Faruk Zia, married, age 60+, father, grandfather

Migrated to Toronto, Canada from Karachi Pakistan at age 11 with his parents, siblings and grandfather.  Residing in California for over 40 years.

Education: University of San Francisco, Economics & Finance. Studied Business Law at USC – not an attorney. Passed all CPA exams from California State Board of Accountancy.

Experience: Initial training in public accounting sector; mid-career experience in the corporate Mergers & Acquisitions sector including large international public companies. The last twenty years’ career focus in managing underperforming businesses as CEO, with a mission to turn around those businesses successfully, some of whom lead to mergers with larger international public companies.

Served on several corporate and nonprofit Boards, including North American Steel Alliance ( www.SteelAlliance.com ). “NASA” was a membership-based Co-op of small to mid-size steel companies organized to compete with some of the behemoth global steel corporations. The Alliance grew from only a few members, early 2000 to nearly 100 members by the time Mr. Zia left, growing to combined purchasing power in excess of $6 billion.  Mr Zia cofounded an offshore Insurance Company, which was back stopped by Hartford Insurance, offering business insurance policies to the member companies. Mr. Zia currently serves as the Trustee of Al Rahman Foundation, affiliated with the Islamic Society of Orange County, considered the mothership of many Islamic Centers in Orange County, California under the leadership of world-renowned scholar Dr Muzammil H Siddiqi.