Mr. A. S. M Quasem

Mr. A. S. M Quasem is the Director of the Board of Eastland Insurance PLC. Mr.Quasem is chairman of Newage Group of Companies and a prominent industrialist engaged in the apparel and garments export sector. Born in 1942, he graduated in Mechanical Engineering from BUET in 1963. He founded Newage Garments Ltd, the first company in Newage Group in 1984. Since then the group kept on expanding and now consists of three garment manufacturing units, one composite Knit Textile mill and a modern button manufacturing plant. The group currently has over 8000 employees and one of the leading export houses of Bangladesh. Mr. Quasem is also a sponsor Director of Credit Rating Agency of Bangladesh Ltd.

Mr. Quasem takes an active interest in trade politics. He served as President of Bangladesh Employers Federation in 1999-2000, President of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 1997 and as Vice President of ICC-Bangladesh for several terms He was the founder Chairman of BIMST-EC Business Forum (1998-2000), a regional forum of business communities of Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Mr.Quasem has traveled extensively and participated in many international conferences, seminars and workshops. He is on the active list of International and National Consultants of the International Trade Centre (ITC), a UN organization affiliated with the UNCTAD and WTO that took him as an ITC consultant to Malawi and Mozambique in Africa and to Cuba and Bolivia in Central and South America. He also carried out a number of assignments in his home base in Bangladesh as ITC s National Consultant.

Keeping in mind the need for social development, Mr. Quasem created Gulshanara Razzaque Welfare Foundation and engages himself as its Managing Trustee. The Foundation works in the area of education and health care development of the less privileged section of the society through operation of a free primary school that has ap enrollment of about 600 students in Dhaka and a 30 bed fully equipped General Hospital in Dohar. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of RADDA MCH-FP Centre, a well reputed large NGO that operates in the Mirpur area providing health care services in the field of mother and child care and family planning.