ASHRAE Journal - August 2022 - 14

PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS
how well-attuned we are to developments
and how willing we are
to embrace change. We need to be
diverse, equitable and inclusive to
see, understand and take advantage
of what is changing for our success.
Diversity, equity and inclusion are
critical.
It is important to understand that
diversity has many shades of meaning.
For an organization to be truly
diverse, it needs to have diversity of
ideas and views and these ideas and
views can be freely discussed in a
transparent and participative manner
in a welcoming home. Nothing
kills diversity like groupthink. The
two key prerequisites for ASHRAE's
diversity are: transparency and
participation.
I was born in Lahore, a city of 12
million people dating back 2,500
years located at the heart of the
Punjab region, famous for the
amalgam of cultures resulting from
centuries of invasions by the Aryan
Huns, Greeks, Mongols, Turks,
Arabs, Mughals and finally the
British. Lahore is referred to as the
heart of Pakistan.
Growing up, the career options
available to me were the military,
law, medicine or engineering.
My mom had her own method for
securing my future. She said no to
the military-no fixed home, and
too much moving around. No to
law-she didn't trust lawyers. No to
medicine-too much time away from
family. So, I chose the only option
left: engineering.
As a result, I studied in Bangladesh
at a University affiliated with Texas
A&M. I started my career with the
local Trane distributor and moved
on to working with Intercontinental
hotels as a regional chief engineer
14
ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.o rg
for central Asia, and finally set up
my own consulting practice.
Today, my company works in
Pakistan, the Middle East, and
Africa. I have traveled to 45
countries.
I married the mother of my children,
Shaheda, in 1967. She was born
in Calcutta and was part Malaysian.
She passed away in 2013 from surgery
complications. I have three sons
and six grandchildren. Each one of
my daughters-in-law comes from
a different ethnic background. My
second wife, Aisha, is Chinese.
I have experienced the power of
a truly diverse family. I have lived
diversity all my life, in every sense of
the word.
As a Society, we have been blessed
with great leadership. Our presidents
have spoken about the need to adapt
to face the future; the need to build a
global coalition; the coming changes
to the electric grid that will transform
the way we design and build;
the urgent need for transitioning to
the digital age; and most recently,
President Schwedler has underscored
the need to, " Feed the Roots " -all
these ideas and themes have much
in common. They reflect the awareness
that change is accelerating and
that there is a need to adapt and be
equipped for the future, and to be
willing to embrace change.
Securing Our Future
Our plan for securing our ASHRAE
future has the following key
elements:
* Make ASHRAE more transparent.
*
Encourage greater participation
by our members in Society and
regional activities.
* Make ASHRAE truly diverse.
A U G UST 2022
The two key prerequisites for ASHRAE's
diversity are transparency and participation.
* Harness the power of our relationships.
*
Harvest information in the
service of our members.
* Embrace change by streamlining
society structure and processes.
Based on these key elements
ASHRAE will do the following:
Make ASHRAE Transparent
* We will improve transparency
and foster greater member
participation by live streaming key
ASHRAE meetings, such as the Board
of Directors and council meetings,
so that members can listen in and
be part of the discussion in their
ASHRAE home.
* Board of Director and Executive
Committee agendas will be circulated
in advance with links to attend
meetings.
* A quarterly newsletter from the
Board to chapter presidents is also
planned.
Encourage Participation by Members
* We will develop initiatives to
lower the financial barriers to participation
where possible.
* The work of our technical committees
and research will be widely
reported to the members not only to
create awareness of what is happening,
but to encourage ideas for new
activities/programs more closely
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ASHRAE Journal - August 2022

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