Suleiman Amanzad
Tigard,OR
Summary
Started career as an assistant at 17, worked my way up to becoming CEO of a national media and communications firm, Rumi Consultancy, or otherwise known as Afghanistan's version of Edleman. With a degree in management and over a decade of professional experience by co-building one national level for profit and one non-profit organizations, co-founding 2 small companies and two volunteer programs was called by an American diplomat as, symbol of America's success in Afghanistan. Some of the clients in my management portfolio includes the World Bank, USAID, DAI, USIP, UN Women, Save the Children, Tetra-tech, The Italian Cooperation, the Afghan Presidential Palace and the European Commission.
Overview
11
11
years of professional experience
Work History
Chief Executive Officer,
Rumi Consultancy
Kabul, Afghanistan
01.2021 - 09.2021
- ● Promoted to CEO and 40% profit shareholder of the company in 2021
- ● Revised the company's vision and strategic direction to the changing market environment.
- ● Worked with the heads of departments to digitize the company's internal processes and documentation in order to improve decision-making and adapt to market changes
- ● Developed partnerships with country's top agencies as market expansion effort.
- ● Devised new promotional strategy focused on social media to boost the company's public exposure.
- ● Identified and capitalized on short- and long-term revenue generation opportunities to maximize profitability.
Founding Member & Deputy Director
Afghanistan New Generation Organization
Kabul, Afghanistan
02.2011 - 09.2021
- ● As Founding Member I was involved with the cause of the organization since its establishment in 2011 and worked as Deputy Director from 2017 onward
- ● Contributed to short- and long-term strategic planning and day to day operations of the organization.
- ● Oversaw the organization's communications and branding strategies for consistency and quality.
- ● Improved coordination and communications across organization to increase operational efficiency.
- ● Designed and implemented public awareness campaigns
- ● Managed the first Afghanistan-Pakistan Youth Dialogue exchange program (2015)
- ● Media placement and monitoring for 60-Second Film Festival (Peace) 2015
- ● Managed marketing & team for the first 60 Second Film Festival in Afghanistan (2014)
- ● Media placement and monitoring for 60-second Film Festival (Elections) 2014
- ● Managed production of “Ambassadors of Peace,” a US Embassy-funded film on Afghanistan National Institute of Music performances at Kennedy Center & Carnegie Hall (2013)
- ● Managed second round of Afghan Voices Citizen Journalism Training (2012-2013)
Chief Operations Officer
Rumi Consultancy
Kabul, Afghanistan
03.2016 - 09.2021
- ● The sole decision maker of company in areas of finances, operations and client relations.
- ● Revised company's financial policy and increased company's profitability by over 100%
- ● Streamlined company processes and procedures including design, development and implementation of projects to build maximum client satisfaction with effective use of available sources.
- ● Implemented some of most complex national level projects for clients such as The World Bank, USAID, DAI, Save the Children, Italian Cooperation, Afghan Presidential Palace, Kabul Municipality, United States Institute of Peace among others
- ● Oversaw video, documentary, photo and feature article content production and clients relations for the World Bank Result Documentation Project (2012- Sep 2021)
- ● Successfully implemented the International Mayors Forum - Kabul inaugurated by President of Afghanistan
- ● Devised and implemented overall communication and outreach policy and program of Kabul Municipality
- ● Implemented Women in Economy 2.5 years long national communication and outreach project for DAI - USAID
- ● Successfully implemented complex multi layered communication and outreach project for Afghan Presidential Palace ahead of Brussels Conference, 2016
- ● Oversaw creative, content and production of “Roya”, Afghanistan’s first comedy sitcom | https://tinyurl.com/y5amjv95
- ● Designed creative briefs and produced long verite documentary on non-violent foot march of People’s Peace Movement
- ● In spite of limited resources and difficult political and security situation of the country, company had 100% success rate of meeting its operational goals.
Sarak-e-Awal
Co-Founder & Managing Director
Kabul, Afghanistan
03.2011 - 09.2021
- ● Co-Founded and managed volunteer program to provide education to over 30 street children of Kabul
Afghanistan Peace & Conflict Studies Group
Founding Member
Kabul, Afghanistan
02.2019 - 09.2021
- ● Co-founded a volunteer group of academics and professionals to conduct studies, organize seminars and conference to study various aspects of violent extremism in Afghanistan.
Co-Founder
Kabul Insider
Kabul, Afghanistan
05.2015 - 12.2017
- ● Co-Founded one of the first online platforms in Afghanistan to provide information and entertainment content through multimedia storytelling tailored to the young audience.
- ● Developed strategic approach
- ● Oversaw branding
- ● Oversaw platform design
- ● Oversaw content creation
- ● Oversaw and day to day operations
- ● Increased social media audience of agency to 100K followers in 3 months
Creative Director
Rumi Consultancy
Kabul, Afghanistan
03.2012 - 02.2016
- ● Oversaw all design, development and implementation all creative content. ● Collaborated with clients to manage project progress and milestones. ● Evaluated and approved audio-visual content and designs to deliver quality results.
- ● Managed behavioral changes campaigns with focuses on specific topics to meet client's strategic goals.
- ● Oversaw, guided and coached over 20 designers and media production artists.
Education
BBA - Business Management
American University of Afghanistan
Kabul05.2016
High School Diploma -
Habibia High School
Kabul, Afghanistan 2011
High School Junior -
Robert E. Lee High School
Baytown, Texas2010
Skills
- Campaign development
- Communications strategies
- Strategic Planning and Execution
- Business Development
- Marketing and Advertising
- Digital Content Platforms
- Community Outreach
- Policy Development
Honors
- ● Citizen Journalism & Documentary Production Training Program | Afghan Voices | Certificate of Completion Signed by Ryan Crocker, US Ambassador in Kabul, Afghanistan, 2011
- ● Fellow | American Middle Eastern Dialogue at Stanford - AMENDS, California, U.S., 2014
- ● Afghanistan representative | International Young Alumni Conference, Islamabad, Pakistan, 2013
- ● Afghanistan representative | Youth Leadership and Service Workshop for MENA countries, Istanbul, 2013
Publications
- ● Wall Street Journal | Afghanistan’s Post 9/11 Generation
- ● USA Today | As teens, we could have sought asylum in America. Instead, we came home to Afghanistan
- ● Open Society Foundation| Between Two Countries Often at Odds, a Youth Alliance Forms
- ● Stanford University | Talk at American Middle Eastern Network for Dialogue at Stanford- AMENDS
- ● Research | Use of Social Media by Violent Extremists | United States Institute of Peace-USIP
- ● Research | Mapping the Afghan Media | United States Institute of Peace-USIP
Volunteers
- ● Creator | #Guardiansofhope | A media campaign to revive hope for Afghanistan 2014 - 2019
- ● Creator | #Afghanssmile | A social media campaign to promote smiling image and personal stories of individual from Afghanistan
- ● Creator | #Storiesofwar | A media campaign to showcase the cost of war in Afghanistan | https://tinyurl.com/y68cc8ov
- ● Creator| Volunteer Public Awareness Content | https://tinyurl.com/y3lmn3aj | https://tinyurl.com/y4crbkut | https://tinyurl.com/y6frkcot
Earlier Experience
- ● Production Assistant | Community Support Film | www.csfilm.org
- ● Production Assistant/Translator | Kabul at Work (KAW) | kabulatwork.tv
- ● Filmmaker | The Light in the Cave | Open City London Film Festival
- ● Filmmaker| The Light in the Cave | Bayside Australia Film Festival,
- ● Filmmaker| The Light in the Cave | Human Rights Kabul Film Festival
- ● Freelance | Global Funds | Rights & Democracy | International Media Support | Afghan Voices | Afghan Journalist Safety Committee
- ● Recipient | National Geographic All Roads Seed Grant
Timeline
Chief Executive Officer,
Rumi Consultancy
01.2021 - 09.2021
Afghanistan Peace & Conflict Studies Group
Founding Member
02.2019 - 09.2021
Chief Operations Officer
Rumi Consultancy
03.2016 - 09.2021
Co-Founder
Kabul Insider
05.2015 - 12.2017
Creative Director
Rumi Consultancy
03.2012 - 02.2016
Sarak-e-Awal
Co-Founder & Managing Director
03.2011 - 09.2021
Founding Member & Deputy Director
Afghanistan New Generation Organization
02.2011 - 09.2021
BBA - Business Management
American University of Afghanistan
High School Diploma -
Habibia High School
High School Junior -
Robert E. Lee High School