Parveen Mahmud wins SAFA Lifetime Woman Leadership Award 2025

Parveen Mahmud has been honoured with the Lifetime Woman Leadership Award 2025 at the SAFA Women Leadership Award ceremony, held at Hotel Cinnamon Life, the City of Dreams in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Parveen currently chairs the Manusher Jonno Foundation, MIDAS, HerStory Foundation, and Shasha Denims PLC. She previously served as chairperson of UCEP Bangladesh and the Acid Survivors Foundation, according to a press release.

She is the first woman president to lead the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB), as well as the first female board member and president to serve on the SAFA board, the apex professional accounting body of the South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA), under the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

"I am truly honoured to receive the SAFA Women's Lifetime Achievement Award," Parveen said in her acceptance remarks. "I pay tribute to Mary Harris Smith, the world's first female chartered accountant, whose courage still inspires us."

"I thank SAFA and ICAB for entrusting me with the privilege of serving as the first woman council member, president, and SAFA board member," she added.

She also congratulated CMA Sri Lanka on its 25th anniversary celebrations, before paying a personal tribute: "I remember my mother, Shamsunnahar Rahman Paran, founder of Ghashful and Lions Club of Chittagong Patijat Elite, who taught me to serve the marginalised. I thank my family for their unwavering support."

"This award is not mine alone; it belongs to all women who break barriers and to the next generation, who will go even further," she concluded.

Over the course of her distinguished career, Parveen began with BRAC and later joined Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) as deputy managing director, before becoming the founding managing director of Grameen Telecom Trust. She was also a partner at ACNABIN & Co, Chartered Accountants.

She has served on numerous boards, including BRAC International, PKSF, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), and Grameen Telecom, while championing inclusive growth, women's empowerment, and social innovation across South Asia.

Beyond Bangladesh, she has also been recognised with the Top50 Professional & Career Women Awards 2023 in Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

A trailblazer and role model, Parveen continues to inspire through her visionary leadership and lifelong commitment to building a more equitable society. She is also a Progressive Melvin Jones Fellow of Lions International.