Mir Ibrahim Rahman
Encyclopedia
Mir Ibrahim Rahman CEO of GEO TV Network, has been at the helm of affairs of Pakistan
's fastest growing and most popular media brand for over 8 years. A former Goldman Sachs investment banker, specializing in media and telecom, Mir has overseen the launch and growth of GEO from a 5 member operation out of a hotel to a 2,500+ strong South-Asian content producer and broadcaster with 10 channels globally. GEO’s mission is to create an enabling platform for thinking and questioning in Pakistan. The New York Times confirms that “GEO has changed the media landscape” of the country. Mir graduated Suma Cum Laude with Honors from Babson College
in Economics, Finance and Entrepreneurship in 2000 and co founded GEO when he was just 25. His alma mater has dubbed MIR the “Robin hood of Information” for Pakistan, helping bring ground-breaking consciousness to social political discourse. Mir is the youngest member of Young Presidents Organization in Pakistan, Charter member of The Indus Entrepreneur and Director of Mir Khalil ur Rahman Foundation. Mir and his wife, Sheena, recently took a study leave together at Harvard for their Masters in Political Administration and Education respectively.
Mir Ibrahim Rahman, became the first Muslim (and second South Asian) to have won the most prestigious award from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. The 2010 Robert F. Kennedy Award for Excellence in Public Service is given to the graduating student who most exhibits a deep commitment to public service as well as shows signs for future potential leadership.
Mir, CEO of GEO TV, was recognized for his and his team’s contribution in the historical lawyers movement that brought independent judiciary to Pakistan, peace campaign between India and Pakistan and other ground breaking work that helps the overcoming of differences in religion, culture and ethnicity.
Mir Ibrahim Rahman was chosen by his colleagues to represent them as their student speaker at Harvard's graduation ceremony 2010. The speech titled “Degree of Confusion” was somewhat controversial yet got a standing ovation. The speech asked the Alqueda to be confused about the US’s value of education, entrepreneurship and free speech and also asked the US to be confused about whether extremists are doing what they are doing because they want to take away American’s freedom or is it because of some other reason. The speech can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcVBcY6rDvU&feature=email
Mir was also given the Lucius N. Littauer Award, given to members of the graduating class that excelled in the classroom and made a significant positive contribution to the Kennedy School community. Mir was acknowledged for representing his class in the Kennedy Student Government, as well as organizing several key seminars and being on the Advisory Board for Harvard’s South Asia Initiative. Mir was the rare student to also serve in Harvard’s prestigious Admissions Committee, which is staffed usually by only senior most Professors. The Co-founder and CEO of GEO TV Network, and has been on a sabbatical for a year at Harvard to complete his Masters in Public Administration, where he has also researched and written a thesis on Pakistan’s potential, titled: Reason to Believe- Finding A New Public Narrative for Pakistan.
Under Mir’s supervision, GeoFilms launched its first films project titled “Khuda Kay Liye” (In the Name of God) against whom a fatwa was issued by the terrorist leader of the Red Mosque, Islamabad. The project not only became Pakistani film industry’s biggest blockbuster but also prompted much needed dialogue and discussion facing Islam and Pakistan today.
GEO Network has been known to take on daring projects, including supporting the cause for justice, which created a tussle with the previous military and current civilian government. All of GEO’s channels were shut down for almost 90 days, creating a net revenue loss of over $25 million. Most political analysts have been quoted to confirm GEO’s role was unique in the country’s historic independent judiciary movement and the eventual restoration of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.
GEO took the daring lead in showcasing Taliban version of Islam by releasing footage of public violence against women and men who have not gone through due process. Footage includes the now infamous video of the flogging of a screaming woman pinned down by two men as well as Taliban recruitment footage of beheadings, including some by children, which turned out to be a fake video. Many analysts credit the Pakistani media, led by GEO, for changing the tide of public opinion that made Swat operation possible.
GEO and Jang Group have also recently announced their partnership with Times of India Group to launch a civilian peace initiative with India. The two largest and most influential media groups of Pakistan and India have committed to providing a platform where their audiences, readers and civil society can nudge their respective government to move towards lasting and fair peace so that valuable resources of both countries can be directed towards development and progress.
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
's fastest growing and most popular media brand for over 8 years. A former Goldman Sachs investment banker, specializing in media and telecom, Mir has overseen the launch and growth of GEO from a 5 member operation out of a hotel to a 2,500+ strong South-Asian content producer and broadcaster with 10 channels globally. GEO’s mission is to create an enabling platform for thinking and questioning in Pakistan. The New York Times confirms that “GEO has changed the media landscape” of the country. Mir graduated Suma Cum Laude with Honors from Babson College
Babson College
Babson College is a private business school located in Wellesley, Massachusetts near Boston.- History :Babson College was founded by Roger Babson on September 3, 1919, as the Babson Institute. It was renamed "Babson College" in 1969...
in Economics, Finance and Entrepreneurship in 2000 and co founded GEO when he was just 25. His alma mater has dubbed MIR the “Robin hood of Information” for Pakistan, helping bring ground-breaking consciousness to social political discourse. Mir is the youngest member of Young Presidents Organization in Pakistan, Charter member of The Indus Entrepreneur and Director of Mir Khalil ur Rahman Foundation. Mir and his wife, Sheena, recently took a study leave together at Harvard for their Masters in Political Administration and Education respectively.
Mir Ibrahim Rahman, became the first Muslim (and second South Asian) to have won the most prestigious award from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. The 2010 Robert F. Kennedy Award for Excellence in Public Service is given to the graduating student who most exhibits a deep commitment to public service as well as shows signs for future potential leadership.
Mir, CEO of GEO TV, was recognized for his and his team’s contribution in the historical lawyers movement that brought independent judiciary to Pakistan, peace campaign between India and Pakistan and other ground breaking work that helps the overcoming of differences in religion, culture and ethnicity.
Mir Ibrahim Rahman was chosen by his colleagues to represent them as their student speaker at Harvard's graduation ceremony 2010. The speech titled “Degree of Confusion” was somewhat controversial yet got a standing ovation. The speech asked the Alqueda to be confused about the US’s value of education, entrepreneurship and free speech and also asked the US to be confused about whether extremists are doing what they are doing because they want to take away American’s freedom or is it because of some other reason. The speech can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcVBcY6rDvU&feature=email
Mir was also given the Lucius N. Littauer Award, given to members of the graduating class that excelled in the classroom and made a significant positive contribution to the Kennedy School community. Mir was acknowledged for representing his class in the Kennedy Student Government, as well as organizing several key seminars and being on the Advisory Board for Harvard’s South Asia Initiative. Mir was the rare student to also serve in Harvard’s prestigious Admissions Committee, which is staffed usually by only senior most Professors. The Co-founder and CEO of GEO TV Network, and has been on a sabbatical for a year at Harvard to complete his Masters in Public Administration, where he has also researched and written a thesis on Pakistan’s potential, titled: Reason to Believe- Finding A New Public Narrative for Pakistan.
Profile of some initiatives
“Zara Sochieye” (Just Think!) led a wave of debate on the controversial Hudood Ordinance, a set of laws passed without debated by a dictator 28 of years ago equating rape with adultery. GEO’s campaign, clarified the difference between man-made laws and divine law that the Hudood Ordinance was deliberately associated with. The campaign included testimony and unprecedented debate between the main liberal and conservative religious forces in the country and was credited to be the tipping point that led the Government to finally amend the ordinance. Perhaps real success, however, was to proof of performance that sensitive religious issues can not only be debated but debate can help religion itself.Under Mir’s supervision, GeoFilms launched its first films project titled “Khuda Kay Liye” (In the Name of God) against whom a fatwa was issued by the terrorist leader of the Red Mosque, Islamabad. The project not only became Pakistani film industry’s biggest blockbuster but also prompted much needed dialogue and discussion facing Islam and Pakistan today.
GEO Network has been known to take on daring projects, including supporting the cause for justice, which created a tussle with the previous military and current civilian government. All of GEO’s channels were shut down for almost 90 days, creating a net revenue loss of over $25 million. Most political analysts have been quoted to confirm GEO’s role was unique in the country’s historic independent judiciary movement and the eventual restoration of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.
GEO took the daring lead in showcasing Taliban version of Islam by releasing footage of public violence against women and men who have not gone through due process. Footage includes the now infamous video of the flogging of a screaming woman pinned down by two men as well as Taliban recruitment footage of beheadings, including some by children, which turned out to be a fake video. Many analysts credit the Pakistani media, led by GEO, for changing the tide of public opinion that made Swat operation possible.
GEO and Jang Group have also recently announced their partnership with Times of India Group to launch a civilian peace initiative with India. The two largest and most influential media groups of Pakistan and India have committed to providing a platform where their audiences, readers and civil society can nudge their respective government to move towards lasting and fair peace so that valuable resources of both countries can be directed towards development and progress.