Meet three men who turned their dreams into reality
Firoz Rasul was flying with the Aga Khan on his private plane to Vancouver in 2005, when the spiritual leader of the world’s Ismaili Muslims made a pitch to him about a new job in Pakistan.
Mr. Rasul, who had retired two years earlier as chief executive officer of fuel-cell developer Ballard Power Systems Inc. and was heading the Canadian association for the Muslim sect, was stunned by his offer to become president of Aga Khan University.
“I was shocked, flattered … and terrified,” recalls the 57-year-old, who agreed to take on the job. “It’s a massive role. You are talking about a university in the developing world – in countries that are highly volatile and fragile. We are in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kenya and Syria [among others].”
But these countries need universities to develop leaders capable of improving education and health care, battling corruption and increasing social cohesion, he said.
While he was thrilled to accept the challenge of running a multicampus university and its myriad programs, he was asked to do so as a volunteer. “My wife and I have done reasonably well in life, and we feel it’s time to give back,” Mr. Rasul said during a visit to Toronto.
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