User Profile

Executive Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Issar

Iqbal Meer Sharma is the founder and Executive Chairman of diversified investment company ISSAR (www.issar.co.za), and also Chairman of P3 Africa (www.p3africa.net). Iqbal is a Director of Daqo South Africa (www.daqo.com), and also serves on the board of Transnet as a Non-Executive Director since November Iqbal Meer Sharma is the founder and Executive Chairman of diversified investment company ISSAR (www.issar.co.za), and also Chairman of P3 Africa (www.p3africa.net). Iqbal is a Director of Daqo South Africa (www.daqo.com), and also serves on the board of Transnet as a Non-Executive Director since November 2010 and serves on the Board Corporate Governance and Nominations Committee and Chairs the Board Acquisition and Disposals Committee. Until October 2010, he was the former Deputy Director-General/CEO of Trade and Investment South Africa (TISA), in South Africa's Department of Trade & Industry (DTI). He was responsible for leading the development and implementation of trade and Investment policies and strategies. He had previously headed up the Trade Policy division, overseeing SA's global economic strategies, managing South Africa's bilateral trade relations and negotiations with countries across the world. He had been with the DTI since 2001. Iqbal has also served on the board of the Export Credit Insurance Corporation (ECIC), SA Nuclear Council, SA Space Affairs Council, and International Marketing Council, and the Immigration Advisory Board. Before joining the DTI, he worked for large multinationals in the United States, but an entrepreneur at heart; he left to set up and run his own companies, including South Africa's first computer education franchise and a software firm. The Financial Mail has recognised him as one of the top 400 most influential people in South Africa. He has been hailed as one of South Africa's most remarkable entrepreneurs (SA Success Magazine 4/98). An activist committed to the upliftment of rural and poor communities, he has worked with NGOs and published many articles and papers on social, political and economic issues. He has been a regular speaker at large global conferences across the world like the World Economic Forum, Time/CNN Global Forum, UNEP and World Trade Organisation (WTO) platforms. Iqbal studied in 6 countries on 4 continents, before graduating from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in Economics. He is a Fellow of the fourth class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-West Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.