late 50s.
  3. He and his friends and cousins spoke English with each other rather than Urdu while he was growing up. hum toh English bolenge, main friends, cousins, hum sab English mein baat karenge, kabhi Urdu mein nahi
  4. His father was a professional who was also very entrepreneurial. No, growing up, my father was a professional but he was also very entrepreneurial.
  5. His father ran several businesses, including apparel, shops and care homes. Sometimes it would be apparel, sometimes it would be a stream of shops, sometimes it would be something to do with care homes.
  6. His father would not let him work in the family businesses. And he would not let me come anywhere near his businesses.
  7. His father believed strongly that he needed to study first. My father was a very big believer that, 'beta, you need to study'.
  8. He completed three A-levels in the UK, then went to university in London. I did three A-levels and then I went to university in the UK, again a London university.
  9. He studied business studies as an undergraduate. So, I did business studies. So, I did business studies, I did business studies undergraduate.
  10. He initially started with accounting but found it too limiting. Initially, I started with accounting, but I found accounting too limiting.
  11. He took marketing diplomas from the Chartered Institute of Marketing and from a second chartered institute. So, Chartered Institute of Marketing, Chartered Institute of Market Researchers.
  12. He earned an MBA from a small private management college. I did an MBA from a very small private management college called Ashridge.
  13. He went into banking and worked for HSBC Bank. I went into a bank, and I worked for HSBC Bank.
  14. He spent about five years in banking before moving to Orange. For about five years. And then I moved to a startup, Maverick startup, called Orange.
  15. At HSBC he completed a management training programme of rotations in retail banking. so I did a number of roles and rotations, but it was all in retail banking
  16. At HSBC he worked on the bank's global rebrand. And I was involved in the rebrand, and I was managing the global rebrand.
  17. In 1997 Hong Kong was being returned to China, which he described as a dangerous time for a British bank to be known as Hong Kong Bank. And in '97, Hong Kong was being returned to China, and the bank was in the UK, and this was a very dangerous time for British people to be known as Hong Kong Bank.
  18. He was asked to move back to Hong Kong to work in trade finance. Um, I was being asked to move back to Hong Kong to work in trade finance.
  19. He wanted to work in marketing and branding instead of trade finance. I was done with that. I thought this marketing world, this branding world...
  20. When he joined Orange, the company had about 300,000 customers. Us waqt na, Orange ke paas 3 lakh customer the sirf, jab maine join kiya.
  21. At Orange he worked in marketing and product management and rose to marketing director. So, I was mainly in marketing, product, product management, marketing, rising to marketing director
  22. He left Orange in about 2010 or 2011. I didn't leave Orange until 2010, I think, or '11.
  23. He moved to a landline business, which Orange later acquired. So, I moved to a landline business, which then Orange acquired.
  24. He wanted to move to emerging markets because growth was only 1 to 2 percent. Growth ho rahi thi 1%, 2%. And I wanted to move to emerging markets.
  25. He applied for a job with a company based in Africa. I actually applied for a job to a company that was based in Africa.
  26. Because living in Africa was difficult, his employer let him live in Dubai. But because it's difficult to live in Africa, they allowed me to live in Dubai.
  27. He commuted for two to three weeks at a time while working in West Africa. Which was tough because I was commuting for two weeks, three weeks at a time, and I was living in West Africa.
  28. He has lived in Mauritania. I lived in Mauritania.
  29. He has lived in Senegal. I lived in Senegal. Senegal were in the World Cup, so everybody knows them.
  30. He has lived in Sudan. And I lived in Sudan.
  31. He says world maps show Africa out of proportion. jo world ke maps banaye gaye hain na, woh disproportionate hain, woh Africa ko sahi nahi dikhate.
  32. He says countries in Africa share borders but share no identity with each other. Countries share borders, yet they share no identity with each other.
  33. His family moved with him to Dubai. Yes, my family moved with me.
  34. He says the Dubai years were very tough on his family. that was a very tough time, and I didn't appreciate that time that they had and the impact on my family.
  35. He decided to stop travelling for work. maine yeh conscious decision li thi at that time that I won't travel anymore
  36. He said he did not want to lose his right to put his child on a straight path. I didn't want to lose my right to be able to put her on a straight path
  37. He played more golf and exercised more while he was away from home. So, I played more golf, I did more exercise, more fitness, more running, more other things.
  38. His family moved from Dubai to Pakistan after about four and a half to five years in Dubai. So, that, after I think maybe almost four and a half, five years, we made the switch from Dubai in, I think, 2015 to Pakistan.
  39. He moved to Pakistan because the job was based there. this is the reason I then moved to Pakistan because the job was based in, in Pakistan.
  40. He received a job offer after interviews held over video. So, it was all on video, and, um, and before I knew it, I got a job offer.
  41. He was approached through a message on LinkedIn. I got a message on LinkedIn.
  42. He could not speak Urdu when he moved to Pakistan. And honestly, I couldn't speak Urdu at that time.
  43. He says he still struggles with Urdu. I still struggle, as you know.
  44. His boss when he joined Jazz was Aamir Ibrahim. My boss, Aamir Ibrahim,
  45. He joined Jazz as Vice President of Marketing. So, I was came to join as Vice President of Marketing.
  46. He was promoted to Chief Commercial Officer after just under a year as Vice President of Marketing. so I was Vice President for Marketing for about, uh, just under a year, and then I was elevated to Chief Commercial Officer
  47. As CCO, marketing reports to him, and the wider commercial function sits under him. Marketing reports into me, and then I had the whole commercial arena underneath my area.
  48. As CCO he is responsible for sales and customer care. So, sales, customer care, ye saari cheezein.
  49. He describes his CCO role as covering the customer from the day they buy a SIM until the end. from imagine customer ko shuru se le ke jis din usne SIM khareedi hai till the end
  50. He says network decisions are based on customer feedback. based on customer feedback, idhar network kamzor hai
  51. He says everything needs a business case. Ji, ji, kyunki har cheez ka business case hona padta hai na.
  52. Jazz moved to 4G and now launches its own apps. Then we evolved to 4G, so 4G launch ki humne, and then uske baad ab hum apne apps to launch karte hain.
  53. Asif Aziz has said more than 50 percent of Jazz customers are on 4G. Great, now we have more than 50% of our customers on 4G.
  54. He says a business must answer what business it is in. We must answer what business are we in. Every business has to answer that.
  55. He describes his role as enabling people's goals. I am the enabler of making people's dreams come true.
  56. He says businesses now move quickly, so an idea can be built, launched and dropped within a week. I can come up with an idea on Monday, build it on Tuesday, launch it on Wednesday, review it on Thursday, kill it on Friday because it didn't work.
  57. In 1998 his business plan projected one million customers. mere apne business plan mein '98 mein, we were going to have 1 million customers.
  58. He respects businesses that have lasted two generations. I do respect businesses that have been around for two generations.
  59. He says that in most of Western Europe, people no longer open Facebook accounts. in most of Western Europe, nobody opens a Facebook account. Not anymore.
  60. Asif Aziz is Chief Commercial Officer of Jazz, according to the episode description. Growing Economy At Super Speed Ft. CCO Jazz Asif Aziz
  61. He says Jazz is a digital company. So, hum digital company hain.
  62. He says Jazz's core business is voice and data access. Core business mein yeh hai ke we have voice, we provide data. Yeh, isko main kehta hoon access.
  63. He says customers buy phones to upload content, not just to take photos. Nobody buys the phone just to take photographs. They are wanting to upload them.
  64. Jazz runs JazzCash, a fintech product that lets customers make financial transactions. So, we've got a very big fintech product, JazzCash, jahan pe humne customers ko enable kar diya ke woh financial transactions kar sakein.
  65. Jazz launched Tamasha, a TV product. humne launch kiya hua hai apna TV product, Tamasha.
  66. He says Tamasha is used most in rural areas rather than cities. woh un areas mein hai jo hamare rurals hain as opposed to the cities.
  67. Jazz launched BiP, a social media and messaging platform. abhi recently humne launch kiya hai bada social media aur messaging platform, BiP.
  68. Jazz launched Jazz Musafir, a travel app it is still experimenting with. woh tha Jazz Musafir. Yeh ek hum koshish kar rahe hain thoda sa travel app.
  69. Jazz runs a voucher product with restaurants. ek Discount Bazar hamara product hai jo really I think KLI mein chalta hai is waqt, jahan pe humne restaurants ke saath na ek kind of voucher system lagaya hua hai.
  70. Jazz runs Baakhabar Kissan, an app that gives farmers rates, weather and market information. Baakhabar Kissan hamara ek aur application hai jahan pe hum kissan ko na unki rates aur weather aur markets ke baare mein
  71. Jazz launched Garaj, a cloud product. humne apna launch kiya tha Garaj, which is a cloud.
  72. He says 96 of the 900 top companies on the stock exchange are Jazz customers. I think stock exchange ki 900 top mein se 96 hamare customers hain.
  73. He says Jazz is the biggest provider of business solutions in Pakistan. Jazz is the biggest provider of business solutions in this country.
  74. He says Jazz has a deal with universities to offer guaranteed jobs to first-class mathematics graduates. maine universities ke saath deal ki hui hai. All first class mathematics graduates ko main guaranteed job dunga to come and work with us.
  75. He says data science is vital for Jazz because it shows what customers are doing. Data science is vital for me. I need to know what the customer is doing so that I can develop things to serve and make their needs easier.
  76. He says Jazz uses the same data science to decide where to place the network. Hum yehi data science istemal karte hain lagane ke liye ke network kidhar lagega.
  77. He describes Jazz as the door to digital Pakistan. We're effectively, we are the door for digital Pakistan.
  78. He describes Tamasha and Garaj as local brands. Tamasha is a local brand. Garaj is a local brand.
  79. He describes Bajao as Jazz's music application. Bajao as well, ji hamara music application, Bajao.
  80. He says Jazz uses Urdu names on its local products to show localisation. humne inke upar na yeh Urdu ke alfaaz lagaye hue hain because we want to show localization.
  81. He says 5G spectrum is unachievable at the current price. 5G spectrum is un, um, is unachievable on the current price.
  82. He says Jazz has 47 MHz of spectrum and needs at least 100 MHz for 5G. is waqt hamare paas 47 MHz ka spectrum hai, mujhe kam se kam 100 MHz ki need hai 5G ke upar.
  83. He says 5G cannot be priced the same way as 4G. I cannot have the same pricing regime for 5G as I have for 4G.
  84. He suggests a moratorium on spectrum pricing, lower taxes, more freelancing and greater financial inclusion. I suggest a moratorium on spectrum pricing, lowering of taxation, encouraging more freelancers to work from here, encouraging people to become self-sufficient, and greater financial inclusion.
  85. He says 5G is about applications as well as speed. 5G is not just about the speed, it's about the applications.
  86. He says about half of Pakistan's population does not yet have a smartphone. Yahan pe toh 50% ke paas abhi smartphone bhi nahi hai
  87. He says rural areas need 4G rather than 5G. Wahan pe 4G ki zaroorat hai, abhi bhi 4G ki zaroorat hai.
  88. He says entrepreneurs will build apps once 5G is built. Yeh jab aap cheez bana loge na 5G ki, toh applications peeche entrepreneurs banane lag jayenge.
  89. He says telecoms should be treated as a long-term enabler of economic prosperity. We need to look at telecoms as a long-term enabler of economic prosperity.
  90. He says Pakistan's tax policies on telecoms are regressive. is waqt jo taxation policies hain na hamare mulk mein, woh kafi regressive hain
  91. He cites withholding tax at 15 percent and GST at 19.5 percent. Withholding tax at 15%, GST at 19.5%, toh woh immediately sochte hain ke main customer ki jeb se 40% nikal loon.
  92. He estimates that up to 40 percent of what customers spend goes to tax. Ghoom ghoom ke mera khayal hai 40% tak aapka jo hai woh tax pe chala jata hai.
  93. He has estimated that reaching 75 percent internet penetration could add 10 billion dollars to the economy. jab hum 75% tak le jayein, toh 10 billion dollars hamari economy mein aa sakte hain.
  94. He cites GSMA data that each 10 percentage point rise in internet penetration adds about 1 percent to GDP. Ek chota sa number hai aur yeh GSMA ki apni website ke upar hai. Har 10 percentage points ki increase of penetration of internet, tumhari GDP ke upar 1% up to 1% impact hota hai.
  95. He says Pakistan's internet users should be 160 to 170 million, not about 90 million. jis tarah aapne kaha ke 90 million internet users hain. Yaar, yeh thodi si na mujhe kabhi kabhi sharmindagi aati hai is number pe. This should be 160 million, 170 million.
  96. He says internet access and financial freedom are essential, not luxuries. internet access linked to financial freedom. I I do not think these are luxuries.
  97. He says he sees no bigger opportunity than giving everyone financial access. I cannot see a bigger opportunity than to give everybody financially enabled.
  98. He says Pakistan has very little banking penetration. is mulk mein banking penetration toh hai hi nahi.
  99. He says where employees work does not matter. Where you're working is irrelevant.
  100. He says Jazz faces an employee retention issue. I have a huge issue on retention of employees due to this.
  101. He says freelancing is enormous potential for Pakistan. I think the freelancer economy is enormous potential for this country.
  102. He says there needs to be a specific push to bring women into digital earning. there needs to be a very specific push towards that demographic
  103. He says Pakistan cannot move forward unless women are side by side with men. You cannot move forward unless your women are side by side, to quote the founder of Pakistan.
  104. He says he mentored young graduates on which channels to use and how to transfer money through JazzCash. They were young young graduates, maine unko mentoring di ke woh kaun se channels istemal karein aur woh kaise JazzCash se paise kahein customer ko paise transfer kar do
  105. He says he thinks 2G should be shut down. Meri jo rai hai yahan pe, woh yeh hai ke I think humein 2G band kar dena chahiye.
  106. He says more 2G phones than 4G phones are on his network because 2G handsets are cheaper. 2G ke phones mere network pe zyada aa rahe hain nisbat se 4G se. Because 2G ki price behtar hai.
  107. He says taxes on handsets are still too high. jo taxation hai, woh still on handsets is too high.
  108. He says Pakistan should have built handset assembly long ago and stopped imports. we should have been building handset assembly long time ago and stopping imports.
  109. He says Pakistan has not made its own SIM cards in 30 years. 30 saal mein hum abhi tak SIM card nahi bana sake.
  110. He worked with the government of Senegal to put its government portals online as a free app on people's phones. I did this in Senegal. I worked with the government and maine saare government ke portals online karke unko free app banake unke phones pe laga diya tha.
  111. He says he is still very optimistic about Pakistan. I'm still very optimistic.
  112. He says Pakistan is on the precipice of a world stage but holds itself back. We are on a, we are on the precipice of being on a, on a world stage. Everything is with us, but somehow we are a little bit hell-bent on being able to hold ourselves back.
  113. He describes Pakistan as having a 300 million population and says it is formidable on the world stage. We're a 300 million population and we are a formidable on the world stage.
  114. He says he cannot see the needed work happening because of too much internal conflict. I cannot see that work happening right now because we have too much internal conflict between ourselves.
  115. He says in the digital world people need only a laptop and code to launch products. you just need a laptop and a code and you can develop and you can launch and be very successful.
  116. He says Jazz is building B2B innovation. B2B mein hamara innovation kafi aage chal raha hai
  117. He says Jazz can use customer data to help advertisers choose where to advertise. I can also use this information to help advertisers ke aapko kaun se apps ke upar apna advert lagani chahiye.
  118. He says India produces more IT graduates each year than Netherlands has workers. India has more IT graduates every year coming out than Netherlands has workers.