Years of experience: over 28 years of experience

Education: Master of Law - LLM (King's College London)

Rahat Kaunain Hassan has over 28 years of experience, with over 12 years in public service and remaining in private practice with leading corporate law firms. Currently, she is Senior Partner at Hassan Kaunain Nafees, a leading Islamabad based law firm which she co-founded in 2005, handling civil / commercial advisory and regulatory work,. Ms. Hassan has served twice as Chairperson, Competition Commission of Pakistan (2010-2013 and 2020-2023). Previously, Ms. Hassan served as a Member (Legal and Office of Fair Trading) of the Commission, when it was established in November 2007 (until July 2010). She was instrumental in the establishment of the Office of Fair Trading within the Commission and has authored numerous position papers, guidelines, policy notes, and co-authored most of the seminal orders passed by the Commission, including those that resulted in breaking the most pernicious cartels.

Ms. Hassan received her LLM from King’s College London, as a Britannia Chevening Scholar. Earlier, in 2001, Ms. Hassan was General Counsel/Executive Director at the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan. She has held several independent directorships, with the honour of being the first female director on boards including that of the Pakistan Stock Exchange & other listed companies.

As a working mother of 4, she has been recognized for her contribution to the public sector through the Women of Achievement Award in 2010. She earned a placement in the coveted Global Competition Review - Women in Antitrust, which profiles 100 successful women in the field of Competition Law across the world. She has also been nominated for Sitara-e-Imtiaz, the nation’s second highest civil award. In the year 2023, she was featured in the '100 best performing CEOs’ in Pakistan by the CEO Club Pakistan. Ms. Hassan is also the recipient of the CEO Excellence Award, the singular honour conferred amongst the regulators/in public service. She is also a member of the scholarship panel, Oxford Pakistan Program for the academic year 2024-2025.