Raihan Merchant

Raihan Ali Merchant is a Pakistani businessman and the founder of Brainchild communications. He is currently the Chairman and CEO of Z2C Pakistan, Chairman of Brainchild Communications Ltd. and Blitz (Pvt) Ltd.[1] In 2012, the government of Pakistan awarded him the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz (Medal of Excellence) for public service, recognizing his contributions to the advertising industry of Pakistan.[2] Merchant has served on the advisory boards of a number of public and business organizations, and currently sits on the Board of Engro Corporation.

Early life and education

Raihan Ali Merchant was born in Karachi on September 9, 1967. He was educated at the Bai Virbaiji Soparivala (BVS) Parsi High School in Karachi, and then at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), where he received his Master in Business Administration (MBA) degree.[3]

Career

Merchant started Pakistan's first media agency in 1997.[4]

Early career

After completing his MBA from the Institute of Business Administration, Merchant joined the advertising industry of Pakistan. He worked on multiple well-known brands including Citibank, Coca-Cola, and P&G, and eventually formed Pak Mediacom, the first media buying house to open in Pakistan.[5]

Brainchild Communications
Raihan Merchant addressing a townhall at Brainchild Communications Pakistan

Brainchild Communication was founded by Raihan Merchant in 2010. It is affiliated with the Publicis brand Starcom, with clients like Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, Mondelez, China Mobile, Engro Foods, and National Foods.[6]

Content Monetization

Brainchild Communications has been a stakeholder in content monetization ventures like PSL and Coke Studio. They plan to continue down this path, and work with other passion areas like music, food, and fashion.[7]

Coke Studio

The concept of Coke Studio was a joint effort between Brainchild Communications and the marketing team at Coca-Cola [8]

Pakistan Super League (PSL)

Merchant was also instrumental in the launch of the Pakistan Super League,[9] the biggest sporting event in Pakistan.[10] He is currently working on monetizing sports in Pakistan.[11]

Recognition

In 2012, the President of Pakistan awarded Merchant with the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz for public service. He is also frequently quoted to be one of the most influential media industry executives in Pakistan.[12]

Social Work

Raihan Merchant started Project Butterfly with Tony Buzan,[13] introducing Mindmapping as an educational tool. Merchant is also a donor to his alma mater, the Institute of Business Administration [14] and a frequent mentor to IBA students.[15]

Personal life

Merchant is an avid golfer,[16] and lives in Karachi.

gollark: Zachary APPARENTLY didn't think to test the pack before sending it to me.
gollark: The Minecraft server *is* starting and you *can't* hope to escape.
gollark: Obviously phones are bad for typing on, but alas.
gollark: They can be changed much more easily.
gollark: An increasing amount of typing is done on phones.

References
  1. "Board of Directors".
  2. "President announces 185 civilian awards". The Express Tribune. August 15, 2011.
  3. "About IBA Alumni – Prominent Alumni". iba.edu.pk.
  4. "Raihan Merchant, Professional at Engro Corp. Ltd. - Relationship Science". relationshipscience.com.
  5. "E-commerce clients will become bigger advertisers than FMCGs". Aurora Magazine. April 27, 2018.
  6. "Agency has done business with". Pakistan Broadcasters Association. November 20, 2019.
  7. "Key decision makers on media". Mediabites. April 9, 2019.
  8. "'Ad'-ding it all up: From agency job to a media buying conglomerate". The Express Tribune. April 24, 2012.
  9. "Q&A: CEO – Z2C, Raihan Merchant on Practices That Sets Him Apart From Other Industry Players". April 3, 2019.
  10. "TELENOR PAKISTAN LAUNCHES $50 MILLION MEDIA REVIEW". July 5, 2019.
  11. "'Key decision makers on media whether it is in the agency space or on the client side, you will notice one common element: 65% of them started their careers with us', says Raihan Merchant, CEO – Z2C". April 3, 2019.
  12. "Talking Heads". Aurora Magazine. January 11, 2018.
  13. "Homepage".
  14. "List of Donors". iba.edu.pk.
  15. "Mentoring Session with Mr. Raihan Merchant". alumni.iba.edu.pk.
  16. "14th TCF Golf Tournament: Golfers Support Education". digitaldips.pk. 21 December 2017.
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