From quickly industrializing areas in Asia and Africa to established markets in Europe and North America, office security and environmental sustainability stay urgent international challenges. The Worldwide Labour Group estimates that greater than 2.78 million individuals die every year from occupational accidents and work-related diseases, whereas almost 374 million undergo non-fatal accidents. These figures spotlight the human and financial toll of operational gaps. In at present’s interconnected economic system, provide chain disruptions can erase billions in shareholder worth in a single day, and sustainability is not a matter of company duty; it’s central to enterprise survival.
Towards this backdrop, Environmental, Well being & Security (EHS) has reworked from a compliance operate right into a strategic pillar for resilience, innovation, and progress. Few leaders embody this transformation extra totally than Junaid Ahmed Khatana, whose profession spans almost 20 years throughout blue-chip multinationals reminiscent of British American Tobacco (BAT), Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestlé, and Pakistan Aluminium Beverage Cans Restricted. From main billion-dollar provide chains to managing international EHS methods, Khatana’s management illustrates how purpose-driven programs can safeguard individuals, defend belongings, and create sustainable aggressive benefit.
You’ve held management positions at British American Tobacco, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestlé. What has been your philosophy of management and your contributions in these roles?
My management philosophy has all the time been to transcend compliance. I work to embed ESG ideas into the guts of operations and to deploy digital and AI-driven programs that permit organizations to anticipate dangers as a substitute of merely reacting to them.
For instance, throughout my tenure as Head of Operations & Safety in Myanmar, I guided the corporate by an unprecedented disaster. We efficiently executed a market exit below political and financial turmoil, guaranteeing a zero Misplaced Time Harm Fee (LTIR) whereas respectfully managing the transition of 400 workers and safeguarding/exporting £7.5 million in strategic belongings—all inside six months, on time and in full. That have strengthened my perception that resilience have to be engineered into operations.
As Head of Leaf in Pakistan, I reworked the provision chain into a world export hub, navigating some of the difficult shopping for seasons within the trade’s historical past. This required synchronizing planning throughout cultivation, processing, and worldwide logistics. The consequence was not simply continuity however an growth of Pakistan’s footprint into over 10 nations.
Earlier, at Pepsi Bottling Ventures, I led the provision chain throughout a record-breaking manufacturing 12 months that earned the corporate the Chairman’s Ring of Honor in New York. At Coca-Cola CCI, I managed the third-largest promoting territory in Pakistan, overseeing 09 manufacturing strains and 03 preform manufacturing models, producing almost half of Pakistan’s whole beverage provide.
These experiences taught me that management in EHS and operations is about greater than processes—it’s about creating programs that endure past people, crises, and market cycles.
Your thought management is mirrored in your publications and international contributions. Might you spotlight a few of your key works?
Alongside my company management, I’ve been engaged on a sequence of analysis papers and am planning to publish them quickly. These works draw on my sensible expertise and discover themes reminiscent of international provide chains, sustainability, enterprise continuity, and EHS programs.
- I’ve intensely labored on Constructing Local weather-Resilient and Sustainable Provide Chains in World Manufacturing, which explores how international producers can align with rising U.S. local weather resilience mandates. This has been raised by the US in its Govt Order 14057 as properly. My analysis work is drawn from my work at BAT and Nestlé on various gasoline boilers, water community financial savings, and traceable agro-supply chains.
- Equally, extending my analysis from my occupation is Integrating ISO 45001 and U.S. OSHA Requirements: A World Chief’s Roadmap for EHS Harmonization presents a framework for harmonizing international ISO requirements with U.S. OSHA necessities to strengthen employee security and incident prevention throughout multinational operations.
One other line of my analysis combines classes on provide chain danger mitigation and enterprise continuity. Drawing from my management of agro-based export hubs in unstable areas, in addition to navigating crises in Myanmar and Pakistan, I’ve been creating a framework that blends methods for securing essential manufacturing provide chains with continuity planning ideas just like these outlined within the U.S. FEMA Nationwide Response Framework. The objective is to show how organizations can safeguard important exports whereas additionally incorporating resilience into their operations in response to political, financial, or environmental shocks.
Your contributions have been acknowledged with awards and international deployments. Might you spotlight a few of these milestones?
Recognition has adopted when resilience and innovation have produced measurable outcomes. At PepsiCo, I obtained the Chairman’s Ring of Honor for reaching record-breaking manufacturing whereas embedding sustainability into operations. At BAT, I used to be awarded the Battlefield Bonus in 2023 throughout a high-stakes operational interval that examined the resilience of our programs.
Past particular person recognition, my groups have earned APMEA Olympics silver medals in operational excellence. However what issues greater than the awards themselves is what they signify: proof that security, sustainability, and enterprise progress can coexist.
Alongside your company management, you additionally maintain a number of memberships and mentorship positions. Are you able to share extra about these and the way they amplify your affect?
Memberships and advisory roles permit me to increase my contributions past multinational companies into entrepreneurship, coverage, and analysis ecosystems.
On the Nationwide Incubation Middle (NIC) Lahore, Pakistan’s premier government-backed startup hub, I function an Advisory Board Member, guiding early-stage ventures on progress, scalability, and accountable practices.
I’m additionally a part of the Punjab Info Know-how Board’s (PITB) Incubation Wing, and I’m a Senior Member, supporting Pakistan’s digital ecosystem by nurturing startups the place know-how intersects with operational security.
Past these entrepreneurial and policy-driven roles, I additionally mentor on the Al-Khawarizmi Institute of Pc Science (KICS), UET Lahore, a number one R&D establishment. There, I consider analysis tasks and assist guarantee improvements usually are not solely groundbreaking but additionally commercially viable and socially accountable.
By means of these platforms, I’ve mentored dozens of pros who now lead EHS, engineering, and operations groups globally. Importantly, I concentrate on inclusive mentorship, empowering girls and underrepresented teams. I strongly imagine that variety is not only illustration—it’s a catalyst for resilience and innovation.
Together with your international expertise, how do you see industries evolving, notably these dealing with regulatory and sustainability pressures?
Industries are at an inflection level. Within the tobacco trade, for instance, shifting laws, shopper demand for reduced-risk merchandise, and stress for provide chain transparency are reshaping the working mannequin. For EHS leaders, compliance alone is not sufficient—we should embed sustainability straight into the innovation pipeline.
The longer term lies in proactive programs: predictive analytics, AI-driven danger modeling, and integration of EHS knowledge alongside monetary KPIs in boardrooms. That is the one approach to make sure security, resilience, and innovation scale collectively.
Wanting again and forward, what message guides your management philosophy?
Awards just like the Chairman’s Ring of Honor or the Battlefield Bonus validate excellence, however to me, true management is just not about enforcement—it’s about legacy. It’s concerning the programs, cultures, and values we depart behind for future generations of pros.
In a world dealing with unprecedented environmental, regulatory, and social pressures, my guiding message is easy: lead with objective. That’s the solely approach to construct safer, smarter, and extra sustainable operations that can endure.
